SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Opening Segment – HIT: This Hit is mostly for Daniel Bryan’s babyface promo which started Smackdown. That was a very strong promo. I like Bryan’s new/old look. It is crazy how much younger he looks now. The Miz’s interruption was fine. Baron Corbin’s interruption made me groan as his presence always makes me groan. The physicality at the end was ok and worked to set up the main event tag match.
Heavy Machinery vs. The Revival – HIT: Maybe I’m in a giving mood this Holiday Season. I seldom if ever give Hits to Miracle on 34th Street Fight type matches. I was happy about the fact that they kept the Christmas silliness to a minimum here. It was 12 minutes of solid to good wrestling action. I am curious to see where WWE is going with Heavy Machinery. I am also curious to know if this loss and the post match mic work means something is in the works for The Revival.
Elias’ Song – MISS: Elias was a heel. He returned a few weeks ago as a babyface without an actual face turn. He just started making fun of heels in his songs instead of babyfaces. His interruption of the Revival wasn’t good. None of his work has been good since his return. A lame Caitlyn Jenner joke as the punchline shows his writers aren’t very good.
Zayn – Strowman – HIT: I enjoyed this scene with Sami Zayn revealing that he is Braun Strowman’s secret Santa. Zayn is entertaining in his role. I do wish he was still wrestling. He is a great wrestler. He can be a great talker and a great wrestler. It’s not like he has to choose. Back to this segment, Strowman played his part well as did Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro. This sets up an Intercontinental Title match between Strowman and Nakamura which has potential. Strowman certainly has been underutilized as of late and can give a boost to Smackdown which needs it.
Deville Loses – MISS: I see so much potential in Sonya Deville and enjoy her team with Mandy Rose. But, they have become jokes in the ring as they both lose all the time. With Rose doing something with Otis, it would have been a good time to give her partner a win over Carmella who isn’t treated like a top star, so she certainly didn’t need the win. Deville is just someone I would invest more in.
New Day vs. Nakamura & Cesaro – HIT: Cesaro & Nakamura are more allies than a real tag team, and with Nakamura the IC Champion, the focus should remain on them as singles stars, so having them beat the Tag Team Champions here wouldn’t have made sense. After a good 12 minute match, it was good to see New Day getting the win to keep the Champions strong. The beatdown afterwards with the save from Strowman also worked well.
Women’s Division – MISS: There is a lot of talent on the Smackdown women’s roster, but none of it is being utilized particularly well at the moment. I already talked about how Fire & Desire should be given more of a push. The babyface portion of the roster is weak. I get why they felt like they had to turn Lacey Evans face, but she is such a natural heel and her face turn is based mostly on her being a mother which isn’t a great way to go. She may work as a face in the long run, but I’m not buying it yet, and she still has limitations in the ring. Sasha Banks is a great heel, but Bayley still seems lost as a heel even with the Women’s Title. They keep trying to push Dana Brooke, but she always loses. Why does she keep getting pushed? Something needs to happen to spark this division with a strong true babyface challenger for Bayley’s Title.
Main Event – HIT: This is a marginal Hit for some good wrestling action, but the crowd wasn’t excited for The Miz at all. They certainly were excited for Bryan which is the good thing. He is the star, one of the top babyface stars on Smackdown. It is fun to watch him wrestling as a babyface again. But it was odd to see them building to a Miz hot tag in the end instead of one for Bryan which had come earlier in the match. I’m not too interested in the Bryan vs. Miz vs. Corbin #1 contenders match for next week’s show.
Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com’s WWE Hits & Misses Specialist, providing his point of view for Raw and Smackdown each week. Email him at jmezz_torch@yahoo.com.
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