WWE SMACKDOWN HITS & MISSES 7/9: Shotzi and Nox freshen up women’s division, a surging Seth Rollins, a damaging Edge comeback, more

Hits

Desperation Point Debuts

At this point, anything that shakes up the standard WWE format is pretty much good, and the debut of the Shotzi and Tegan Nox is indeed a positive move. The Smackdown women’s division is pathetically shallow right now and needed a burst such as this complete with tangible enthusiasm and chemistry. This was a necessary win as well to give them meaning. I’m not sure that the slow motion nerf rocket shot was necessary, but if that’s as bad as it got, it was fine enough.

By a Hair(line)

Call me crazy, but I actually think that this was a good week for the new King Nakamura including a good win over Baron Corbin. Much of the annoying elements from last week were toned down and his wing looked good. There was so much to dislike about the segment last week involving Boogs, Pat McAfee, Baron Corbin and Big E, but this week was a much more digestible version with much more likable iterations of each. None of this seems like a fast track to the main event picture for anyone involved, but we can take at a least a one week painless showing. Credit goes to Corbin for being a good sport on all of McAfee’s roasts about his hairline. That is no easy diss to take.

Surging Seth

The amazing thing about Seth Rollins’ post-match bragging was that, unlike Edge, he actually WON a match. Rollins has officially outclassed Cesaro and now seems poised to do the same to Edge. Tonight’s showing by Rollins was a good one with a nice TV match and a feel that he is officially moving on to something more important.

Misses

Call it a (Damaging) Comeback

The quick dismissal of Edge’s promo last week by Roman Reigns was damaging and telling. Roman’s retort was reasonable and, quite frankly, honest. Even more wild was how quickly the segment pivoted to Roman’s relationship with the Uso’s – a segment that gave Hart Foundation forming circa 1997 vibes. I think once again Edge has found himself weakened by his character’s inability to live in the Roman Reigns universe.

Final Segment Showdown

The entire show Roman Reigns seemed totally unbothered by Edge. Truthfully, he maintained that posture until throwing the first punches, which doesn’t exactly build up Edge as any real threat to the Head of the Table. How exactly was Edge the face here? He’s busy complaining about Rollins winning a match to earn an opportunity, choked the Uso’s out with a metal rod, had to rely on friends (you know, the ever likable Dominik Mysterio) and then was unrelenting on his attack of the Usos. Maybe Edge is not a heel, but this wasn’t exactly screaming out as a babyface either. My biggest issue with Edge is that he is a total hypocrite – he complains about the same things he himself does. I don’t think the ending segment saw Edge as courageous at all.

Bye Bye Bayley

The replacement announcement of Carmella becoming the number one contender was relatively well done, but totally made the Money in the Bank match meaningless. Why would Carmella receive the title shot over Liv Morgan when Morgan beat Carmella? Carmella would’ve absolutely been a great opponent for Bianca Belair if she’d been protected as she should’ve been. The real damage comes from Belair not having Bayley to continue to learn and grow from.

Cesaro

Who? Talk about a failed experiment….

CATCH-UP: 7/9 WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT: Wells’s alt-perspective on Cesaro vs. Rollins & Nakamura vs. Corbin in qualifying matches, Reigns’ response to Edge, more