WWE SMACKDOWN HITS & MISSES 4/22: RK-Bro and Usos anchor show, Rousey and Charlotte flat in contract signing, more

WWE SMACKDOWN HITS & MISSES

Hits

Butch vs. Xavier Woods: Good action here. The former Pete Dunne got to show off a lot of aggressiveness tonight and it was much, much better than their contest last month that went less than a minute. I still can’t get the idea that they’ve booked Butch to lose both of his matches so far. Unfortunately, we can see clearly now that the idea of this gimmick is to make Butch more and more like a child every week. This was a mild hit for action but I hate the direction that has been given to the former Pete Dunne.

Gunther vs. Teddy Goodz: Goodz looked like he was dressed as the poster boy tonight for NXT 2.0. Another showcase match for Gunther with not much else to write home about. I’m still curious to see who will be the first to feud with Gunther on Smackdown. A secondary curiosity has me wondering whether Ludwig Kaiser will have a bigger role than being just the hype man for Gunther and not just an Armando Estrada or Ricardo Rodriguez type?

Jey Uso vs. Riddle: This was a good match and a good showing for both Riddle and Jey Uso. I really like the outcome of this match for multiple reasons. First, it feels like RK-Bro has a lot of momentum going into Backlash which is good considering I don’t see them coming out as the unified/undisputed tag titles. Second, I like to see Riddle getting some quality singles wins even if it is against guys that are mostly seen as tag team wrestlers. I still believe there is money in Riddle down the line as a singles wrestler and putting him over tag guys in those singles matches will help build his credibility down then line once RK-Bro is a thing of the past. I’ve said this recently and I’ll say it again. I’m impressed with WWE’s patience in letting RK-Bro grow and develop. It goes to show that when WWE really does wanna do something long-term and take their time, they can still do these types of stories in a way that make people care. I wish more thought went into more of their talent and stories like have been put into the RK-Bro story and that of The Bloodline in general.

Sasha Banks & Naomi/Natalya & Shayna Baszler in-ring segment: This segment was direct and to the point. The tag division itself for the women on Smackdown isn’t anything to get excited about but at least something is being done to showcase the titles post-WrestleMania thus far. There’s no reason that these four women can’t have a good run of singles and tag matches as this feud develops and I am actually looking forward to seeing where they go with it right now.

Raquel Rodriguez: Nothing special here with the spotlight on her but at least it seems like they’re trying to rebuild what was once a very good women’s division in WWE. There is depth in the division on both Raw and Smackdown but a lot of it has been sitting back in catering. Here’s hoping that they continue to try to rebuild the division. The focuses on Rodriguez and Lacey Evans lately have given me some renewed hope for this.

Lacey Evans Story – Chapter 3: Another fine and chapter to the Evans story. I still feel like this has some legs to it and will continue for one or maybe even two more weeks so we can get the full story on how Evans overcame her brutal upbringing, went into the service, and made her way to WWE.

Overall show: This was mostly an enjoyable episode of Smackdown even if some of what is below had me groaning. Some things that haven’t been addressed though? Are we not getting Roman Reigns and Shinsuke Nakamura at Backlash? There’s been no mention of their last interaction just two weeks ago. Seeds seem to be planted linking Roman to Drew McIntyre tonight but some of these big stories will have to be held off. Starting in July, WWE has 4 huge stadium shows in 4 consecutive months starting with Money in the Bank (Las Vegas), SummerSlam (Nashville), the UK stadium show, and the Saudi Arabia show. Right now, there’s one World Champion in WWE. Of course, things can always change. But, as it stands, that’s four HUGE shows in four straight months so the booking for the summer is going to be interesting to pay attention to. A short feud with Roman and Nakamura could be a placeholder but it’s intriguing that nothing has been mentioned on TV the past few weeks concerning these two.

Misses

Contract Signing with Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey: The opening to Smackdown felt flat and forced. So now, Drew Gulak is auditioning to be Adam Pearce’s assistant rather than being an announcer? To think, a few short years ago Bryan Danielson (fka Daniel Bryan) had Gulak in a similar type role with him as he does now with Wheeler Yuta. This feels beneath someone with the talents of Gulak. That aside, this felt like a standard WWE contract signing segment that brought nothing new to the feud and it’s obvious that Rousey and Flair are treading water right now as we push towards Backlash.

Madcap Moss vs. Angel Garza: As far as this one goes, they’re doing some good things with Moss but I still can’t believe that he hasn’t shredded the bad ring gear and dropped the awful “bad jokes” gimmick. This won’t get him over as a babyface like they’re hoping. So far the only endearing thing about him is that he left the side of Happy Corbin. I can’t give this a hit because if the feud between Moss and Corbin is also going to be centered around the idea that Corbin stole the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal Trophy then I’m just not interested. The way I see this trophy is that it’s like The Stanley Cup. The current winner has their name etched on the trophy and it’s not like Moss owns the trophy. So, what is Corbin really stealing? A trophy that belongs to WWE and has names etched on it? Moss doesn’t even come out with the trophy. It’s just there when here arrives. I was happy to see these two split up and I knew a feud was inevitable but I’m not sure I’m a fan of what route it seems to be going down.

Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn (Lumberjack Match): Was this a first for a Lumberjack Match? Is this the first time ever that there’s been a no-contest/count out in this type of match in the history of it? I’m sure someone has that answer but I surely don’t. I know WWE has largely killed off the cage gimmick because it’s supposed to keep everyone out and lock those inside. That hardly ever happens anymore. But, it seems that they found a way to also hurt the gimmick behind the Lumberjack Match. The one small silver lining that I can take out of this whole ordeal is that the Sami Zayn and Roman Reigns conversation could be planting the seed for the long awaited feud between McIntyre and Reigns once Drew presumably ends his post-WrestleMania feud with Sami.

Tony Donofrio is a Contributor for PWTorch.com. You can contact Tony at TonyDonofrio@icloud.com and follow him on Twitter @TonyDonofrio.

CATCH-UP: 4/22 WWE SMACKDOWN TV RESULTS: McDonald’s “alt perspective” report on Riddle-Jey Uso, McIntyre-Zayn Lumberjack Match, Charlotte-Rousey contract signing, Moss-Garza