HITS

The Little Things: Cody signing autographs, A.J. Styles entering, and Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair entering. These things make the show and the stars appearing seem far more important.

Paul Heyman: Other than Paul Heyman messing up the word eligibility, Heyman declaring Roman withdrawing from the draft makes sense for the greater good of the draft and the shows. If Heyman says he’s intrigued, most of us should be. I liked this idea.

LWO vs LDF: A fine quick TV match and the angle afterward was pretty good. Carlito is best as a heel. It’s been that way since Ric Flair went nuts on him in that promo in 2007. The way Carlito works compared to the pace today, he is much better off in trios with Angel Garza and Humberto Carillo or in tags with Santos Escobar. This was cool.

Tiffany Stratton vs Naomi (w/Bayley): I think they’re doing a great job of getting Tiffany in the spotlight. I saw some people complain about them doing the same spot as last week; she moonsaulted both Bayley and Naomi two weeks in a row. I think that’s a great idea. She’s the least established of the three to the wider audience, so she needs all the spotlight she can get. A 50/50 match rarely helps anyone. Nia Jax getting drafted and attacking Bayley doesn’t add much to my personal interest, but at least they’ve got some challengers lined up for Bayley.

RKKO vs Bloodline: Randy Orton and Kevin Owens have a weird chemistry that I enjoy. I think this new version of the Bloodline has a LOOOONG way to go, but it’s hard to pick up after Roman Reigns. I thought they did well with their segments on this night. Solo’s acting was atrocious in the segment with Heyman, but I laughed out loud hearing Kevin Owens running up from behind before attacking. If they want Solo and Tama Tonga to get over as a strong unit, Randy and Kevin are the guys to do it. Would’ve been a miss if it was about Solo’s performance, but the whole thing I think is a Hit for building the immediate future.

MIDDLING

A.J. & Cody Contract Signing: Cody is a massive star, but there wasn’t much of a conflict coming into this signing. This segment did nothing to make more of a conflict heading into Cody’s first PLE defense. They respect each other. Yes, A.J. acted kind of heelish, but shook his hand still. I would’ve preferred at least an OC attack with Styles being confused to add at least some sort of intrigue. Slow build. Cody is always good, A.J. rarely disappoints, but that’s probably all we’re gonna get in this feud.

Bron Breakker: So, we spent a few months figuring out which show he’d sign to just for him to get drafted to the other one? Poor Cedric Alexander. This squash is really what they should be doing with Bron. Now that he’s settled on Raw (apparently), let’s hope he keeps smashing people for a bit before he gets thrown in the deep end.

The Draft: (More in Miss) Triple H having Cody join him was a little weird. I suppose it was to set up the Carmelo Hayes match, but why would an authority figure have the Smackdown Champion read the draft picks? Carmelo was fine with his promo but seemed a little stiff and nervous talking straight to Cody and Triple H. I don’t see him as a top guy anytime soon.

Cody vs. Carmelo: This was a fine match. I get the idea of putting the new star Carmelo Hayes in the main event against the top star Cody Rhodes. I just don’t think that was accomplished in the nine minutes they had to do it. Cody giving him props afterward was weird because that means Cody doesn’t watch NXT and doesn’t know Melo is a dastardly SOB. If the top star doesn’t keep track of NXT, we probably shouldn’t either. The Styles aftermath was nothing to write home about either. Styles almost attacked him, but Cody caught him in time. I don’t see that adding a bunch of intrigue to this feud.

Draft Cameos: It was nice to see Torrie, Michelle, Teddy, JBL and The Dudleys. Almost made it a miss because we didn’t get to hear Teddy’s theme song. JBL was obviously the highlight and the Dudley’s putting on the glasses was a nice touch.

Jade & Bianca-Kabuki Warriors: This was a fine standoff. There really isn’t much to say about it other than they all looked good. Seemed like a maintenance week for this feud and a transition to RKKO and Bloodline which is kind of disappointing if you’re a fan of these four women.

MISSES

NXT Presentation: This looked like a bunch of people thrown together for a high school graduation. It really devalues the importance of any of those guys or girls “moving up,” so to speak. The goal of NXT being a show close to the level of Raw or Smackdown took a step back with all these cutaways. Then again, if that isn’t their goal, mission accomplished here.

The Draft: I’ve heard since Friday the lameness of the Smackdown draft was on purpose and Raw is supposed to be when the good stuff really happens. I felt bad for the live audience here, though. They paid good money for their tickets and had to sit through all these draft announcements that almost meant nothing. They got Carmelo Hayes, but to be fair, the audience who watch NXT and buy tickets to a Smackdown in Cincinnati, Ohio aren’t the same. Most of the picks were just people staying on the brand they were on before which was a disappointment for those who sat through the two hours.

Final Testament attacking New Catch Republic: Could they have made Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate look more like useless geeks here? I couldn’t even tell it was them because the beatdown was so short and darkly lit. Karrion Kross did a fine promo and Scarlett looked good at least. Why am I looking forward to their tag match with AOP next week?

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