WWE SMACKDOWN HITS & MISSES 3/19: Less Reginald, more structure, Intercontinental adventure, Rollins Coaster, more

Hits

A- for Effort

Changing up the ring gear for Edge might seem like a minor point, but it is part of a thread of behavior that indicates that there is a recognition that something isn’t quite working with the WrestleMania challenger and an effort is being made. This has included changing up the overall look of the performer, keeping him off some weeks, and being sensitive to him responding to Daniel Bryan in a way that builds him up as having earned this spot. Edge’s in-ring performance against Jey Uso was good enough to be fine, but the real measure of where everything stands will be the navigation of all things Daniel Bryan starting at Fastlane. I’m still not convinced that the confidence is there for Edge to carry his weight in the WrestleMania main event.

Less Reginald, More Structure

The Smackdown women’s division has been inconsistent lately, but the bright spot has been that the collective grouping of Sasha Banks, Bianca Belair, Nia Jax, and Shayna Baszler have felt at a higher level than the rest of the division and thus, more important. This week’s Reginald-less segments accomplished a good amount in setting up pieces for Fastlane and WrestleMania and overall felt like a cleaner build to both. I’m glad that Baszler didn’t suffer another loss here and it is worth noting that in many ways Jax and Baszler have surprisingly risen to be a more entertaining duo this season than the Belair/Banks combo. Natalya and Tamina serving as spoilers, though, just came across as a half-hearted attempt to make an effort with something that will never happen.

Intercontinental Adventure

It was so good to see Big E maintain a serious, but not over-the-top, demeanor through the split screen promo with Apollo Crews. It felt like we were watching a performer that knew he was under pressure to not be outclassed by another and Big E was strong in expressing his feelings in his face. There are times when he enters too much into the comic (which Crews himself needs to be mindful of), but this was a nicely coordinated segment that actually has created a level of importance for the Intercontinental championship heading into Fastlane.

Back to the Future

I don’t care how many times we’ve seen it, if we can get a fully realized WrestleMania match with Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens I will be thrilled. That was a Helluva Kick, for sure.

Misses

Rollins Coaster

This journey on the Seth Rollins coaster is a wild, unsatisfying one that has somehow led to me dreading one of the best performers in all of WWE showing up on my screen. From the awful costuming to the overly measured promos, Rollins is just being so badly weakened week-in and week-out. Ironically, it’s Shinsuke Nakamura who is coming out of of this mid-card program with Cesaro looking the strongest. There is a real opportunity here for Nakamura to springboard into being an opponent for Roman Reigns down the line if Cesaro continues to under perform on the mic and Rollins continues his descent down the Smackdown ladder.

Copy and Paste

I could copy and paste nearly my identical review of the tag team division on a weekly basis and it would pretty much always work. Nothing ever seems to matter and the wins keep getting traded in a way that has everyone involved just treading water. There is so much talent built into the Smackdown tag division right now, but it’s passionless despite the efforts of all involved to over-perform on the content they are given. Imagine ranking the tag teams on Smackdown right now. They would all simultaneously be numbers one and four. That tells you all you need to know about what it is accomplishing.

Call in the Enforcement

We need more Paul Heyman these days to enhance the main event program. I’m sorry, but despite the improvements to Edge, something major is off. Heyman is perhaps the only person that can add the necessary life support to making the Edge and Roman Reigns (and perhaps Daniel Bryan) program anything more than a simultaneous holding spot for Reigns and a Daniel Bryan weekly outclassing of Edge. We need more story, we need more motivation, we need more connection. We need more Heyman.

Hulk Hogan

The idea of pairing Hulk Hogan with Titus O’Neil for the WrestleMania hosting roles is transparent and unacceptable. Putting the responsibility on O’Neil to make Hogan’s presence okay is an unfair ask and parading Hogan out there as anything more than a Hall of Fame presenter is unnecessary. He seemly fumbles on the mic each time he’s given one and if you can take his troubled history out of the equation momentarily, there are just better people for this role. Who is the best option to be the Babe Ruth of the WWE and the king of years past? Steve Austin, of course.

NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S SMACKDOWN HITS & MISSES: WWE SMACKDOWN HITS & MISSES 3/12: Main event MVP Daniel Bryan, a lost Edge, and identity crisis for Rollins