WWE SMACKDOWN HITS & MISSES (10/27): Reigns-LA Knight contract signing, Jimmy Uso’s interaction with Reigns, Cena’s acting, Dragon Lee vs. Cedric, more

HITS

Opening Segment: Hit

A typical contract singing with everyone playing their parts well, but the majority of this Hit goes to the slight tweak to Roman’s entrance that I don’t think I can ever recall seeing before, with Roman’s music being cut, followed by the total walk-by blowoff by L.A. Knight walking past him. Knight taking the Head of the Table seat was unique, as well. As much as I love arrogant Roman, flustered Roman is fun to watch, too

Street Profits vs. L.W.O.: Hit

The match was great with the talent involved (expect for the ending, more on that later), but a bigger Hit goes to The Profits finally ditching their old music in favor of new music to reflect their hell turn. Long overdue.

Jimmy Uso: Hit

Another week, another Hit for Jimmy! He’s become my guilty pleasure in The Bloodline. His continuance of “Yeet” and his ridiculous overuse of football terminology/slang (“I’m on injured reserve”) cracks me up every week.

Dragon Lee vs. Cedric Alexander: Hit

Please let this be a return to featuring Alexander on a regular basis. He is one of the most underutilized talents on the roster. I feel sorry for Dragon Lee, he just doesn’t seem to be connecting with the fans. I think matches like this help, as they were far more invested in him as the match went on. As I’ve said many times before, he would have benefited from weeks of vignettes prior to his debut.

L.A. Knight vs. Jimmy Uso: Minor Hit

The match was fine and entertaining, but there was never any question of its outcome

MISSES

Unified Tag Titles: Major Miss

Okay, so this slightly off topic, but PLEASE separate the titles again. There are too many great tag teams now on both brands that could benefit from having a set of titles for both brands. I’m hoping the Pierce/Aldis rivalry leads to a brand split of the tag titles.

Chelsea Green vs. Shotzi: Miss

I love Chelsea Green and her character and I like Shotzi, but this match didn’t click with me. I used to call Shotzi careless at times, as she always seemed to do moves that were borderline career-ending, but since she toned it down, her moves seem ‘robotic’. I don’t want to see her (or anyone get hurt), but it seems like dialing back has affected Shotzi’s style.

John Cena: Miss

Have I made it clear the past two weeks, that this version of Cena annoys me. He has gone from “pre-acting career” Cena, who always seemed to have a genuine sense of passion, but “acting career” Cena’s promos are like a “highlight reel” for an audition, seeing how many emotions he can channel in one moment in time. I liked his working with Heyman, though.

RECOMMENDED NEXT: WWE RAW HITS & MISSES (10/23): Too Much Judgment Day, Super Cody, Aldis visits Raw, Sami vs. Drew, Women’s Five-Way Contract Signing, Logan and Dom, more

OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: Baron Corbin on Pat McAfee, receiving death threats over a WWE angle with Becky Lynch, creating the End of Days finisher, retiring Kurt Angle