SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
SAMI ZAYN CELEBRATION PROMO – HIT
This gets a Hit because of what it sets up. Although it did start a bit odd, as the fans didn’t really know how to respond to Sami. On one hand, they were clearly happy for him for his long-awaited WWE Championship win; on the other hand, he has been playing a whiny heel for the past few months (fantastically, by the way), so what you got was a mixture of cheers and boos with a light “You deserve it!” chant.
I am happy Sami seems to be sticking with his heel character, and he did a good job of pointing out that fans had been booing him and shouting out his “ride or die” fanbase. It reminded me a bit of Bret Hart’s early heel tendencies in 1997, and Sami was great here again.
Cody Rhodes’s interruption was expected, but in all honesty, I didn’t expect Jey Uso. Still, this did end up making sense, as they got the main event no. 1 contender match set up from here.
CHARLOTTE FLAIR & CHELSEA GREEN & TIFFANY STRATTON vs. JADE GARGILL & B-FAB & MICHIN – MISS
Basic six-woman tag match to progress storylines. The problem with watching so many great NXT women’s matches recently is that the main roster TV matches don’t compare favorably.
We seem to be heading towards Charlotte vs. Jade at SummerSlam, and, with two nights of matches needed, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Chelsea Green & Tiffany Stratton vs. B-Fab & Michin on the card too.
Speaking of Chelsea Green, she was once again clearly the most popular wrestler in the match. I do wonder if it’s even crossing the mind of the SmackDown creative team to move her up the card now that they are settled on having her as a face character. Yes, her current goofy character doesn’t scream main event, but with growing fan support, I wouldn’t rule it out.
NICK ALDIS & GUNTHER CONFRONTATION RECAP – HIT
This was just a quick recap of what happened at Night Of Champions following the WWE Championship match, but I wanted to mention it. I thought this was a great segment when I saw it, a level of realism that isn’t seen enough on WWE programming. Both Nick Aldis and Gunther were really good, and you believed the hostility. More of this, please!
SAMI ZAYN BACKSTAGE WITH JOHNNY GARGANO – MISS
Just a short segment, but I wish they wouldn’t have Sami doing these little comedy bits with whatever the heck Gargano is at the minute. Especially now that he’s the champion, it makes it even more beneath him. This may well end up with Johnny Garagano assisting Sami in some way, but it’s a bit jarring going from heated promo confrontations against the top contenders to these little comedy routines. Seems out of place.
REY FENIX vs. EL HIJO DEL VIKINGO – AAA Cruiserweight Title match – HIT
Good match, but it would have been even better with a bit more time. I am happy that Rey Fenix is getting more of a focus. It’s clear that the AAA Cruiserweight title matches have replaced the US Championship open challenges as the top-quality matches on the program. I’m not saying these are WCW Nitro Cruiserweight-level matches yet, but if they stick with this, they could have something unique for SmackDown.
TRICK WILLIAMS PROMO – MISS
As mentioned above, the AAA Cruiserweight Title matches have replaced the US Championship open challenges for the quality in-ring section of the program, and that’s largely due to Trick Williams being champion. He’s fine as an in-ring wrestler, but at this stage, it’s clear his strength is his charisma, so the shift makes sense.
Now, the issues I am starting to have with his character are mostly down to Lil Yachty. It was fun for a little while, but he is kind of annoying. It now feels like WWE is so happy to have this man involved that they are shoehorning him into Trick’s presentation. I don’t think he needs him. It’s actually muddying the waters on what Trick’s character now is.
In this very segment, Lil Yachty acted like a heel, an annoying manager, and Trick struck popular face wrestler Carmelo Hayes with a cheap shot. Not good and just more confusion for the fans.
BRIE BELLA vs. LAINEY REID – MISS
At only three minutes, you can’t really say this was good. This was just to set up a Women’s Tag Team Championship match at SNME. Basic stuff.
DAMIEN PRIEST & R-TRUTH – VIKING RAIDERS BACKSTAGE SEGMENT – MISS
It sums up where the WWE Tag Team Championship status is when the setup to a title vs. title match was based around hot dogs. This was just awful.
If the rumors of WWE wanting to rebuild the tag division are true, this is a bizarre way of starting it. Upcoming free agent tag teams (I’m looking at you, FTR) won’t exactly be salivating about career prospects here.
CODY RHODES vs. JEY USO – Number 1 contenders match for the Undisputed WWE Championship on Raw – HIT
Marginal hit. The match was okay, but you could tell the crowd was a bit burnt out, both from the double-taping and the continued problem of two faces against each other, which affected the “big match” aura. Jey eats another clean loss, so it’s clear where he stands now. The main reason for the “Hit” here is what this sets up. It points to title ramifications and a potential blockbuster Raw on Monday.
Of course, Raw takes place in Chicago, and with SummerSlam now under a month away, a certain CM Punk is surely going to have a major role on Monday. The dreamers amongst us can imagine Punk returning to cost Cody to set up their match. But a heel turn in Chicago for Punk is nigh on impossible. A potential Cody vs. Punk match is huge, but with no heel-face dynamic, would it be as big as it could be? We shall see what takes place on Monday.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Although a taped show, the switch to 2 hours made it much easier to watch.
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