PARKS’S TAKE: Noting how well the Chelsea Green-Nick Aldis-Gunther segment worked and why it should be a template for more

The opening segment of Smackdown this past Friday has garnered almost universal praise in all corners of the internet, a rare feat for something from WWE programming these days.

I concur with the sentiment that it was one of the best segments WWE has put on in a while. I mulled over what about it in particular worked for me before I finally realized it had to do with the fans in the arena. They were invested, emotionally, in what was happening because the characters were acting in a believable, relatable manner. It was clear who was the sympathetic character and who wasn’t. The crowd in the arena wasn’t just mindlessly reacting to catchphrases or verbal cues. They LIKE Chelsea Green so they WANTED her to stay champion.

But they were conflicted: They understood where Smackdown General Manager Nick Aldis was coming from. Aldis’s track record as GM has been one that calls it down the middle. Fans know he’s not there to be a jerk and take the title from Green just because. His performance against Gunther at Summerslam and the introduction of his family into the post-match scene allowed fans to be even more torn here, especially when Green brought that up in her promo.

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Then there was Gunther, the mean jerk bully who doesn’t have an ounce of likability in him. Even if he backdoors into making a good point, it’s HOW he makes that point that rubs people the wrong way. There were no shades of gray here, no questioning anyone’s motives. It was clear-cut and the fans responded accordingly. Hopefully WWE was listening as they continue to trek forward in this era where segments – and characters – like this are becoming more and more rare.

(Read Greg Parks’s feature-length weekly columns in the PWTorch Newsletter with a paper copy subscription or online VIP membership. He also reads his feature columns for his VIP-exclusive “Greg Parks Outloud!” podcast. He has contributed to PWTorch for over two decades.)