{"id":106594,"date":"2020-10-18T15:07:12","date_gmt":"2020-10-18T20:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=106594"},"modified":"2020-10-18T15:07:12","modified_gmt":"2020-10-18T20:07:12","slug":"wwe-smackdown-hits-misses-10-18-the-spread-eagle-big-e-extinguishes-hope-he-can-get-serious-enough-to-be-a-top-act-lars-misses-season-premiere-nonsense-bianca-rising-banks-shines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/10\/18\/wwe-smackdown-hits-misses-10-18-the-spread-eagle-big-e-extinguishes-hope-he-can-get-serious-enough-to-be-a-top-act-lars-misses-season-premiere-nonsense-bianca-rising-banks-shines\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE SMACKDOWN HITS &#038; MISSES 10\/18: The spread eagle Big E extinguishes hope he can get serious enough to be a top act, Lars misses, Season Premiere nonsense, Bianca rising, Banks shines"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-2222828129\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><h3>HITS<\/h3>\n<p><strong>\u2022Eye on the New Roster<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Smackdown has been in desperate need of a strong upper midcard, and the infusion of Seth Rollins, Murphy, the Mysterios and a returning Daniel Bryan are just what the doctor ordered.\u00a0 As refreshing as the segment featuring them all was, there are still problems.\u00a0 The breakup of Seth Rollins and Murphy was fast tracked at too quick of a pace, and Rollins is in desperate need of new followers to give his character any credibility.\u00a0 Daniel Bryan remains the most likable wrestler in the world, and it is always a joy to have him back in the mix. \u00a0 Its a sad day when Rey Mysterio not shaking the hand of one of the men responsible for his missing eye is a continuity win.\u00a0 Steps are going to need to be taken to not have this program just feel like a Raw transplant, but in general, this was a high point for me.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2022Counter Signed \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Bayley and Sasha Banks both typically fluctuate freely between impassioned promos and stiff line reading.\u00a0 In general when either one of them grabs a mic, it is a \u2018hope for the best\u2019 moment.\u00a0 Through their entire current program, though, we are seeing the best of both rise up, and Sasha in particular is making it a clear point to present herself as a star.\u00a0 From new wardrobe choices to a really focused glare, Banks continues to excel and is showing the best version of herself.\u00a0 Bayley had one of her best segments as a heel ever and has found her \u201cKaren\u201d character at just the right time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2022Big Fight Feel, Mixed Bag Ending<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For the very first time, I was excited for a Roman Reigns\/Braun Strowman match.\u00a0 Chalk it up to the visual transformation of Strowman paired with the next level work of Roman Reigns and this finally felt like a fresh enough match for which to look forward.\u00a0 Much of that good will evaporated as WWE worked overtime to spread the match out over the course of a half hour and made Reigns look too vulnerable than he should &#8211; even if it was a feeder for the low-blow.\u00a0 Jey hardly looked like a hero by not stopping the attack on Braun Strowman, but his visceral attack on Reigns was a brief moment of beauty. Overall a solid continuation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2022Bianca Rising<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Even on the darkest days, the WWE video production team always pulls through.\u00a0 The Bianca Belair promo in particular this week was fantastic in giving her a star style launch bad for her Smackdown debut.\u00a0 I hope she is not paired with Street Profits despite sharing the same brand.\u00a0 Belair simply has too high of an upside and would be a brilliant opposition to Sasha Banks if introduced correctly.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1933369270\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<h3>MISSES<\/h3>\n<p><strong>\u2022New Season, New Problems<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>What exactly was the purpose of branding this as a season premiere? Everything about the intro to the show that was within this theme was corny from the cheesy acting of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon to the full roster being on the stage leading to the usual chaotic brawl that makes everyone look weak.\u00a0 Smackdown has been at its best without all the frills that has weakened most WWE shows.\u00a0 Here\u2019s hoping that now that the draft and this \u2018premiere\u2019 are past us, that the feeling normalcy that was trending towards greatness returns.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2022Lazy Lars Booking<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Last week I thought Lars Sullivan was being given his best chance for success with his return in the Thunderdome.\u00a0 This week he got off to exactly the start I would not want for him. By going against Jeff Hardy, there is too obvious of an intent of recapturing the magic of the debuting Brock Lesnar, but Lars Sullivan is no Brock Lesnar.\u00a0 While as a performer Sullivan looked tough enough, his name and trucks are lame, and missing high flying moves is unnecessary for his debut.\u00a0 Hardy also has been on an upswing, so this all felt like a waste when there are plenty of others that could have served as first-win fodder for Lars Sullivan.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2022End of Days<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>All hope for Big E was DOA the moment he was spread eagle in the opening segment.\u00a0 This would\u2019ve been a perfect opportunity to reintroduce Big E with the seriousness that he deserves and quite frankly requires for this singles run to take off.\u00a0 New Day always works as a trio, and having been apart recently made this time together more exciting than it probably should\u2019ve if the next chapter is ready to begin.\u00a0 Combine that with the nostalgia of The Bar teaming up again and merging for one night with Nakamura in the Cesaro tag teams, and the Big E fresh start is further away from where it should be than imaginable.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>RECOMMENDED: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/10\/16\/leclairs-wwe-smackdown-report-10-16-alt-perspective-detailed-coverage-of-reigns-vs-strowman-hardy-vs-sullivan-new-days-farewell-more\/\">LECLAIR\u2019S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 10\/16: Alt perspective, detailed coverage of Reigns vs. Strowman, Hardy vs. Sullivan, New Day\u2019s farewell, more<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2861817042\"><div id=\"pwtor-3561625789\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>HITS \u2022Eye on the New Roster Smackdown has been in desperate need of a strong upper midcard, and the infusion of Seth Rollins, Murphy, the Mysterios and a returning Daniel Bryan are just what the <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/10\/18\/wwe-smackdown-hits-misses-10-18-the-spread-eagle-big-e-extinguishes-hope-he-can-get-serious-enough-to-be-a-top-act-lars-misses-season-premiere-nonsense-bianca-rising-banks-shines\/\" title=\"WWE SMACKDOWN HITS &#038; MISSES 10\/18: The spread eagle Big E extinguishes hope he can get serious enough to be a top act, Lars misses, Season Premiere nonsense, Bianca rising, Banks shines\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44458,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,28,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-specialists_hitsandmisses","category-specialists"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2017\/07\/StrowmanBraunTB_3x2_600.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106594"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106594\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106595,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106594\/revisions\/106595"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}