{"id":108088,"date":"2020-11-14T13:36:29","date_gmt":"2020-11-14T19:36:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=108088"},"modified":"2020-11-14T13:36:29","modified_gmt":"2020-11-14T19:36:29","slug":"wwe-smackdown-hits-misses-11-13-drew-confronts-reigns-carmella-comedown-big-es-push-downward-dolph-undertake-off-uso-rey-vs-seth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/11\/14\/wwe-smackdown-hits-misses-11-13-drew-confronts-reigns-carmella-comedown-big-es-push-downward-dolph-undertake-off-uso-rey-vs-seth\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE SMACKDOWN HITS &#038; MISSES 11\/13: Drew confronts Reigns, Carmella Comedown, Big E&#8217;s Push, Downward Dolph, Undertake-off, Uso, Rey vs. Seth"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-2390380487\" 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>\u2022Land of the Big Dog(s)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I cringed when I heard the opening bars of Drew McIntyre\u2019s music which instantly signified the further deterioration of the brand split.\u00a0 However, the combination of McIntyre and Roman Reigns felt like a big deal throughout the night, and in particular during the opening segment.\u00a0 While this could be a set up for a rushed Survivor Series change, I anticipate that it instead is a long foreshadow for WrestleMania. WWE has introduced WrestleMania storylines at this point in the past (see WrestleMania 35), so that would not be too far out of the realm of possibility. \u00a0 Having this clash coming up feels much more important today compared to 2019, with more compelling characters to match the talent.\u00a0 This was the best of McIntyre, and Roman\u2019s line about Smackdown being the show people watch might have been a little too on-the-nose right now.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2022Something Special Out of Something Ordinary<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Bonus overall points to the fact that it felt special to see Drew McIntyre face Jey Uso on Smackdown.\u00a0 That sentence would not have existed months ago, but it sincere tribute to the quality of effort put in to making Uso the rising star that he is.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2022End of an Era<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It feels like we\u2019ve been watching the war between the Mysterio Family and Seth Rollins since the beginning of time, but last night did feel like a suitable conclusion.\u00a0 The dovetailing of the tribute to Eddie was a nice touch, and the splintering storylines involving Murphy and Aalyah feel like natural progressions.\u00a0 It was an interesting decision to wrap up the program on Smackdown rather than a major Sunday night show, but with the Survivor Series format providing a hinderance as well as what feels like a true commitment to keep Smackdown as much-watch, this felt like a good fit.\u00a0 Extra points for what appears to be the end of the blinding of Rey Mysterio for good.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2022Best in Show<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There is such a higher level of quality right now on Smackdown that seems to raising even the smallest of storylines to enjoyable levels.\u00a0 Sami Zayn, for instance, as part of a lesser product would seem to be a hugely missed opportunity , but here feels like a long term character worth watching because so many others along the way are also being painted with those long stroke brushes.\u00a0 There are certainly still misses to be found, but the mixture of long, good matches with compelling serial storytelling shows a crew that is prepped for the long haul.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-483062576\" 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>\u2022Carmella Comedown<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It seemed obvious that there would be a quality comedown as Sasha shifted her focus from Bayley to Carmella, but I\u2019m not sure I was prepared for how drastic of a fall we\u2019d see off the bat.\u00a0 Carmella does not move with confidence and experience with the best in the roster and feels every bit of a b-level replacement to Bayley.\u00a0 The obnoxious costuming and lame move set do nothing to help the situation.\u00a0 I think the best case scenario is for Sasha to have a quick, decisive win in this program and then Carmella can move to add sizzle to a midcard act as a valet that wrestles on special occasions.\u00a0 That seems to be a much better fit for a woman that commands attention, but is slotted in a role where she won\u2019t succeed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2022Downward Dolph<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The thing with Dolph Ziggler that is most unbelievable is that you could realistically watch him on this week\u2019s episode and not know what year or decade it is because he has been so inconsistency booked for so long.\u00a0 This week\u2019s loss to Otis was just another deck chair thrown on a cruise ship of misdirection.\u00a0 I very much like that Ziggler and Roode have changed up their look but if tonight was an indication, they are on a downward journey and fast.\u00a0 Otis is a fine side piece to the roster.\u00a0 Pleasant enough to watch, but not really someone to invest in.\u00a0 With that in mind, if you do not have the time to give him a win that won\u2019t harm his opponent, don\u2019t book it period.\u00a0 Poor Dolph&#8230;.again.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2022Big E.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>So this big push we all expected for Big E&#8230; where exactly is it?\u00a0 Battling one liners with Street Profits seems like a far away place from where it looked like things were heading about a month ago.\u00a0 And why is he still wearing the neon tights when he\u2019s not even wresting?\u00a0 Where did the good will of his hard hitting battle with Sheamus a few weeks ago go?\u00a0 The hope of Big E being a rising knight against Roman Reigns seems to be reducing by the day, and even if he does fill that slot, it will be after months of mismanagement.\u00a0 Not exactly the best way to start a big run.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2022Undertake-off<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Undertaker is certainly one of the most beloved performers in the history of the business, but this is starting to resemble the Cher Farewell Tour.\u00a0 A surprise pop-up tribute at Survivor Series was likely never a consideration, but I think an approach that steered away from the natural inclination to say \u201cAgain!?!\u201d at the final farewell would be more fitting for a man that deserves more than an eye roll at this point in his career.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3579706684\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>RECOMMENDED:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/11\/13\/leclairs-wwe-smackdown-report-11-13-alt-perspective-detailed-coverage-of-rollins-mysterios-final-chapter-zayn-vs-crews-more\/\">LECLAIR\u2019S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 11\/13: Alt-perspective, detailed coverage of Rollins vs. Mysterio in \u201cFinal Chapter\u201d, Survivor Series developments, more<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-1249098189\"><div id=\"pwtor-129220587\"><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 \u2022Land of the Big Dog(s) I cringed when I heard the opening bars of Drew McIntyre\u2019s music which instantly signified the further deterioration of the brand split.\u00a0 However, the combination of McIntyre and Roman <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/11\/14\/wwe-smackdown-hits-misses-11-13-drew-confronts-reigns-carmella-comedown-big-es-push-downward-dolph-undertake-off-uso-rey-vs-seth\/\" title=\"WWE SMACKDOWN HITS &#038; MISSES 11\/13: Drew confronts Reigns, Carmella Comedown, Big E&#8217;s Push, Downward Dolph, Undertake-off, Uso, Rey vs. Seth\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5548,"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-108088","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\/2015\/12\/ZigglerDolphGG_3x2_600.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108088","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=108088"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108088\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108089,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108088\/revisions\/108089"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}