{"id":121478,"date":"2021-06-19T12:56:50","date_gmt":"2021-06-19T17:56:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=121478"},"modified":"2021-06-19T12:56:50","modified_gmt":"2021-06-19T17:56:50","slug":"wwe-smackdown-hits-misses-6-18-early-trip-to-hell-rey-thrives-belairs-bullies-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2021\/06\/19\/wwe-smackdown-hits-misses-6-18-early-trip-to-hell-rey-thrives-belairs-bullies-more\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE SMACKDOWN HITS &#038; MISSES 6\/18: Early trip to hell, Rey thrives, Belair&#8217;s bullies, more"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-2691176950\" 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>Early Trip to Hell<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The reasoning for the rushed battle between Roman Reigns and Rey Mysterio might be suspect, but the match itself was a captivating and satisfying one that felt like a special Smackdown main event. Mysterio was the absolute perfect opponent for Reigns at this point in his run, and the trifecta of the throw against cage, the reverse guillotine, and the taunting \u201cHappy Father\u2019s Day\u201d was a spectacular show-closing finale.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2026and a Late Trip Too<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The announcement of the battle of Bianca Belair and Bayley being moved to an actual cell match was unexpected, but oddly fitting. Their feud has run a long course at this point, and the wrath Bayley showed tonight fit the tone and tenor of a Hell in a Cell battle. Bianca isn\u2019t doing nearly as well (more on that later), but this is a real opportunity for the champion to show more toughness than she has previously.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rey<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Mysterio\u2019s show opening promo was possibly the best of his career in WWE and really set the importance of the main event to a much higher plateau. Rey has managed to survive some of the worst booking possible to still sit comfortably at the top of the main event heap when needed. Tonight\u2019s promo showed why he maintains that resilience.<\/p>\n<p><strong>King-Shasha<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sure, everything involved in the clash for the crown was corny, but it was fun to see Nakamura get a definitive win and to celebrate with his crown at the end. Hopefully this is the start of a new day for Nakamura, and Corbin as well for that matter, that is a less cartoonish take on the king gimmick.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-2836486894\" 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<p><strong>Fight Forever, and Ever, and Ever<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens have seemingly been in battle for a lifetime, but the magnetic chemistry they showed tonight proves exactly why they are lifetime rivals. Zayn was at his absolutely best gloating at Owens\u2019 loss and Owens himself was excellent demanding his match. As usual another hit for two men who continue to outperform all around them.<\/p>\n<h3>Misses<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Belair\u2019s Bullies<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Where the heck did the tale of Bianca\u2019s bullies come from? It\u2019s a little hard to drum up sympathy for someone who tells anyone that will listen that they are the best at everything they do. This felt like a heavy handed way of reinstating sympathy on a character who has been trending unsympathetic for too long, and it just doesn\u2019t ring true.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Azeez\u2019s Attire<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I hate that Azeez wrestled in his military jacket. It was clunky, corny, and entire unnecessary. He also looked like he was going to get his arm stuck in between the cords on the jacket, so this is my plea to drop that look right away please.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cesaro\u2019s Push and Miss<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Cesaro\u2019s lack of spark to his promos extended this week with a weak push of Seth Rollins to close his segment. There is so much to debate about what exactly has gone wrong with Cesaro, but it\u2019s performances like this that make it pretty clear that much of the failure falls directly at his own feet.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-203330705\" 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>CATCH-UP:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2021\/06\/18\/6-18-wwe-smackdown-tv-results-kellers-report-on-reigns-vs-rey-mysterio-in-a-hell-in-a-cell-match\/\">6\/18 WWE SMACKDOWN TV RESULTS: Keller\u2019s report on Reigns vs. Rey in a Hell in a Cell match, Big E &amp; Owens vs. Crews &amp; Azeez, Otis vs. Dawkins, Shinsuke vs. Corbin for the Crown<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2516605785\"><div id=\"pwtor-3525901463\"><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 Early Trip to Hell The reasoning for the rushed battle between Roman Reigns and Rey Mysterio might be suspect, but the match itself was a captivating and satisfying one that felt like a special <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2021\/06\/19\/wwe-smackdown-hits-misses-6-18-early-trip-to-hell-rey-thrives-belairs-bullies-more\/\" title=\"WWE SMACKDOWN HITS &#038; MISSES 6\/18: Early trip to hell, Rey thrives, Belair&#8217;s bullies, more\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":61011,"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":[72,71,117],"class_list":["post-121478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-specialists_hitsandmisses","category-specialists","tag-smackdown","tag-wwe","tag-wwe-smackdown"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2018\/06\/MysterioReyArt_3x2_600.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121478","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\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121478"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121478\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":121481,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121478\/revisions\/121481"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}