{"id":123120,"date":"2021-07-17T20:44:38","date_gmt":"2021-07-18T01:44:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=123120"},"modified":"2021-07-17T20:44:38","modified_gmt":"2021-07-18T01:44:38","slug":"wwe-smackdown-hits-misses-7-16-new-era-kicks-off-with-snme-feel-finally-finns-time-guest-commentary-woes-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2021\/07\/17\/wwe-smackdown-hits-misses-7-16-new-era-kicks-off-with-snme-feel-finally-finns-time-guest-commentary-woes-more\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE SMACKDOWN HITS &#038; MISSES 7\/16: New era kicks off with SNME feel, finally Finn&#8217;s time, guest commentary woes, more"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-18581142\" 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>Saturday Night\u2019s Main Event\u2026on Friday<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The formatting of the show gave me flashbacks to the old Saturday Night\u2019s Main Events with the main event match taking place in the first segment. It was absolutely the right move to start off with the six man tag to have Edge, Roman Reigns, and company benefit the most from the electric crowd. This felt like the ushering in of a new era in WWE even if it featured the familiar faces of decades worth of shows. The match itself was fun and did more for anyone wanting to see Edge vs. Roman Reigns than anything else since Edge\u2019s first return.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Finally Finn\u2019s Time<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Finn Balor is a total star. His time away in NXT was a great break for him from the main roster to rewrite the narrative of his career trajectory. Balor was presented as a big deal here opposite the always wonderful Sami Zayn. Here\u2019s hoping this is the start of a spectacular second act.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A Little Vince Goes a Long Way<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Six words from Vince is still more important than any twenty minute promo in the WWE. Vince\u2019s appearance was special for the live crowd and even for the fans at home as it makes a show feel more important than the typical.<\/p>\n<p><strong>People\u2019s Champion<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t think anyone thought Carmella had a shot at walking away as Women\u2019s Champion, but her match with Bianca Belair was certainly a \u2018moment\u2019. The crowd heat especially added to this match, and it felt like a main event for any arena regardless of gender. Belair appears to have fully won over the live crowd during her time as champion in the Thunderdome.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-409180954\" 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>Finale Four Way<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It may have been the last match, but it wasn\u2019t the main event. With that said, after a barrage of commercial breaks, the four way did a good job of closing the show with a big ladder spot from Kevin Owens. I would say it is now unlikelier than ever that Seth Rollins will not be winning Money in the Bank due to his big win tonight\u2026.or maybe his hideous suit from earlier in the show.<\/p>\n<h3>Misses<\/h3>\n<p><strong>New Set, Old Look<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The new set is big, that much is fore sure. I actually would\u2019ve preferred a much smaller set and a re-emphasis on the audience as a near 360 focal point of the arena. None of these updated sets seem all that much different than the ones before them and this could\u2019ve been an opportunity to really reign that in.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Guest Commentary Woes<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>No amount of fan presence could drown out the awfulness of Zelina and Liv on commentary during the women\u2019s tag match. It was one of the most annoying moments of nearly any WWE show I\u2019ve ever seen. Pair that with a simply serviceable match in the ring, and this was one of the weaker elements of the entire show.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sad Tale of Cesaro<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>No matter how much the Alpha Academy act is being pushed, the idea that Cesaro could not get a win over Otis shows just how far he has fallen. You could almost feel Cesaro\u2019s deflation from the moment of his entrance and the rest of the segment just felt sad from that point on.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-2303413635\" 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\/07\/16\/7-9-wwe-smackdown-tv-results-kellers-report-on-first-post-thunderdome-show-in-houston-with-reigns-usos-vs-edge-rey-dominik-belair-vs-carmella-for-womens-title\/\">7\/9 WWE SMACKDOWN TV RESULTS: Keller\u2019s report on first post-Thunderdome show in Houston with Reigns &amp; Usos vs. Edge &amp; Rey &amp; Dominik, Belair vs. Carmella for Women\u2019s Title<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2197457205\"><div id=\"pwtor-3260450928\"><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 Saturday Night\u2019s Main Event\u2026on Friday The formatting of the show gave me flashbacks to the old Saturday Night\u2019s Main Events with the main event match taking place in the first segment. It was absolutely <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2021\/07\/17\/wwe-smackdown-hits-misses-7-16-new-era-kicks-off-with-snme-feel-finally-finns-time-guest-commentary-woes-more\/\" title=\"WWE SMACKDOWN HITS &#038; MISSES 7\/16: New era kicks off with SNME feel, finally Finn&#8217;s time, guest commentary woes, more\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":28374,"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-123120","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\/2016\/08\/FinnBalor_3x2NXTHouston.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123120","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=123120"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":123122,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123120\/revisions\/123122"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}