{"id":140421,"date":"2022-05-30T16:59:50","date_gmt":"2022-05-30T21:59:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=140421"},"modified":"2022-05-30T16:59:50","modified_gmt":"2022-05-30T21:59:50","slug":"wwe-smackdown-hits-and-misses-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2022\/05\/30\/wwe-smackdown-hits-and-misses-3\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE SMACKDOWN HITS &#038; MISSES 5\/27: Overall show a hit, Max Dupri angle optimism, more"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-124546845\" 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><p><strong>WWE SMACKDOWN HITS &amp; MISSES<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>Hits<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Opening Segment\/Usos in-ring promo with challenge from Shinsuke Nakamura and Riddle:<\/strong> The Usos thanking the fans and then turning right back on them was a tremendously fun bait and switch! For a brief moment I did wonder if they were attempting a babyface turn but kept waiting for the switch. Fortunately, it did come because it was a fun moment. Connecting the dots with Riddle and Nakamura both losing a partner to injuries via the Usos was a nice touch when it came to the challenge as well.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Raquel Rodriguez &amp; Ronda Rousey vs. Natalya &amp; Shayna Baszler:<\/strong> The finish to the not worth mentioning Rodriguez vs. Rousey match was heavily teased with backstage segments lead by Shotzi agitating Natalya &amp; Baszler. The match itself was fine enough and the women all worked hard. With Baszler &amp; Rousey now being a bit directionless due to the lack of Women\u2019s Tag Titles, I wouldn\u2019t be surprised to see these four women end up in a four-way for the Women\u2019s Smackdown Title. I\u2019m still hoping that the overly smiley Rodriguez will turn heel as I\u2019m sure not I\u2019m quite a fan of her babyface work even going back to when it was tried on NXT.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Los Letharios vs Jinder Mahal &amp; Shanky:<\/strong> Maybe I\u2019m being optimistic this week but this was a \u201cfine, little match.\u201d If WWE respected their tag division beyond the teams that were challenging for the titles, both of these teams would be a good fit for the division. Unfortunately, this seems to be used more as a vehicle for Jinder and Shanky breaking up and Los Letharios are used as a vehicle to get other acts over continuously rather than being pushed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Max Dupri:<\/strong> I missed this last week so here goes. I don\u2019t hate the name for the former LA Knight (I actually like it better than the name LA Knight). I\u2019m curious to see what Dupri can do on the main roster. He\u2019s always been a solid talker even back to his TNA\/Impact days. I\u2019m playing \u201cwait and see\u201d on this but am optimistic.<\/p>\n<p><strong>KO Show w\/ Sami Zayn:<\/strong> It\u2019s always a blast when these two get together whether as friends or foes. Owens promising to have \u201ca member of the bloodline\u201d on his show and it ending up being now Bloodline stooge Zayn was just tremendous. Getting to see them go through the love-hate that is basically the history of these two guys through various promotions was a ton of fun. I\u2019m not sure if this\u2019ll lead to another story involving these two directly but it does have me very intrigued especially since the muddying of the waters between Raw and Smackdown continues to blend more weekly. The segment with Sami and The Usos later in the show though has me convinced that this\u2019ll eventually turn Sami babyface after he figures out that The Bloodline is just using him.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ricochet &amp; Drew Gulak vs. Gunther &amp; Ludwig Kaiser:<\/strong> The ultimate utility guy now, Drew Gulak has been officially turned into fodder on the Smackdown roster. He\u2019s definitely a guy, that if I were him, probably wouldn\u2019t answer my phone when it rings(if you know what I mean). The match itself was well enough and, if I were a betting man, I\u2019d bet that we\u2019ll see Gunther (sooner, if not later) wearing the Intercontinental Title.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Brawling Brutes vs. New Day &amp; Drew McIntyre:<\/strong> The choice of McIntyre as the mystery partner due to his connection with Sheamus in the past was a good one. The match was solid-to-good and a good choice for a television main event. I\u2019d like to hope that this\u2019ll really conclude the New Day-Brawling Brutes rivalry for now and both teams can move on. However, I\u2019ll believe that when I actually see it.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-204762110\" 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>Overall Show:<\/strong> No misses from me on this week&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wwe.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WWE<\/a> Smackdown?! Maybe I\u2019ve gotten soft after missing a few weeks with prior obligations. But seriously, the show was mostly enjoyable. It also didn\u2019t include any silliness from Madcap Moss or Happy Corbin. However, they do return next week. This time I hope Moss really is repackaged though because, since the feud won\u2019t be over, they need to give Moss more and perhaps have him return with an edge. Here\u2019s hoping. Other than that, this felt like an easy show to watch and felt like it was setting up some interesting things to come. So, no real complaints here.<\/p>\n<h3>Misses<\/h3>\n<p><strong>None:<\/strong> See above about the overall show.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>CATCH-UP:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2022\/05\/27\/5-27-wwe-smackdown-tv-results-mcdonalds-alt-perspective-report-on-new-day-mystery-partner-vs-sheamus-holland-butch-rousey-vs-rodriguez-ko-show\/\">5\/27 WWE SMACKDOWN TV RESULTS: McDonald\u2019s \u201calt perspective\u201d report on New Day &amp; Mystery Partner vs. Sheamus\/Holland\/Butch, Rousey vs. Rodriguez, KO Show<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2703791607\"><div id=\"pwtor-472181079\"><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>WWE SMACKDOWN HITS &amp; MISSES Hits Opening Segment\/Usos in-ring promo with challenge from Shinsuke Nakamura and Riddle: The Usos thanking the fans and then turning right back on them was a tremendously fun bait and <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2022\/05\/30\/wwe-smackdown-hits-and-misses-3\/\" title=\"WWE SMACKDOWN HITS &#038; MISSES 5\/27: Overall show a hit, Max Dupri angle optimism, more\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":103176,"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":[117],"class_list":["post-140421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-specialists_hitsandmisses","category-specialists","tag-wwe-smackdown"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2020\/08\/Thunderdome-SD_3x2_600.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140421","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=140421"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140421\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":140429,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140421\/revisions\/140429"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}