{"id":172206,"date":"2024-01-16T12:44:33","date_gmt":"2024-01-16T18:44:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=172206"},"modified":"2024-01-16T12:48:32","modified_gmt":"2024-01-16T18:48:32","slug":"wwe-smackdown-hits-misses-1-12-butchs-identity-crisis-belair-vs-bayley-heyman-aldis-chemistry-theory-vs-carmello-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2024\/01\/16\/wwe-smackdown-hits-misses-1-12-butchs-identity-crisis-belair-vs-bayley-heyman-aldis-chemistry-theory-vs-carmello-more\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE SMACKDOWN HITS &#038; MISSES (1\/12): Butch&#8217;s identity crisis, Belair vs. Bayley, Heyman-Aldis chemistry, Theory vs. Carmello, more"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-3466318060\" 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>Opening Segment: Hit<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>With the exception of Cameron Grimes (more on that later), the opening segment was solid. The dynamic between Paul Heyman and Nick Aldis has been stellar and one of the highlights of each Smackdown. Aldis plays the General Manager role perfectly: he\u2019s smooth and calm and his refusal to be pushed around by Heyman and The Bloodline (I\u2019m looking at your Adam Pearce!) has made him one of the best GM\u2019s in a long time very long time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Joaquin Wilde &amp; Cruz Del Toro vs. Angel &amp; Humberto: Hit<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>These two teams are another valid argument that Smackdown needs their own set of tag titles. This was an awesome match, as you would expect from these four. At some point I expect a six man tag with ese four, Santos Escobar and possibly a returning wrestler who has history with Zelina Vega??<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cButch\u201d: Hit<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Please remember who you were Pete Dunne\u2026<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bianca Belair vs. Bayley: Hit<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To be honest, I had zero interest in this match, as it seems like I have seen these two wrestle too many times, but both ladies brought their A Game and I felt it was one of their better matches, overall. They were given roughly 16 minutes and filled that time nicely. The ongoing saga of Bayley and Damage Control rolled on, as well.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1601494841\" 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>The Final Testament video: Minor Hit<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Look, nothing was wrong about the video. I enjoyed it and this faction immensely (here\u2019s hoping this is the Karrion Kross that gets over like he did in NXT). My one gripe was that is seemed presented\u2026weird. Bossy Lashley and The Street Profits were speaking, Paul Ellering comes out and just point to the big screen. Like I said, the video was great, but the set up to it seemed a little lame.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Austin Theory vs. Carmelo Hayes: Hit<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Although what we saw from these two was good, this Hit goes for the stoppage of the match. Twice in so many weeks, matches have been stopped for the safety of the performers. I know some companies still allow unprotected head shots, but good on the WWE for taking the precaution of stopping a match.<\/p>\n<p><strong>L.A. Knight &amp; A.J. Styles &amp; Randy Orton vs. Jimmy Uso &amp; Solo Sikoa: Hit<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A paint by numbers main event, but that\u2019s not a bad thing. I\u2019m still not sure what to think about AJ Styles: he seems to appear on the verge of a heel turn, then regresses back to face mode. I wouldn\u2019t mind a full blown OC turn they could use a reboot.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cameron Grimes: Miss<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve touched on this before, but Grimes must\u2019ve upset someone since his move from NXT to the Smackdown roster. The guy can\u2019t even make it down to the ring without getting annihilated. When he does wrestle, he ends up on the losing end. This guy was just in a Four Way North American Contender\u2019s Match, for crying out loud. The guy can go in the ring, I just wish they would get him a chance to prove that he could serve as a great mid-card talent.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3133987608\" 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 NEXT:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2024\/01\/15\/seth-rollins-legitimately-injured-late-in-raw-main-event-against-jinder-mahal-backstage-update\/\">Seth Rollins legitimately injured late in Raw main event against Jinder Mahal, backstage update<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/prowrestling.net\/site\/2024\/01\/15\/mcguires-mondays-should-retiring-wrestlers-win-or-lose-on-their-way-out\/\">McGuire\u2019s Mondays: Should retiring wrestlers win or lose on their way out?<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-4212608778\"><div id=\"pwtor-4005016595\"><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>Opening Segment: Hit With the exception of Cameron Grimes (more on that later), the opening segment was solid. The dynamic between Paul Heyman and Nick Aldis has been stellar and one of the highlights of <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2024\/01\/16\/wwe-smackdown-hits-misses-1-12-butchs-identity-crisis-belair-vs-bayley-heyman-aldis-chemistry-theory-vs-carmello-more\/\" title=\"WWE SMACKDOWN HITS &#038; MISSES (1\/12): Butch&#8217;s identity crisis, Belair vs. Bayley, Heyman-Aldis chemistry, Theory vs. Carmello, more\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":172207,"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-172206","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\/2024\/01\/Screenshot-2024-01-16-at-12.42.13\u202fPM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172206","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=172206"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":172208,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172206\/revisions\/172208"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}