Do you remember a couple of months ago, when Braun Strowman suddenly developed the ability to command half the Raw roster? He became some sort of jobber Pied Piper, capable of leading around a proverbial goof troop of midcarders against the newly reunited Shield. They were at his beck and call; all it took was a whistle and every wrestler loitering around catering would come running to the aid of the ‘Monster Among Men’.
I bet Braun wishes he could still call on the nerd brigade when he was being dismantled by McIntyre & Company on Monday. But, you see, that power was apparently fueled by his moral outlook. As high school taught us, the bad guys are usually the most popular. And two months ago the ‘Monster’ was a heel surrounded by friends. On Monday, he was a face and thus a loner.
On the surface, this may seem entirely unrelated to anything significant that happened on SmackDown Live last night, but it is in fact indicative of the current state of the product. You see, WWE (and SmackDown in particular) has a heel problem. Or maybe it’s a face problem? Honestly, I don’t think the company even knows at this point.
We’ve seen a staggering number of heel turns this year. Many have gone down in the last few weeks alone. Even fewer make any sense.
Using Charlotte and Daniel Bryan as the two most notable examples is instructive. Both turned in the last week (although Charlotte has adopted more of a tweener role) and attempted to explain their actions last night. Neither came across as particularly compelling.
Charlotte apparently did it for the Rock – no, sorry, that was someone else. She did it for Becky Lynch. Similarly, Daniel Bryan booted AJ in his ‘phenomenals’ because the fans weren’t there while he inhaled oxygen in a hypobaric chamber, and his ambitions overtook the joy of his return to the ring.
https://twitter.com/BeckyLynchWWE/status/1065063620122476546
While those may be convenient explanations, in reality the reasons for their turns are far simpler. Neither wrestler was getting over as a babyface and so WWE made the decision to turn them heel. The result is two tepid semi-heelish characters without any strong motivations. They’re heels for the sake of being heels, turned out of necessity rather than a strong narrative goal.
And this overzealous approach to flipping wrestlers on a whim is reflected in the various championship pictures. Of the eight main roster titles in play, only the Intercontinental and respective Women’s Championships remain out of heel hands. And let’s be honest, Becky was originally designed to be a villain and both Ronda and Rollins have been booed in their recent programs.
It’s a worrying indictment of WWE‘s inability to book compelling babyfaces. People like Nakamura, Lashley and Bryan were repeatedly flattened out to the point were they lost their appeal. They were no longer valiant heroes, unflinchingly overcoming the odds. They were simply bland good guys who all too often got beaten up. Until they one day decided to just be villains.
A picture is worth one hundred thousand dollars. #SDLive pic.twitter.com/UWCirftKjh
— Charlotte Flair (@MsCharlotteWWE) November 21, 2018
The fans cheering a turn shouldn’t be mistaken for success either. When you’ve preconditioned your audience to not care about the characters in the ring, any relatively surprising moment will illicit a reaction. Had Asuka taken the place of Charlotte at Survivor Series, would she not have received the same cheers? Substitute Bálor for Bryan in his match against AJ, you’re likely to have seen the same pop.
And that’s the heart of the problem. With many of the character flips we’ve seen this year, the company chose to sacrifice storytelling for shock value – characters for spectacle – without a long-term payoff in mind. Congratulations WWE, you’ve just become every Transformers movie ever made.
But apart from the current state of heel-a-palooza plaguing the blue brand, the show did have quite a few other things to offer. We got the first ever Thanksgiving Feast fight! Okay, hold on, there’s more. We got a tag match pitting Asuka & Naomi against Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville! Oh god, I’m sure there were some good moments too. Shane McMahon had a match…?
Mercifully, I’m not part of this week’s Roundtable, so I don’t need to think about it any longer. Instead I get to turn to my significantly more optimistic colleagues to walk us through the best and worst of last night’s SmackDown Live. I’m sure they’ve got something nice to say. So, let’s get to the good.
What was your favourite moment from SmackDown Live?
Steven Lugo
Daniel Bryan’s in-ring promo. It seems everyone is turning from face to heel and back again these days in WWE, so much so that it almost doesn’t matter what our favorite wrestlers believe any more.
In that brave new world, Bryan is unique. He’s the once super-over babyface who can actually get people to boo him. Or at least not cheer as loudly. Fickle! Fickle! Fickle! He painted a vivid picture of a man who allowed Brock Lesnar to “beat the weakness out of him”, a man so possessed by his dreams that he’s become dangerous. The new Daniel Bryan.
Jeffrey Bowie Jr.
The Daniel Bryan promo. This was a very interesting promo that kept my attention the entire time. When all was said and done, I had so many questions and theories about Bryan’s new character that obviously makes me want to know more.
Bryan stands out in a good way as this is a different character from anyone else on the main roster and his performance was very believable. Like many, I wished WWE did a slow burn heel turn with Bryan. While intriguing, this is a very dark character for him thus turns like these require some time to build; however, what’s done is done and I’m interested in seeing the direction Bryan goes from here.
Randy Orton vs. Rey Mysterio was the only other decent part of SmackDown. It was a good match with a cool finish. The post-match bit didn’t do much for me. While it fit Orton’s character to a tee, the storyline of a wrestler taking off a luchador’s mask is nothing new and fairly pedestrian at this point.
While I’m not exactly frothing at the mouth over what may come, there’s still some investment in this feud thus far.
Brian Farrell
Daniel Bryan’s heel turn. I was nervous about this, I thought it would either be the best or worst thing on this show, and Daniel delivered. Everything made sense. The fans had gone quieter, and many had given up on him in a way. I loved all of this and am so excited to see where it goes.
Nate Craver
This was a hard one. I’m not sure there was a whole lot to really celebrate about SmackDown tonight. I’m going to go with MizTV. I’m not sure where they are headed with Miz and Shane McMahon, but I enjoyed Miz buttering up Shane.
We’ll stop there. I don’t know what the payoff of having Miz lose to the Bryant Brothers is, but I am assuming it will pay off. Hmmm… you know what they say about assuming!
Honorable mention: Peyton Royce’s celebration.
When you outsmart #TheQueen, you HAVE to celebrate! Right, @PeytonRoyceWWE? #SDLive @MsCharlotteWWE @BillieKayWWE pic.twitter.com/bv7Vepve8V
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) November 21, 2018
What was the worst part of last night’s episode?
Steven Lugo
New Day versus The Bar and Big Show. I guess I’m just not much for these holiday-themed food fights, but somebody sure must get a kick out of them at WWE since they keep booking them, right? Right?
If you’ve seen one you’ve seen ’em all, fans. No blood or chairshots to the head, please, but feel free to fall through a buffet table with a dinner spread out on it. Take a pumpkin or a fully-cooked turkey to the face, too. This segment was made worse by the fact that The Bar reminded us of a pointless and humiliating spot where Drake Maverick ‘peed himself’ out of fear at Survivor Series. Comment below. What’s made you want to quit watching WWE lately?
https://www.instagram.com/p/BqbK7qfFCWN/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
Jeffrey Bowie Jr.
SmackDown was a nothing show. Other than the Bryan promo, nothing else has me excited for what’s to come for the blue brand. The worst part goes to the whole Charlotte Flair segment. Sorry, I meant Becky Lynch 2.0 segment.
Flair went through a drastic character change at Survivor Series. The announcers framed the multi-time champion as crazed and deranged but this sudden shift in character happened because she bleeds blue and wanted to make Becky Lynch proud – the same woman who turned on her just several short months ago and had an intense blood feud with. WTF?
This explanation pissed me off. Charlotte goes through a drastic character transformation and this is the reason? It didn’t help that I never believed a word Flair said. Her acting was stilted and robotic. I won’t even go into why Paige was advocating Charlotte potentially ending the career of Rousey. Her match with the IIconics was sloppy and forgettable.
It was clear that the company wanted her to be Becky Lynch 2.0 and I’m amazed at how desperate this company has become in order for their golden girl to get over. I like Charlotte Flair as she’s definitely a talented wrestler, but this was a huge miss in my book.
Brian Farrell
Thanksgiving Feast fight. This match had the same effect as turkey… it put me to sleep. I liked R-Truth as the Gobbledy Gooker, but that was it. New Day’s promo was a mix of funny and cringy. But the match further damaged the tag team division, especially bringing up Drake Maverick’s “accident”. I’m not a fan, especially knowing these teams can do so much better.
Nate Craver
The booking of The Bar and the tag team division as a whole. The tag team champions, who lost last Sunday because of the distraction caused by a grown man pissing himself, lost last night after getting punched in the face by a turkey. Young Bucks… this could be your future. Choose wisely my friends.
How would you rate the show overall? (From best to worst: SmackDamn, SmackTastic, Smack Bang in the Middle, SmackDowner and A Smack in the Face)
Steven Lugo
Smackdowner. Just using logic here, but after the so-called ‘clean sweep’ of SmackDown by Raw at Survivor Series, and how few SmackDown wrestlers were protected in defeat, why would I want to tune in to see this group?
Oh, that’s right. Because even if Raw got all the wins, it’s still worse. They’re the program that’s boringly long and repetitive, and stooped to make light of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder and dismemberment, a man who has done more to promote freedom in the Middle East than WWE ever will.
Oh, but back to SmackDown. There just wasn’t much to write home about. I missed my favorites like Almas, Rusev, Becky, and AJ. Survivor Series was already such a downer, and SmackDown was forced to try to build upon what transpired on Sunday, while none of it was very flattering for the blue brand. Depressing!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BqbbxHklf1W/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
Jeffrey Bowie Jr.
Smackdowner. I didn’t even talk about the never-ending feud between The New Day and The Bar. There’s been no development whatsoever. The New Day remains goofy, The Bar chastises them for their behavior but constantly loses non-title matches. I still don’t know why The Big Show is with The Bar.
I could care less about where Shane and The Miz are going. The company seems to be doing a slow burn turn for McMahon, but the problem is that he’s showing no signs of turning heel. Miz came across as a heel for forcing Shane to do a match that he was in no condition to compete in and his constant butt-kissing leads me to believe that he has an ulterior motive. Yet, he seemed to pull a classic WWE style turn and is now a face.
Perhaps I’m wrong and his true actions will be revealed soon, but with reports of The Miz turning face and the company usually having as much subtly in their storylines as a Tyler Perry film, something tells me I’m correct in my assessment.
The Asuka match only served to fuel the impending break-up between Sanya Deville and Mandy Rose, another ‘best friend stabs me in the back’ feud for the women’s division.
The Bellas turned on Ronda, Bayley and Sasha Banks turned on each other, Alexa Bliss turned on Nia Jax, Becky Lynch turned on Charlotte, and Nia Jax just turned on Ember Moon. For the love of god, is this really how the company thinks all women act towards one another? Shameful. A bad show saved by the Daniel Bryan promo and the Orton/Mysterio match.
A souvenir? #SDLive #MysteriovsOrton @RandyOrton pic.twitter.com/jrATUeTrn2
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) November 21, 2018
Brian Farrell
Low Smack Bang in the Middle. The opening segment with Charolette was solid, but I felt it ran too long. Miz and Shane’s tag match was a bit confusing, but not good or bad, just okay. Food fight was bad, Mandy and Deville vs Askua and Naomi was fine but pointless. Daniel’s turn was great, and I enjoyed the main event. A good last half hour saves an otherwise dreadful show.
Nate Craver
Smackdowner. After going 6 – 1 at Survivor Series, I was really hoping there would be some sort of fantastic show to redeem themselves. Last night was about the opposite. No Almas. No Joe. No AJ. No Rusev. We got the new Daniel Bryan and a main event from circa 2008. If Randy Orton wasn’t so good at being creepy, I’m not sure it wouldn’t have scored lower.
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