Thank goodness for SmackDown Live. After the the unmitigated abomination that was Raw on Monday night, we were all in desperate need of a pick-me-up. Mercifully, that reprieve came curtesy of WWE‘s blue brand.
We’ve been fairly critical of the company’s showing over the last couple of weeks, and justifiably so. It’s been terrible, awful, no good and very, very bad. But it’s important to remember that we genuinely want WWE to be good. We’re all passionate wrestling fans who devote five to ten hours of our our lives each week to the brand’s various offerings. Nobody wants to spend that much time on garbage wrestling.
When it does disappoint however, we’re right to call it out. By the same token though, when a show like last night’s SmackDown rolls around, we’ll gladly celebrate it. We’ll be the front lines singing its praises, like a Humanities major at Burning Man.
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That said, in the words of today’s youths, I’m hella confused. The kids do still say that, right? …I’m so old.
Almost without fail, Raw outperforms its blue counterpart in the ratings each week. This despite the general consensus that SmackDown is the better show of the two. Assuming that WWE has a defined core audience, the diehard fanbase who sit through both shows each week, that means the difference is attributable solely to the casual fan. The man or woman who has no particular affinity for WWE programming but who, with nothing else going on, will tune in to watch three hours of Baron Corbin beating up Finn Bálor on a Monday night.
My question is: doesn’t this surprise anyone else? By every conceivable metric, SmackDown is the superior product. Want to see the most talked about star in wrestling at the moment? Here’s Becky Lynch. Looking for a quick wrestling fix without the monumental time investment? Tuesday nights. Hoping to see the best grappler in the world go at it for a bit? Shane McMahon was on the show last night. Coherent storylines? A more established midcard? Greater devotion to women’s wrestling? Recognisable faces from the mid-2000s? SmackDown delivers all that in spades and does a much better job than Raw.
Absent any other explanation, the difference in viewership must come down to name recognition alone. Raw has built up a greater reputation over the years and remains WWE‘s flagship show (which we were reminded of at Survivor Series – never forget).
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It doesn’t mean it’s not a disappointing trend though. Not least of all because Raw is unlikely to capture a new audience. Imagine being a casual fan, someone considering being swept up in the world of wrestling, and your first exposure is seeing Drake Maverick relieve himself onto a nylon jacket? Would you feel compelled to keep watching? Is that likely to make someone want to tune in again next week?
WWE is doing it all backwards. SmackDown should be presented as the primary show. It should be positioned as the gateway to Raw, NXT and Ride Along. Okay, forget Ride Along. The first thing a prospective viewer should see when tuning in to the world’s foremost wrestling promotion is Becky Lynch, Asuka, Rusev, the Miz and the Usos. That’s more likely to get them hooked. Not Bobby Lashley pointing to his (admittedly) well-defined glutes.
So, if there’s one thing we could be doing to make the world a better place over the festive period, it’s introducing one friend or family member to SmackDown. Then, when they’re in too deep to get out again – maybe after a year or two – pop on a bit of Raw. That’ll show you whether they’re a true friend or not.
In case it wasn’t already clear, I really enjoyed this edition of SmackDown Live. But what did the rest of the WrestleTalk crew make of the show? Well, I asked them to share their best and worst segments from last night’s broadcast, which have being meticulously reproduced in what follows. Read on to find out their views and don’t forget to let us know what you thought of the show.
What was your favourite moment from SmackDown Live?
Chance Calton
It was probably Asuka winning the Battle Royal. If anything, just for the stare-down between Becky, Asuka and Charlotte at the end of the match. That was a great way to close the show.
The battle royal itself was alright but it felt rushed, and there was better in-ring action earlier in the show (Usos vs The Bar especially), but it’s nice to see Asuka in the main event again. She certainly belongs there.
Nate Craver
There appears to be a storyline in the works for Shinsuke Nakamura. He attacked Rusev and it looks like they actually might have a little feud brewing. I guess this depends on if, and it’s always a big IF, WWE actually follows up on this next week.
Nakamura hasn’t had any real storyline since winning the title. Also, at Fastlane, Nakamura and Rusev had a pretty solid match. I think these two could have a chance to put on pretty entertaining matches in the ring, again IF WWE will let them.
Jeffrey Bowie Jr.
AJ Styles’ promo was the highlight for me. There was a nice fire behind Styles’ words and nothing came off as phony or scripted. I’m looking forward to seeing what these two can do on a bigger stage, as I feel they were holding back in their previous matches for a future pay-per-view encounter.
My second nod goes to The Bar vs. The Usos, but just barely. The match was a certified hit as it’s clear that these teams have good chemistry but I’m tired of the lazy WWE trope of champions losing non-title matches to setup a future title match.
The problem with The Bar is that they’re not a credible team. Despite looking like they could be bada** brawlers, the talented duo are positioned as your generic heels who need to cheat to win everything. If creative aren’t going to make The Bar look like a quality team, then it’s best the titles move away from them.
Nicholas Holicki
I loved the main event, not least of all because it had 100% less Baron Corbin in it.
The decision to end SmackDown with a Battle Royal to decide the third competitor in the historic title match between Becky Lynch and Charlotte at TLC worked on many levels. Every member of the women’s roster was given a chance to shine (except for Lana and Zelina Vega, I guess).
Naomi, Mandy Rose and the IIconics all looked good, while the groundwork was laid for Sonya to be built as a legitimate contender down the road. Ultimately though, the decision to have Asuka go over was the right one and adds an interesting element to the TLC match next month.
What was the worst part of last night’s episode?
Chance Calton
Promos, promos, promos! There were only four matches on the whole card and one of them didn’t even start! The promos were fine, but I would have been pretty upset if I had bought a ticket to that show just to see people talking for an hour and a half of a two hour show. Oh, and the Big Show turning face. Again.
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Nate Craver
I’m all for the Women’s Revolution. Becky is fantastic and my favorite thing in WWE. Charlotte was good in her promo last night. Asuka actually won something of importance.
However, the Battle Royal was pretty bad in my opinion. The ladies actually tried pretty hard and did the best they could. The problem is these ladies and the ring don’t always get along when trying to get over the rope. I’m not sure a women’s Battle Royal really showcases the talents of the ladies in the ring. Personally, I think elimination or scramble matches might be a better option for them.
Jeffrey Bowie Jr.
The Randy Orton / Rey Mysterio. What Orton said was fine, but once Mysterio came out it all went downhill. SmackDown seemed to be going for Mysterio looking brave for coming out and fighting Orton, but he really looked stupid for taking on a clearly 100% Randy Orton.
If Mysterio’s back was against the wall and his only options were to fight to save himself or accept that a butt-whopping was coming to him, then that’s one thing; however, Mysterio didn’t have any options like that. Mysterio could’ve waited until he fully healed and planned his next move on Orton. Being brave doesn’t mean you have to be stupid.
Worse yet, Mysterio coming out undermined the “injury” angle from last week. Mysterio looked too strong against the taller and healthier Randy Orton, thus it wasn’t believable. The core idea of the segment was solid, but the execution was a mess.
Nicholas Holicki
I have no idea what Charlotte’s character is anymore. In just the last four weeks alone she’s gone from spurned friend to unhinged brute to loyal disciple to smug egomaniac. Even the Big Show’s head is spinning.
Case in point – am I crazy or did Charlotte explicitly say last week that she assaulted Ronda for Becky? Because I rewatched last night’s SmackDown Live, and she clearly claims to have NOT done it for ‘the Man’! I know that WWE can sometimes struggle to remember story threads they laid out just a few months earlier, but this is an instance where they couldn’t even maintain continuity for consecutive weeks.
It’s hard to get behind Charlotte when her motivations are this inconsistent.
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)
Chance Calton
I think it was Smack Bang in the Middle, but I expected worse after last week. The crowd seemed pretty hot, which is a shame because they barely got any wrestling to react to. Mostly just a bunch of people talking and setting up matches for future shows. However, most of the promos were pretty good and I am excited about the shows coming up so I guess this show did it’s job.
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Nate Craver
I am going with a Smack Bang in the Middle. SmackDown gets the advantage in these ratings systems by going after Raw. We often compare it to Raw. This show was way better than Monday’s show, but in terms of being a great show, I’m not sure it was higher than average.
It had a lot of promos, but none of the matches were really spectacular. It also didn’t have that big angle that leaves you talking about it or having to tune in next week. For me, to go higher, you have to have something on the show that you would have wanted not to miss live.
This was one of those shows that you could watch the highlights the day after on WWE.com and not really feel like you missed anything. Even with all that said, the show was enjoyable and didn’t drag like some of the shows in past weeks.
Jeffrey Bowie Jr.
A low SmackTastic. The show flew by quickly and despite my gripe with the Mysterio / Orton segment, nothing else was out right offensive. I like the fact that Asuka has been added to the women’s triple threat TLC match. That’s a WrestleMania caliber match in my book. The women’s battle royal was clunky, but decent.
While I wasn’t a fan of the wrestlers standing on stage for the Jeff Hardy segment, I did enjoy the Joe and Hardy exchange. Joe had great zingers here and his delivery was on point. Joe does need to go over in this feud. He’s been losing way too much lately and if he loses to Hardy then he’ll be damaged goods on the blue brand.
It’s nice to see Nakamura finally do something. This means the US champion will finally have a feud. The Miz / Kofi Kingston match was solid, though I still could care less about the pending Shane / Miz feud.
Nicholas Holicki
Oh man, I loved this show. It felt like a nice steak dinner after a month of nothing but overcooked beans. Not a particularly expensive steak, mind you, but in the larger context still the best meal we’ve been served for some time.
The matches were solid, the backstage segments struck the right balance between humour and story progression, no one pissed on a jacket, and for the first time I felt like we were all on the path to TLC. Maybe I’m a victim of the moment, but frankly I don’t particularly care. This SmackDown gets a SmackDamn from me.
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