While Raw has been looking back at previous weeks to book its show, SmackDown Live appears to be reverting back to 1999.
The blue brand has been on a bit of a tear since the most recent Superstar Shakeup but, for one reason or another, has found itself sliding in the ratings. Rumour has it that these numbers just won’t cut it once SmackDown moves to its new home on Fox Sports. So, in an effort to draw more eyeballs to its product, the decision was made to have Shane McMahon win the World Cup at Crown Jewel, continue to inflate his ego and slowly turn him to the dark side.
If the idea of a villainous authority figure sounds familiar, it’s only because they’ve been doing it forever since the beginning of time.
Vince perfected the formula as the chief antagonist to ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and ever since, WWE has been trying to replicate that magic. We’ve seen Triple H, Stephanie, Eric Bischoff, Corporate Kane, Corbin, John Laurinaitis, Coachman, William Regal, Brad Maddox, Vickie Guerrero and countless others all attempt to assume the mantle. While some were more successful than others, none have quite matched the original. And yet, undeterred, we’re still using this tired trope in 2018.
A pretty eventful episode of SmackDown Live kicked off with Paige painstakingly introducing Shane McMahon, making sure to erase any doubt that Shane was indeed “the best in the world”. After an overlong, meandering opening segment, the Commissioner eventually brushed that label aside with all of the McMahon smugness we’ve come to expect. What a heel.
The almost fifty-year-old ‘Prodigal Son’ then proceeded to stumble over his words while trying to fill us in on the central concept of Survivor Series. What an unintelligible heel.
When the photo op arises, you have to take it…#SDLive @shanemcmahon 🏆 pic.twitter.com/9JZxzbKeAa
— WWE (@WWE) November 7, 2018
I suppose we’ve hitched our cart to this McMahon wagon though, and I have to admit that I’m somewhat morbidly fascinated in seeing where it takes us. Perhaps Shane can break the curse. Perhaps he’s the one to return us to the promised land! Oh God, what am I saying? It’s Shane McMahon. He’ll be awful, won’t he.
But as mentioned, this was a jam-packed episode of SmackDown Live. And with Survivor Series less than two weeks away, it sort of had to be. What did we enjoy? Which moments let us down? And, most importantly, how did we rate the show overall? Read on to find out how our WrestleTalk writers answered all of those questions.
What was your favourite SmackDown segment?
Steven Lugo
Rey Mysterio versus Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas. For me, it’s always a treat to see Almas in the ring, and when he squares off against another luchador, it’s usually magic. Add to this that it’s “the king of luchadors” Mysterio, and it promises a great match.
I thought it delivered. It would have been great to see Almas win and join the Survivor Series team, but since Mysterio has beaten everyone from Randy Orton to Nakamura, this is hardly damaging. I did miss Vega in Almas’ corner. Maybe when they reunite Almas can get back to winning, or these two can have a rematch.
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Eric Stites
I loved Nikki Cross’s surprise appearance last night. I think she’s absolutely fantastic on NXT and she did not disappoint here. I think she had a very good showing in the match with Becky Lynch and I don’t think the loss hurts her. I doubt this was a full call-up but I really hope it was.
Brian Farrell
Andrade Almas vs Rey Mysterio. This was a classic Rey Mysterio match: fast-paced, action-packed, and fun to watch. Although I’m getting slightly tired with Almas losing, he certainly wasn’t hurt in defeat.
Rey looked really good, and both stars showed their innovative offenses. The match also had a bit of meaning to it, which is always nice. Always love to see Orton getting involved as well!
Nicholas Holicki
That match between Almas and Mysterio, man oh man. It started at a ten and somehow only got better from there.
The pace was frenetic, the wrestling was awesome, and I’m just glad to see Almas remain in prominent TV spots. Despite picking up the loss last night, ‘El Ídolo’ put in an incredible performance and I hope he’s slotted in a title picture soon.
What was the worst part of last night’s episode?
Steven Lugo
The Shane McMahon segments. If indeed WWE are trying to establish Shane as a heel authority figure, then they are succeeding in some fashion. The problem is, when you hear Paige and others refer to him as “The Best in the World”, it doesn’t really seem like the building of a heel.
If it was, there would likely be some amusement we could find in it. Shane wouldn’t be acting noble in the same segment, proclaiming he doesn’t believe he’s the best. Is he a heel, or a poor misunderstood businessman? It’s just a little too nauseating, and it seems more like a big ‘F you’ to fans than anything. After all, an entire tournament filled with viable in-ring talent was wasted to put over a McMahon. Really?
Surprise?!
@RealPaigeWWE called for @MsCharlotteWWE…but @WWE_MandyRose seems to have answered! #SDLive #SurvivorSeries pic.twitter.com/V3l0YLvzxO
— WWE (@WWE) November 7, 2018
Eric Stites
One thing from last night’s show that really annoyed me was when Mandy Rose came out instead of Charlotte Flair, but there was no explanation as to why Charlotte didn’t come out. I think this would’ve been an okay angle if Mandy had attacked Charlotte backstage but there was nothing.
Brian Farrell
Groundhog Day. I was excited to see SAnitY return, I was excited to see Nikki Cross, I was excited to see Cross vs Lynch. However, I was not excited to see the exact same thing that ruined SAnitY’s first brief run.
Nikki didn’t look like a threat, and just looked silly. They need a way to fix SAnitY, besides leaving them off TV for a couple of months.
Nicholas Holicki
I was so excited to see Nikki Cross make her SmackDown debut. But I also love Becky Lynch and never want to see her lose ever.
So this was a classic no-win situation, and having Cross lose in a short, if solid, bout was not ideal. Was she just called up to be fed to the Champ? Was this a one-time deal that we won’t remember in a few weeks?
WWE do not have a good track record in capitalising on NXT stars, and this did nothing to quell my fears that they’d fail to see the brilliance in Nikki Cross.
How would you rate the show overall? (From best to worst: SmackDamn, SmackTastic, Smack Bang in the Middle, Ellsworthy and A Smack in the Face)
Steven Lugo
Smack Bang in the Middle. I loved Becky vis-à-vis Nikki Cross in her debut, and a couple other matches. Unfortunately, I could not get too excited for what seemed like the main element of the show, which was to get the ball rolling for Survivor Series.
The women’s team was announced with little buildup; it was kind of like Paige just read off classroom attendance. A little more thought went into the men, as Bryan and Miz were forced to work together to field a team. There were no real surprises, though. You could have guessed the members of this group weeks ago. A new face in the mix would have been nice, or a new storyline other than SmackDown versus Raw.
The co-captains' first item of business?
Making @shanemcmahon the third member of the #SDLive Men's #SurvivorSeries team! @mikethemiz @WWEDanielBryan pic.twitter.com/bYrNMrEOap
— WWE (@WWE) November 7, 2018
Eric Stites
I thought this SmackDown was pretty good. Not great, but definitely more good than bad. The wrestling was good for the most part, though I felt like no storylines were furthered at all.
I did like that they actually announced the whole Survivor Series teams (unlike Raw), despite next week being the go-home shows. I give this episode a Smack Bang in the Middle.
Brian Farrell
High Smack Bang in the Middle. There were two very good matches on this show: the Mysterio / Almas one, and the New Day vs the Usos. It was nice to see SAnitY make their debut (because I refuse to admit that their first run ever happened). Becky was great as always, but Cross was hurt badly by losing – I think she should have gotten more offence in. And I would’ve loved to see her and Becky fued after Survivor Series!
The women’s Survivor Series segment was… confusing… but not bad per se. The opening segment dragged a bit, but it got better as the show went on, and I enjoyed the Miz and Bryan dynamic throughout the show. Joe and Hardy was solid, and it was an above average ending to an above average show.
Nicholas Holicki
At first I was really down on the start to last night’s show. Then I audibly groaned when Shane McMahon was made a member of SmackDown‘s Survivor Series team. But I have to admit, in spite of my better judgement, I’m kind of intrigued to see where this goes.
One Nikki Cross debut and an excellent encounter between Almas and Rey later, and I was hooked. Not even a wonky women’s Survivor Series announcement could derail my excitement, as the episode ended on an interesting note with Joe, Miz, Bryan and Shane getting involved in a bit of a brawl. Overall, this week’s SmackDown was SmackTastic.
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