WWE is going full Oprah Winfrey with its artificial, meaningless titles these days.
A few months after Braun Strowman was anointed the Greatest Royal Rumble winner (complete with wedding cake size trophy and lime green belt), WWE has its sights set on handing out the next middle-eastern exclusive title.
We are weeks into the build to the World Cup scheduled to take place at Crown Jewel, and I’m still none the wiser as to what its purpose is. And don’t say to “crown the best in the world!” Because that phrase was thrown around so often during last night’s SmackDown Live that it eventually turned into a trigger word, causing me to black out for five seconds each time I heard it.
The field has expanded to include @JEFFHARDYBRAND & @RandyOrton in the #WWEWorldCup tournament to determine the best in the world at #WWECrownJewel! https://t.co/dzhMFUQ2ql
— WWE (@WWE) October 10, 2018
Doesn’t the WORLD championship signify whether you’re the best in the world? Or are we expected to believe that the winner of this tournament trumps that title?
If that were the case, then surely more people would be clambering to secure a place in the World Cup brackets. Why doesn’t Seth Rollins want to be a part of it? Or Finn Bálor? Drew McIntyre? The Miz? Instead, what we’ve been given so far is a collection of part-timers, legends and assorted (mostly American) mid-carders.
I understand that I’m overthinking what is essentially just meant to be a throwaway tournament at a glorified house show, purely designed to fill up some space on the card. But is that really the point that we’ve reached? Where WWE gets to bake any old garbage pie and we’re expected to eat it without question? The occasional bit of logic and continuity isn’t too much to ask for. Just do it better, WWE!
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World Cup qualifiers were, however, only one component of a stacked episode of SmackDown Live this week. And it’s easy to lose track of what goes down in WWE‘s multi-hour broadcasts. That’s why we’re here. Each week, we produce a Roundtable discussion where we ask our WrestleTalk writers to pick out their best and worst moments from the night before and stand by their overall rating of the show.
So, without any more waffling, let’s get into the good from last night’s SmackDown.
What was your favorite moment from SmackDown?
JP Wood
Jeff Hardy vs Samoa Joe. I know someone is going to come at me about how silly the finish was, but ultimately, I think it sold Joe’s injuries from Super Show-Down. I have a great appreciation for any storyline that is able to simultaneously make the loser look like a complete badass (he kept trying to get up), while still advancing Hardy.
I can’t help it, I’m a sucker for things that make sense and carry from one event to another. Good job on this one!
Nate Craver
Becky vs. Charlotte had to be the best thing about SmackDown last night. Sure the double countout wasn’t the finish we’d have liked to see, but it is the one WWE needed. When you consider the aftermath of the match, Becky and Charlotte’s feud continues to be one of the best in WWE.
This match only intensified their rivalry and makes you want to see their match at Evolution. It’s too bad that SmackDown hasn’t done anything to build another contender for whoever walks away the champ after the first ever, all women’s pay-per-view.
Eric Stites
My favorite moment from SmackDown last night was the Miz TV segment. I thought AJ, Miz, and Bryan were all brilliant during this segment. I loved how AJ and Daniel cut promos on each other while also taking little shots at the Miz. I think this was a great way to start the feud leading up to the title match at Crown Jewel.
Nicholas Holicki
I’ve been impressed by Charlotte’s spears recently. She landed awesome looking ones on Becky at both Hell in a Cell and Super Show-Down, and the one last night was similarly impressive. But then she took it to another level.
As Becky was trying to make a quick getaway following their match-up, Charlotte chased her up the ramp before delivering a devastating spear through the LED walling at the top of the stage. It. Looked. Awesome.
Paige soon thereafter announced that the pair would be facing off again at Evolution in WWE‘s first ever last woman standing match (because apparently Asuka vs Nikki Cross in NXT is non-canon). Color me excited for that encounter.
What was the worst part of last night’s episode?
JP Wood
Can someone please make the Rusev Day stuff go away. I’ve watched it all, and I’m still completely in the dark about why Aiden English brought this video up in the first place. It didn’t cast him in a good light, it wasn’t convincingly salacious, it was just… there.
I loved Rusev Day and thought they had something special. WWE disagreed. I can take my lumps like a man, but did they have to torch the bridge so thoroughly? Et tu, WWE?
Nate Craver
A lot of folks were high on One Night in Milwaukee last week. After tonight, they probably should have kept it to just one night. The segment fell flat. Apparently, Russians are good at hacking. Who knew?
It would have been much more effective to have the feud continue with the ultimate payoff being Rusev locking in the Accolade to force English to show the end of the clip or just come clean. This went too far into the cheesy category for me tonight.
Eric Stites
My least favorite moment was the very beginning of the show. I hated the introduction, or lack thereof, to the Women’s Title match between Becky and Charlotte. The match itself was great, but I hated that they didn’t get proper entrances and there was absolutely no introduction to the match other than the ring announcer explaining the rules. Why not have Paige come out first and explain why she’s giving Charlotte another shot at the title?
https://twitter.com/BeckyLynchWWE/status/1049832074453180416
Nicholas Holicki
This might seem trivial, but it speaks to an issue that I’ve had with WWE booking for some time. My worst moment from SmackDown is Byron Saxton claiming on commentary that the feud between Charlotte and Becky is about more than a title, it’s about a collapsed friendship.
No, Byron! In wrestling, friendships shouldn’t take precedence over titles! But it’s a narrative that WWE have been pushing in their women’s division for the past several months. Apparently, as far as women are concerned, all feuds center around newly formed friendships, broken-down friendships, or prospective friendships – making the titles secondary.
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)
JP Wood
Smack Bang in the Middle from me this week. I feel like I watched one metric SmackDown. Nothing too flashy, nothing too garbage. This was an episode of SmackDown that absolutely, without a doubt, existed.
Nate Craver
I’m giving this one a Smack Bang in the Middle. We had four matches on tonight’s show, which I’m all for on a wrestling show. Becky and Charlotte was an intense match with a finish to progress the fued. Samoa Joe and Hardy’s could have been good, but the ending seemed hokey. Sure, end it because of injury – but do we really think Joe would have just been okay with the ref pulling that?
Miz cut a decent promo to end Miz TV. AJ and Shelton had an okay match. We finished off the night with Big Show vs. Orton. That’s not exactly the main event match I’d hope for in 2018. Where’s Shinsuke? Where’s Almas? Got any tag teams?
I know the show is only two hours, but SmackDown has a lot of talent on the roster. Instead of getting to see what the fresh talent can do, we get Jeff Hardy, Randy Orton, Big Show and Shelton Benjamin. And here I thought next week was Smackdown 1000, where we’d get to see all the stars from the early 2000’s on the show.
WHO'S THAT JUMPING OUT THE SKY?!? It's @reymysterio, and he's BACK with @WWE on a full-time basis! https://t.co/Yrhifl29Sx
— WWE (@WWE) October 10, 2018
Eric Stites
I’m going to give this episode a Smack Bang in the Middle. It was much more on the good side but there really wasn’t anything special other than the Miz TV segment and the opening match. The rest of the show was pretty decent.
Nicholas Holicki
A high Smack Bang in the Middle. The show started hot with half an hour devoted to an excellent match-up between Becky Lynch and Charlotte, but then it started to meander a bit with a few promo heavy segments.
We got Miz, Bryan and AJ chatting, first in the ring and then on commentary, Aiden English presenting the next chapter in the One Night in Milwaukee saga and a hype package for Rey Mysterio’s appearance on SmackDown 1000 next week.
It was all largely decent though and a couple of fine matches late on in the card left this with a standard, middle of the road rating for me.
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