Just give him the Jackhammer and call it done. The Caterpillar can be the set up move.Originally Posted by Nosh Diesel
Just give him the Jackhammer and call it done. The Caterpillar can be the set up move.
He's got a vader-sized vader-bomb...
Can Otis do a moonsault?
Somebody like him doing a (safe) moonsault would be amazing.
I'm pretty sure doing a moonsault is part of wrestling school. They say Big Show had a mean moonsault...
A Powerbomb is fine, but I was thinking of the Jackhammer because Otis can put all his weight into it. A guy his size should have a Finisher that takes advantage of that.
I thought I read some result at some point where Otis won with a Wolrd's Strongest Slam, which would be his half of the Compactor double-team. Either way, seems like a good choice, I could easily see him getting Mark Henry's blessing.
Yeah, but can Otis do it without squishing somebody like a tube of toothpaste?
You can learn how to do any move, but some guys just can't do shit safely.
I think he would be in the miss-it-everytime department with Vader and Bigelow.
Is there really a safe way to do a moonsault when you've got a gut that big?
Every "era" needs a Santino-type. Otis could be that guy. Before Santino it was Eugene, before him it was Hurricane. There's always that one guy they have that is used to get the crowd going and can put on a quality performance without coming across as a complete jabroni. I literally argued myself into the finals of a debate tournament defending Koko B Ware.
You did a magnificent job in that argument for sure. How are you at predicting what will happen? Come play predictions this year ND!
That Sonya/Mandy match was actually quite entertaining. That segment might have actually benefited from a lack of a crowd, you could properly hear the shit talking.
Epic little 8 man there. Morrison ate two frankensteiners on the top of his head/neck like .. wow.
Is corbin in middle school? What kind of garbage promo was that
Middle school is a great way to describe him actually...
Otis is the 2020 Rikishi.
He'll get a - Moderate push, a token WWE Title shot, a chance to float around in the upper midcard for a few months, an ill-advised heel turn, an injury, taken off TV, repackaged as a returning babyface, and then a gradual slide down the card into a comfortable position as either a tag-team guy with Tucker or a midcard singles.
Otis is good. People like him, a lot. But he doesn't have the ability to put on classic matches and we all know the "comedy fat dancing dude" goofball gimmick has a certain shelf-life and a ceiling. It happened to Rikishi (who don't forget, also had the benefit of being in the WWF during their hottest period and working with The Rock and Steve Austin), Brodus Clay, Viscera, Hillbilly Jim, all the way down the line.
So enjoy it while it lasts.
Seems like they kind of sold Mandy and Sonya short because you probably could have gotten a few more minutes out of that match, even with the pacing and energy they were giving off.
Fun eight-man tag match...other than The Forgotten Sons. That was the result I expected, since I'm guessing we see New Day retain Sunday. We'll see if they plan to use LHP and FS more after Sunday. I'm skeptical that they will. Special shout to Morrison because that dude is just fun as hell to watch when he's in the ring.
They're absolutely throwing someone off the top of the building during MITB. They've been talking about it too much for it not to be a thing now. Either that, or they're doing their bit to false advertise something happening in an attempt to lure viewers.
I can see how Hardy/Sheamus could be underwhelming but I think they've actually done a decent job building it up, especially since it's two people who have kind of been out of the picture collectively for a while. You really wouldn't see a scenario where two people like that are actually paired together for a program but I think it's working. It's a good contrast of styles, as well, and I figure it'll be a decent match.
Strowman/Wyatt segment just felt like empty calories to me. It's going to be a problem if this just continues after Sunday unless they really ramp things up.
The absolutely random and pointless push for Tamina continues. I guess it was good for Sasha since she didn't have to eat a pin again.
The hacker thing got interesting with the message at the end. That's making me change gears in terms of a really huge zag they could come up with. The message said payback is coming, and I think a fair amount of people think Ali is the hacker. The payback could come in the form of him appearing at MITB, ruining someone's moment, and taking the briefcase himself. The payback is because he was primed to win MITB last year only see an unannounced Lesnar steal it from him. That would create a shocking moment, put Ali right back into the picture on Smackdown, and put everyone on notice.
I'm quite surprised they didn't have Elias be the surprise partner for Bryan and Gulak. Part of me wonders how much deviating they've actually done in regards to Otis since they established what they were doing prior to the empty-arena setup. He was arguably going to get one of the biggest pops at Mania with what happened, which is a testament to consistent storytelling and creating an investment in a character. He was in the main event of last week's episode and was in it again this week. I tend to think they haven't changed course very much and this just seems like an opportunity where he hasn't been able to capitalize in full on the push due to the lack of the audience. If this was all in front of an audience, it's hard to imagine that the crowd wouldn't be eating it all up.
Pretty well thought out. Why don't you come play the PPV predictions game @BGMaverick? I bet you'd do well and it's fun and free!
If you're already watching the shows live then you should join and put some predictions down! @Horatio @Damien @rom7878 @Sasori
They cut the hacker video on our version for some reason.
I enjoyed Sonya/Mandy but it feels like it should be a PPV and also was cut too short. I hope they get a longer go-around soon.
Thanks for the offer, but I'll pass.
No problem! It's not for everybody I know, just trying to spread the word it's a new year. Maybe some other season, give it a go BG. You really know your stuff and would be fun to play with you.
Haven’t submitted my picks yet but they will be in come the deadline.
Let's see if Bayley can get a great match out of Brooke.
Was that a Gotch Driver?
Bryan got to show off tonight.
damn i wish i knew there was a bryan/gulak rematch tonight. their elimination chamber match was top 5, maybe top 3 MOTY for me so far.
Braun and Otis are the Mega Powers of this generation. I dub them, the MONSTER Machines!
Bryan/Gulak was great and I’m digging Otis/Braun as a team. Like the Monster Machines name Sasori. Tucker and the cash-in can wait.
Last edited by Badger; May 16th, 2020 at 5:28 AM.
Cesaro was an extremely notable omission from the IC tourney, but that fits the story that they generally undervalue him. Booking within the given matches of a tournament can be silly but the main premise of a tournament can serve many masters. It's good to see that this tournament is likely going to be carrying a big portion of SD until the PPV. If you watched Thatcher/Riddle on NXT and Gulak/Bryan this week, you had to feel like a pig in mud. Two really great displays of technical wrestling. Cole had an inadvertent ricochet towards Jericho during the Bryan/Gulak match, which was funny. Guess the heel hook finisher is coming back for Bryan. I imagine this tournament is setting up to Bryan and Styles...and the world is going to be better for it.
Looks like Dana is next in line for the unexpected push in the women's division, subbing in for Tamina. Dana might be ahead of Tamina in terms of the ability to have a match but we still don't really know how far Dana can go in terms of a medium or long match.
I thought the segment with the 4HW not named Becky was really good. I'm always a fan when they use history to re-establish the nature of crossing paths again and there's plenty of that to go around between the three women, so I enjoyed that. Charlotte was annoying early but she handled her role at the end of the segment rather well, continuing to drive a wedge between Bayley and Sasha.
Not a fan of The Forgotten Sons but the biggest issue with them is that there's been next to nothing in establishing a narrative and approach for them, so I guess they deserve a little bit of rope now that both are being addressed.
Between Bayley and Sonya, Smackdown's women's division is looking extremely solid with heels. The fact that Sonya is right there in the conversation with Bayley speaks to how well Sonya has done over the last 4-6 weeks with her character. She's been slaying with her promo work. Should be an emotionally-driven mixed tag match next week.
As for Otis, I thought they actually did a very good job in presenting him as a face that needs to be monitored now, and a face that is relatable. The test is now going to come if they can do it for more than a single episode. I thought they did a good job writing for Otis deflecting the jokes with humor of his own. More often than not, faces just take that and look somber. I had to refresh my memory when Strowman mention him and the briefcase. Oof. They definitely ruined that briefcase moment for Strowman. The tag match was a good display of unexpected chemistry between Otis and Strowman. Good, playful tease at the end.
damn gulak vs. bryan was good. their two matches are my top two matches of the year from america.
You should watch Thatcher/Riddle from this week's NXT.
So he can go "Damn that sucked?"
I kid. But the match was not good. Probably because I have no interest in these boring as fuck "euro strong style" Danny Burch looking motherfuckers.
Rikishi was super over way before he ever worked with Rock and Austin. The fact they turned this guy heel instead of elevating him to the main event was fucking dumb. To even think Rikishi was just some comedy act.....Dude I don't know what Rikishi you watched, maybe the TNA version but yeah....Rikishi and Otis are similar in the sense they're not thin. That's about it.
Even the stinkface was at times beyond comedy it was a fucking ruthless punishment. I honestly never found that shit funny, it was disturbing and I would have said fuck you Vince if I was ever asked to take it. Have someone take a shit on your face, that's what that dude did to peeps lol.
I'm not a Riddle fan, but Thatcher brought out the best in him and also had the tools to totally combat what he brings to the table, which says a lot, 'cause Riddle is kinda hard to pin down. Thatcher is American strong style if there ever was such a thing.
As for Rikishi, yeah, I like him as a serious main eventer.
And now Gulak is gone.
I can totally see Sonya in the Women's title conversation. She's got her character down, is a good promo, and has a lethal move set. Unfortunately, Bayley and Sasha will probably be battling over the title for a while, so Sonya will probably won't get an opportunity any time soon. I don't mind though. Bayley's been great since they started doing the empty arena shows.
Why is that unfortunate? Finally getting the Sasha/Bayley feud.
Though maybe 2 years too late?
I'm pretty sure the reason for it being unfortunate is that Sonya is crushing it but is still likely out of the title picture and possibly in limbo after the Mandy stuff runs its course. Seems a little rushed for that conversation (title talk), to be honest, but there is a bigger concern looming. Sonya better not fall into booking oblivion at the expense of trying to push the likes of Tamina or Dana or someone who probably doesn't need the push or seems forced. Naomi doesn't deserve that, and neither does Sonya.
BG took the words out of my mouth. It's probably a bit premature to say Sonya should be in contention for the title, but she's separated herself from the pack in a short amount of time. Ideally you'd want to capitalize on this and give her a push, but there's several women ahead of her and she can easily get lost in the shuffle. I can see a Sonya/Lacey Evans feud after the storyline with Mandy plays out. I don't think Lacey's going anywhere while Sonya could be the future of the division, so that would be a good way to build her up.
I couldn't believe Dana got that win over Naomi, and after she was made to look like an idiot at MITB. That was just embarrassing for Naomi.
I figured that's what you meant, so I took a stab at assessing lol.
When you look at it, Smackdown's women's division is actually relatively healthy (if utilized correctly).
In no order...
- Bayley
- Sasha
- Alexa
- Nikki
- Naomi
- Mandy
- Sonya
- Lacey
Then you've got the likes of Ember, Carmella, Dana to round out the depth as projects.
According to the front page, Ember Moon might be out for good.
So you might want to take her off the injured reserve list.
That's hella lame.
I know. I was a big Ember Moon mark.
She was like six DND characters rolled into one and made into a wrestler. Like some kind of wacky ass Xena Warrior Princess werewolf thing with some Amazon shit thrown in on top. And she had some badass gear and cool contact lenses. And she was wicked hot and she was fun and she could talk and work.
Shame to see her on the DL, pretty much permanently. If anyone saw her Table For 3 with Alexa Bliss and Braun Strowman, you'll know she's really witty and articulate. There's definitely a place for her on some kind of Network show or WWE Backstage as a host or something.
SmackDown:
-AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (IC TITLE TOURNEY QUARTERFINAL)
-Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus (IC TITLE TOURNEY Q-FINAL)
-Bayley vs. Charlotte Flair
-Mandy & Otis vs. Sonya & Ziggler (MIXED TAG)
205 Live:
-Swerve Scott vs. Tyler Breeze
No to be awkard but the Friday night thread now covers all SD discussion.
Jeff was lookin at his best in his match with Cesaro, so I'm looking forward to his match with Sheamus.
Charlotte doesn't interest me, but Bayley does.
Hopefully someone blades in the mixed tag match...
John Morrison is great on the mic. He seems more in touch with reality than most of the roster who are just in touch with their twitter accounts.
Damn, that Bayley/Charlotte match was really good. They portrayed Bayley as being on Charlotte's level and even let her pick up the win.
Sonya dressed like the miz
Dolph is wearing HBK's old cut-off gloves. Very cool.
I was hoping for more than a pic of Shad. I hope they ring the bell 10 times at the beginning of Raw.
As much as I would love that, bare facts are Shad has been out the company a long time and was not in that long to begin with so cannot see them giving any more special treatment really.
LOL did I just hear turd cutter during that Miz & Morrison interview?
You sure did.
I think they'll pay for his funeral, pay for his son's college tuition, and rehire JTG go challenge Braun for the universal title, winning at WrestleMania 37 as a tribute to Shad.
You missed JTG stealing the #30 spot backstage, winning the Rumble and eliminating Roman.
I'd love to see Miz get another run with one of the top belts. I wouldn't mind Morrison getting one too. They are killin it as a team right now though.
Miz and Morrison tangling with Strowman tells me two things: they didn't want to rush right into The Fiend and Strowman, and they don't know exactly what they want to do with the tag division. Strowman beating them isn't ideal but they're able to generate enough heat that it shouldn't derail them that much.
Of course they made a trade and it's not clear how it's supposed to pan out. It makes sense to have Styles on Smackdown though. He never really clicked with the landscape on Raw initially and then Raw moved to making younger guys more of an emphasis. Guys like Owens don't have an outright distinct direction on Raw so moving someone like Styles made sense. From the dream match setup for their Mania match and all of the rematches, this matchup between Nakamura and Styles was much better. It didn't sniff the WK magic they had back in the day but this was good stuff. It certainly helped that it wasn't focused on shitty finishes or punching each other in the pills. Great counter out of the triangle into the modified Styles Clash. The right guy moved on in the tournament.
They really did a lot fo make Bayley look good in the champion versus champion match. I'm quite surprised they gave her the win, albeit not in clean fashion. She's really come into her own in the empty-arena setting. As for Charlotte, it's gotta be a bit now that they're keeping her rotating on all three shows. Why the hell is she in a No. 1 contenders match on Raw for Asuka's title?
Good comment by Graves on Mandy's new looks over the last few weeks: it's like putting a bumper sticker on a Lamborghini. I like what Mandy has been doing with her look since Mania. They've done a lot in terms of matches between Sonya, Mandy, Otis, and Ziggler over the last few weeks but they did a really nice job keeping the general theme or story relevant and get multiple people over in the process. That speaks to solid execution and storytelling. Good sign that Sonya got a pin over Mandy again in regard to Sonya's viability in the short term.
Main event was good enough for what it was. They're making it a point to give the IC tournament matches a lot of time. Outside of Corbin/Elias, I'm not opposed against that decision. Hardy and Bryan had a good match on Smackdown back in early 2019 so I like seeing them go at it again. I'm guessing Sheamus gets involved in some form or fashion to set up another match between Hardy and Sheamus at Backlash.
The weirdest thing about Mandy's new outfit was that she kept the vest on the entire match. I also had flashbacks of Lana wearing denim when she was with Ziggler, so I hope this new look is short lived
Could be worse. It could be a denim vest....
Jason Jordan makes an appearance. And most likey sheamus is the rikishi of this storyline
I wonder what this angle will do to the IC title tournament? Nice start to Smackdown!
Who is the guy in the suit?
Adam Pearce.
He sucks...
Who is the guy in the suit and Jason Jordan made an appearance and sheamus is the rikishi of the car stiryline
Morons...
WWE should hire Logan Stunt.
Guessing the guy in the hoodie will show sheamus set up gardy
They should make Logan Stunt the guy in the hoodie. I'm talking relevance.
Sonya looking good mmm
Jeff should start being an off-the-wagon Raven sort of character who has to watch from behind the glass and cut feel-sorry-for-me promos because he can't compete due to the wellness policy.
Otis's man-bra finally comes off and it's only in dreams. Classic WWE.
You would think there would be more AJ on this show...
Damn, that was a great main event!
Vince's timely have and will always suck hard and be fucking idiotic from the word Go.
The idea of going aggressive with the idea that Hardy fell off the wagon and nearly killed someone is an...interesting way to go about things. I have no idea why Adam Pearce is considered the avatar for the authority figure of Smackdown. That's happened numerous times and they've never addressed it.
There were two interesting eliminations in the battle royal: Gable eliminating Cesaro (and Nakamura) and Jay Uso eliminating Corbin. The fact that they doubled down by going right into Cesaro/Gable withe Gable winning and Uso made it to the final two has me curious as to whether they actually have plans for the two of them.
I like Sonya/Lacey was framed as rising stars of the division on Smackdown. That's more viable for Sonya but I like the fact that they're saying these two women matter, thus giving further reasoning to have the match other than just cause (in addition to the fabricated twitter beef). The fact that they had the wonky finish made sense if they were more than fine keeping things going another week or so between the two. There's certainly something there between the ladies and I want to see more of it.
This might have been the first Moment of Bliss that was actually entertaining and productive. Bayley calling Alexa Charlotte Jr. seemed like a burn that didn't get a moment to breathe but it was a good one. The match between Alexa and Sasha was solid, and the back and forth between Bayley and Nikki was extremely enjoyable. A booth of Asuka and Nikki could be something special. Seems like they're slowly teasing a match between three of the four teams to win the championship. Could have strong ripple effects for the losers.
Interesting acceleration between Otis and Mandy. The framing of them didn't really seem like adults that were together or they were extremely bashful about their relationship leading up to this week. That clearly went out the window with their getaway day segment and they took things to a 10. It was a really funny dose of humor and subversion for the fantasy angle.
Good usage of Angle to promote the impending arrival of Riddle. There are so many people that Riddle's going to have a chance to work with out of the gate. Sheamus would be a pretty great launch point for Riddle.
Bryan and Sheamus are so damn good together. Really good when they slow it down and get physical, and when they can get the pace going and up the intensity. I'm assuming that the hacker is going to reveal what happened to start the episode. That's way too convenient of a plot hole not to utilize the hacker. Meanwhile...Bryan versus Styles. Hell yes.
I enjoyed this Smackdown. The opening segment felt different, and way too contrived, but it moved quickly enough from the accident scene that they had my attention, and kept me following along. It sure beats same old same old opening promo/beatdown then "serious voices" followed by Cole making an announcement while the screen shows a complex graphic with the new match participants. I couldn't help but think of the older times when the budget would have allowed actual damage to a car - not just drive it on the curb and lift the bonnet. Braun looks silly from behind when he's wearing a baseball hat - a Hillbilly Jim vibe.
The backstage discussion with the wrestlers actually worked - I loved AJ calling DB a moron by not taking a mid-round bye. We all wondered who the heck the guy in the vest who had the power to make matches, but I'm glad it wasnt a McMahon
I enjoyed the Moment of Bliss segment, and the match with Alexa and Sasha was good, but it was made even better with Nikki and Bayley on commentary. Bayley has been shining in every segment she's been in lately, and the way she handled herself on the mic has been so much better than the wooden, timid character she first appeared as. Nikki's enthusiastic support for Bliss was great in its own way - they seem to be giving her some character development of late that isn't so much different than her prior stuff. A little thing like Nikki congratulating Bayley for her win over Charlotte last week - and Bayley quickly turning it on Bliss as "That's the way you should welcome a guest" just plain worked. I don't really know why New Day was out there, but they did manage to put over the Forgotten Sons as an upcoming threat.
I also enjoyed the Sonya/Lacey match and am looking forward to more from both ladies. I could do without the blonde/brunette story as that seems so Betty/Veronica. But I still want to see more of these two - and I hope they both get some mic time to give us more of a reason to care about them. Kudos to the commentary team for this match as they helped make us care.
Otis and Mandy's alone time - we all know Otis is a lucky lucky man. If this were years ago, Vince would have booked Otis to ask Mandy what she thought of Becky becoming a mom, and Vince would want to film and air a conception angle.
The Shorty G vs. Cesaro stuff backstage and in the BR was pretty lame, but I am hopeful we haven't seen the last of these two. I am glad Shorty is back, and I wish Cesaro had a better push, or was allowed to be a face and do his spin move.
I enjoyed the main event a lot, even though I expected DB to win since the finals opponent was announced as AJ. Sheamus likely got Jeff drunk, and drove Jeff's car into Elias. But I like how they are running with this, for now. When they give us a feeling that almost anything can happen, that's a good thing.
Mmmmm Doughnuts
Can't say I was too comfortable with the opening segment. It's one thing to have Sheamus make snidey comments to get heat which is fine but I think the crash segment was a bit far and in bad taste.
I would've just gone with Jeff vs Bryan with Sheamus costing him the match.
Yeah, I thought it was a pretty shitty thing to go with, but meh.
The other use for this was to protect Elias - and if they are going to take him off TV until he has a crowd for his shtick to work with, then all the better. Elias now has a built-in feud with Sheamus waiting, and I'd rather Elias take some time off, and come back to take on Sheamus after Jeff is done with him, instead of having Elias take a meaningless loss against AJ, then be forgotten for a while.
Plus, give them credit for trying something different that wasn't completely terrible. It held our attention and presented multiple problems for them to try to address later, instead of just randomly getting matches thrown together on the spot. It is insulting to the viewer's intelligence to pretend they don't have a plan, and are making matches up as they go along. But they gave us a reason for the unadvertised battle royal match, and the implications for it. More importantly - did anyone come off poorly after this segment, or did they actually give us reasons to care more about what's going on?
The opening segment led to the Battle Royal, and they played off the stories that developed in the Battle Royal for the rest of the night. They gave us a reason to care about Shorty G's beef with Cesaro, and Shorty really needs a character boost to go along with his solid ring work. How would simply having Jeff lose to Bryan via Sheamus interference / distraction have helped the Shorty G / Cesaro story, or single Uso, or Elias' story?
I certainly don't want to see a phony car crash every week, and I get that with Jeff's (and others like Uso's) history of DWI issues it wasn't the most tasteful angle, but this is Vince McMahon running things after all, so there's plenty of history of poor taste. Not the best thing they've done, but don't make it sound like its even close to the worst without acknowledging the good story development opportunity here.
Just watching now. Nikki is just fantastic
I originally thought about the connective tissue of Sheamus mentioning Riddle as Riddle's first match on Smackdown but I've got a better idea.
The only negative is that it seems like WWE is focused on putting things on the weekly shows to try to bump ratings. If that's not on the table, I go the Shinsuke Nakamura route. You hype Riddle's first match on the main roster for Backlash (which was the same PPV for Nakamura). You make people wait and you've got the perfect first foil: Baron Corbin. Riddle was on Team NXT for Survivor Series. Who was the person that pinned him? Corbin. Riddle was a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble. Who was the person that eliminated him? Corbin.
You call back to that as the build for your match. Icing on the cake: You have the match but you do a replay of Riddle/Ohno from Takeover War Games. Riddle throttles the hell out of Corbin and knocks him out fast. That was the big mistake with the Nakamura match with Dolph Ziggler. It was too back and forth for a debut. Riddle pummels Corbin and moves along, and it just adds more heat on Corbin.
Oh I know it's not the worst thing they've done but I'm not gonna excuse their history to say it was still in very poor taste. I think they try too hard to shed light on real-life issues for storyline purposes. It held my attention but not in a good way. Battle royal could still have happened via a simple backstage attempt or something. Plus how are they going to explain Sheamus's involvement trying to get Jeff drunk or fiddling with the car or something?
Opening segment gripe aside, there was plenty of the show that I did like. Moment of Bliss segment was great as was the Mandy/Otis segment. Cesaro/Shorty G feud is a plus too.
Last edited by Badger; May 31st, 2020 at 7:20 AM.
I re-watched Smackdown to catch a few things I missed.
- Even though I really dislike that they're exploiting Jeff's history of substance abuse yet again, the segment was well done and it set up a whole bunch of matches. I'd like to see more of this in the future.
- I'm starting to get the feeling Sonya and Lacey are heading towards a hair v hair match. So much emphasis is being placed on blonde hair that I'll be disappointed if it doesn't culminate with this.
- That Otis/Mandy segment was classic. I don't know who put it together, but they're starting to hone in on their dynamic. Keep playing up the fact that Otis is the opposite of the ideal man, but Mandy still loves him for all his quirks.
Why was Adam Pearce standing on a box or something when he was addressing the talent, making him seem about 8 feet tall? Looked fooking daft.
Adam Pearce is suddenly like the de-facto GM for both shows. He is the new people power.
I saw Steve Corino make a cameo as a babysitter on NXT.
We wouldn't care who makes the matches, or who's the GM at all, if they hadn't made such a big deal about it for the past 20 years....
Would it have taken much to have someone like Cole or Graves actually tell the viewing audience who Adam Pearce is, and why he has the power to make matches?
Guessing the guy in the hoodie shows sheamus that set up hardy at the end of the show
This isn't a troll but more of an encouragement
Post something in another thread outside the Raw/SD threads when those shows are going on. For instance why do you not comment on NXT?
Bayley 2 Belts just made my week.
Co-signed. Bayley has been on fire since her heel turn.Bayley 2 Belts just made my week.
Bayley and Banks winning the title felt like the right move. Deserving champs and probably the only 2 who should be on both Raw and SmackDown.
I liked Bliss/Cross with the tag titles, they are a good team and two talented under-rated workers. I feel like they only did the job to set up Sasha/Bayley at Summerslam, which really didn’t need the tag titles if Sasha was going to win in her hometown and beat Bayley.
I like Bliss and Cross but Sasha and Bayley feel like superstars at this point. They've got some real swing in their step while Bliss and Cross still seem a little cutesy although they really looked like they were gonna win last night.
I'm not good at predicting booking decisions and I definitely don't know where they're going with Sasha and Bayley. I'm quite happy with just about anything these four do at this stage.
The Hardy/Sheamus still felt kind of like a dud but I think that was due to the fact that Hardy had to do the heavy lifting this week in terms of providing exposition verbally. It's not his strong suit. He wasn't terribly with it, but it just felt too long and not as concise as it probably should have been. So this is the new attacker angle of the quarter? Still guessing the Hacker is ultimately going to reveal who it was.
Corbin/Otis seemed like filler and stuff that wasn't becoming for the heel. The guy got DQ'ed, and got wrecked for his services after the fact. Not sure how that did any favors for Corbin. I did like how supportive and engaged Mandy was during the match.
With Backlash only having five matches, I'm kind of surprised that Lacey/Sonya wasn't added. I'm more baffled with how the match actually went and the time it was given. It could have been a good moment to highlight two women they're trying to frame as key pieces to the future of the division. The match itself was a little clunky in spots but I think that fit for the physicality they were trying to work off of. Lacey has really come a long way over the last year or so. A little surprised Sonya lost but I guess the fact Mandy involved protected Sonya a bit.
Excellent fire by Bryan in the promo segment. I think it did Bryan well, also, because Bryan kind of validated his point of view for earning a spot in the finals of the tournament. Noble or not, it was kind of silly on his part to fight for the spot when Styles outright was given the bye when he presented that as an option. Bryan took the different path but he explained why that was his view of the better path. That explanation goes a very long way. The finish to Gulak/Styles was definitely surprising but I think it creates an interesting first defense for whoever wins.
The Strowman/Miz and Morrison stuff really felt weak for what's supposed to be built around the top title on the brand. The first portions of it were doing no favors to Strowman either because he was supposed to look normal or the butt of a joke and he shouldn't be either of those. He needs to be angry "IM NOT FINISHED WITH YOU" Strowman. We got that at the end.
What a step down in completing a trio for Nakamura and Cesaro. Sheesh. The six-man match was pretty frenetic at parts, which is usually ideal for this type of match in this setting. A push for Gable at the expense of Cesaro and Nakamura seems like a half win, but beggars can't be choosers.
It's clearly nothing but it's pretty entertaining that the MMA 4HW that are in the audience really like to give the business to the 4HW when they come out (Charlotte Monday, Sasha and Bayley Friday). The main event was pretty entertaining. I'm surprised they did a title change but I think that lends credence to the idea they might want to prolong the dissension between Sasha and Bayley and want to magnify their perceived unity with the belts. They're probably a better fit to have floating between the shows. That's not a outright slap in the face to Alexa and Nikki, but Sasha and Bayley are definitely a tier higher than the two of them.
If there's a PPV before Summerslam after Backlash, Boss and Hug vs. Kabuki Warriors for the tag titles with the stipulation of Asuka's and Bayley's titles also being on the line if they get pinned would be a logical main event where they can advance angles while giving shine to the division with all 3 titles on the line. You can cop out with Kairi getting pinned and everything stays the same, or you can shake things up huge with a triple champion or one of the teams having both singles titles too.
That sounds good. I could see Bayley as triple champ being the final test of Sasha's loyalty and the seed of Sasha's jealousy. I keep hearing about Sasha vs Bayley starting up again but I think Bayley has got to be a babyface again for that to reach its maximum potential.
I missed Smackdown and was wondering if anything interesting happened. This definitely qualifiesBayley 2 Belts just made my week.
I think it's time for Nikki to move on from Alexa. She's stepped it up on the mic and I could see her doing well in singles competition. This would probably mean Alexa turns on her. Then they can get a new partner for Lexi since she's much better in the tag division. Maybe someone from NXT.
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