Ups And Downs From Today's WWE SmackDown [ 08/04/2016 (IST)]

[sam]

i wish you all guys watched Smack Down
Today @ Evening....

or else stay tuned for Ten Network
for repeats of this episode :tup

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Starting with the 'Downs' before moving onto the 'Ups', this article looks at both the positives and negatives from the latest slice of SmackDown fare. Several feuds were developed, including those between AJ Styles and Roman Reigns, Charlotte and Natalya, and the ongoing situation between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.

Sadly, not everything worked, but there was more good than bad across the board.

 

[sam]

RE: Ups And Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown [08/04/2016(IST)]

Downs.....

Down #3 — Summer Rae Is Not An Ideal Opponent For Natalya

WWE have made encouraging steps in regards to their female performers recently. Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch rocked it at WrestleMania, and the introduction of a new WWE Women's Title represents progress. On SmackDown, a baffling choice of opponent for Natalya hampered things a little.

Summer Rae isn't horrible inside the ring, but she comes across more like a 'Diva' than a serious female wrestler. She's a throwback to what WWE are trying to move away from when it comes to the Women's Title scene, so she wasn't the perfect opponent for the prospective top challenger on SmackDown this week.

Charlotte was at ringside providing commentary on the match, obviously building up to a future bout against Natalya. That's one to look forward to, but it would have been nicer to see the Canadian handed a win against someone with more credibility than Summer.

 

[sam]

RE: Ups And Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown [08/04/2016(IST)]

Down #2 —Poor Tyler Breeze

Nobody can have complaints with a Dean Ambrose win, the 'Lunatic Fringe' needs to rebuild some momentum following his WrestleMania loss to Brock Lesnar. Even in defeat on the pay-per-view, Ambrose came out looking good, but some wins under his belt makes perfect sense. Tyler Breeze was the unfortunate victim on this occasion.

On the main roster, 'Prince Pretty' is clearly going nowhere fast. It's a shame, because there was a lot of hype about him when he made the jump up from NXT, but management just aren't interested in the guy. There are even reports that he may be making his way back down the WWE totem pole to NXT shortly.

At this stage, he's a jobber, and that's not good. For guys like The Social Outcasts, losing matches doesn't really hurt them, because they get promo time and appear regularly. Tyler just turns up to make up the numbers, and it was a shame to see him treated like an afterthought once again on SmackDown.

Ambrose needed a win, but it doesn't really mean much at this point to defeat Tyler Breeze.

 

[sam]

RE: Ups And Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown [08/04/2016(IST)]

Down #1 — Kalisto Took The Pin For The Lucha Dragons

At WrestleMania 32, Kalisto managed to overcome the significant size difference to defeat Ryback. It was a nice story pedaled by WWE, and the match exceeded expectations to stand on its own merits as a fine bout. It was certainly a great way to open the wrestling on the card.

Come SmackDown, Kalisto was once again teaming with Sin Cara as The Lucha Dragons. The unit have been splintered somewhat this year, simply due to Kalisto's predominant work as a singles star. Still, whenever the masked men team together they provide excellent matches. Facing The Vaudevillains, another good scrap was anticipated.

Overall, the match was good, but it was Kalisto who suffered the pinfall loss to the relative newcomers. As the current WWE United States Champion, that's a bit weird. Sin Cara would have been the better option, because Kalisto's momentum coming out of WrestleMania has arguably already been squashed flat.

This kind of yo-yo booking doesn't do anyone any favours, least of all Kalisto on this occasion.

 

[sam]

RE: Ups And Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown [08/04/2016(IST)]

Up's......

Up #5 — The Lucha Dragons Were Perfect Foes For Vaudevillains Debut

For the first 'Up', it's important to look at the positive side of that particular tag-team match. Despite the baffling finish (more specifically, the man chosen to take the fall), The Lucha Dragons vs. The Vaudevillains was a fine display. Both teams gel well, likely due to their history with one another on NXT programming.

Sin Cara and Kalisto can bump around brilliantly for larger opponents, but they really excel when it there with those of a similar size. Aiden English may be larger than Kalisto, but Simon Gotch is of a similar stature to both he and Sin Cara. That helped give the match a balanced feel in general.

This was the ideal way to help English and Gotch bed onto the main roster. They have a unique gimmick, but that only goes so far. It'll be interesting to see what WWE do with them in coming weeks and months. Using an example from a previous entry, Tyler Breeze should act as a frightening example of failure for those coming up from NXT.

 

[sam]

RE: Ups And Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown [08/04/2016(IST)]

Up #4 — Apollo Crews Gets Another Win

The Social Outcasts are a wholly entertaining example of enhancement talent presented correctly. The importance of wins and losses have been downplayed over the years by WWE, but people still treat those who emerge victorious more often with a lot more credibility. That doesn't seem to affect the Outcasts, they can lose as many matches as they like and still come across as entertaining.

On SmackDown, Curtis Axel dropped to Apollo Crews in short order. The purpose of the bout was crystal clear, Axel was there to make the recently debuted Crews look like a million bucks. That's not something the former NXT man needs much help with, his flashy moves and smooth movement defy his well-muscled frame nicely.

On Monday Night Raw, he defeated Tyler Breeze (no surprises there), but Axel is by now a main roster veteran. Therefore, a win over him means a little more to Apollo in the long run.

Much like with The Vaudevillains, WWE have to ensure they maintain interest in Crews. Neville is a classic example of somebody the company don't know what to do with, and Crews doesn't want to inhabit that space too.

 

[sam]

RE: Ups And Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown [08/04/2016(IST)]

Up #3 — The Miz And Zack Ryder Meshed Really Well

It does come across as disheartening when WWE book somebody to grab an upset win on pay-per-view, and then pull the rug out from underneath them the next night on Raw. The latest victim of that booking strategy is Zack Ryder, who is now no longer WWE Intercontinental Champion. Still, at least he's back on television regularly.

On the surface, seeing Ryder and The Miz battle for the secondary strap may feel like a letdown to some, compared to when Kevin Owens was champ. That's understandable, but they actually had one of the best matches in recent TV memory on SmackDown. Both guys have a similar style, and there was a very obvious split in alignment which helped the bout.

The Miz, along with Maryse, is very much a heel. Meanwhile, Ryder has the fans in his corner, and that came across on this week's show. This was another match that exceeded expectations, because it could easily have been throwaway. There were some seriously nifty near falls in there, and the title thankfully didn't change hands again.

 

[sam]

RE: Ups And Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown [08/04/2016(IST)]

Up #2 — Roman Reigns And AJ Styles Interaction Felt Natural

Credit where credit is due, AJ Styles is an entirely fresh challenger for Roman Reigns and the WWE World Heavyweight Title. He's also an odd choice, simply because people are much more likely to cheer for AJ than they are for Reigns. Have WWE given up on relentlessly pushing Roman as a man who can do no wrong?

At the very least, it's refreshing to see Styles in such an elevated spot. For the opening segment of SmackDown, he and Reigns had a little confrontation which felt perfectly paced. There's really no need to have both men at loggerheads right now, there's plenty of time to make that happen.

For the time being, they are being fairly respectful, which is the way it should be right now. Both men are babyfaces (in theory, when it comes to Reigns anyway), so there should be a natural build towards animosity. That will only put over the importance of the title, and the SmackDown promo was absolutely fine for what it hoped to achieve.

 

[sam]

RE: Ups And Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown [08/04/2016(IST)]

Predictably Awesome Tag-Team Main Event

WWE could present this match every single week on SmackDown, and there's a good chance the men involved would find a way to make it interesting. Kevin Owens, Cesaro, AJ Styles and Chris Jericho are simply that good, and they had an absolute stormer of a match this week.

It's great to see Cesaro back, especially slotting right into main events like this one. Teaming he and Styles together was intriguing, as was the union between Jericho and Owens. If people only decide to watch one match from this week's SmackDown, it has to be this one. The WWE tag-team formula can often feel stale, but not when talent like this are working it.

Better yet, Styles was handed the win, which will only help prepare him further for Roman Reigns in the future. Sami Zayn caused the distraction, lending hope to the idea that he will face KO in more matches going forward.

As the show came to a close, Zayn and Owens were held apart from brawling by officials. Fans were into the action, which bodes well. Now, if only they'd book Jericho vs. Cesaro...

What other 'ups' and 'downs' did you take from this week's SmackDown?

Just write them below :tup

 

[Asad Afzal]

Good to see Cesaro back in action.