WWE needed things to start working out as fans have been turning (rightly so) on the beleaguered product for various missteps and ignoring what the fans have been begging for for months, if not years.
It’s not an easy fix and will take some time. Along the way, there will be pratfalls and the defensive method of going with what’s safe and worked in the past. See where we’re going with this?
https://www.instagram.com/p/B3x5QQzB7Za/
Anyway, on to the Lowlights
- The draft. Please, move on from the critically and fan derided failure that was the draft already. Having the commentators mention is in every sentence as they introduced the first match isn’t doing anyone any favors, especially Roman Reigns. Using it as a plot device to bring this and the later tag team match together isn’t a bad idea per se, but given Crown Jewel is strictly a cash grab and isn’t take seriously by many fans makes it questionable.
- Bayley as a heel. While she’s great at playing the part and the fans respond to her more than most others, it seriously looks like it pains her not to smile. She’s such a cheerful, happy person that this is probably a stretch for her, but she’s rocking in, so no argument here. Okay, you got me. This isn’t exactly a lowlight, but it’s not a highlight either. A mixedlight?
- Bray Wyatt. Remember the previous rant about the draft? Yeah, about that. Here’s round two. Wyatt was drafted to Smackdown, but he’s being promoted to be on Raw through November. Guess who’s going to be traded to Raw or ignore the draft? Just another nail in the coffin of what’s been a forgettable couple of months for WWE creative.
- Braun Strowman and Drew Gulak. Sure, Gulak’s talented and it was fun listening to him patronizing Strowman before his clock was cleaned. But this was a time waster of a match and Gulak is too talented to be a jobber. Hopefully, they have bigger plans for him. Otherwise, they should just send him back to NXT. Good thing they held that draft.
- The main event. Okay, how many times over the last few months have we had a match that looked awesome have interference and be used as a vehicle for another “spur of the moment” match? Had it not been for Daniel Bryan’s efforts, this would’ve been a total bomb as would the episode.
- The magical word of the day. It’s fairly simple to keep fans interested. Just give us a little unpredictability weekly. Just a nugget, and we’ll tune in to see where it leads. But when the same gimmick is run week after week, show after show, it becomes tedious and festers.
Final Thoughts
Two words: Daniel Bryan. He saved Smackdown and will continue to save Smackdown despite the best efforts of WWE creative to give us more of the same tired stuff week after week. We’re supposed to believe Eric Bischoff was the problem, that he was aloof and didn’t care, yet Bruce Prichard has been running things for months, and last night Smackdown went full circle in the recycling department. Yes, Smackdown showed an improvement when they hired Bischoff, so it seems he had some hand in it initially. Now… welcome back to the same old show fans have been tuning out for months.
