One of the major talking points from last week in WWE was the scathing promo that The Miz cut on Daniel Bryan during Talking Smack.
It leads to rumours of a possible return to the ring for Bryan, plus people questioning whether it was a worked promo or a shoot.
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So, how did Smackdown capitalize on this controversy and did they use it to build to Backlash, the first brand-exclusive PPV of the new era which is just over a week away?
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#1 - Mizzed Opportunity
When Miz kicked off Smackdown this week, it appeared as though WWE were indeed going to capitalise on the buzz created by his “You’re the coward” rant from the previous week.
However, he was quickly interrupted by Dolph Ziggler who challenged him to a match which Miz declined and retreated up the ramp with Maryse.
While both Dolph & Miz cut decent promos last night, it fell some way short of continuing the momentum of this angle and the fact that there was no interaction whatsoever between Miz & Bryan on Smackdown Live, it felt like a huge missed opportunity to further this feud.
#2 - Please go Mojo
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I can’t stand Mojo Rawley.
Everything about him irritates me and has me reaching for the fast-forward button. I know I’m not going to be a huge fan of everyone on the roster but Rawley has done nothing to impress me and has me questioning how on Earth he got a spot on the roster in the first place.
Is it just me? Let me know what you think by commenting below with your thoughts on Mojo Rawley, maybe I’m missing something.
#3 - The face that runs the place
I am loving the swagger and arrogance that AJ Styles currently has following his big win over John Cena at Summerslam.
It’s also refreshing to see someone transition from one feud to the next instead of completely forgetting about their last match and moving on. Styles keeps bragging about defeating Cena and feels he has taken his spot as the ‘face that runs the place’, which leads perfectly into his WWE World Title program with Dean Ambrose.
#4 Strong showing for Apollo
Apollo Crews again showed some personality on this week’s Smackdown and is slowly beginning to define his character which will help him no end in getting over with the audience.
He refused to back down from AJ Styles in a backstage segment and then confronted him in the ring and challenged him to a match. This is much better than the smiley, happy-go-lucky Apollo we’ve seen since his main roster debut and after an impressive showing in his match with Styles, Crews’ career seems to be on the up.
#5 - Slater’s Trailer
This week on Smackdown we got a look at the home life of the hottest free agent in professional wrestling, Heath Slater.
We learnt that Slater lives in a trailer with his wife Beulah, his new tag partner Rhyno and his countless children. It was a unique and fairly entertaining segment that did a great job in recapping the journey that Heath has been on in trying to win a contract with either Raw or Smackdown Live.
Heath Slater was dealt a tough hand in being the forgotten man in the draft, yet he has thrived in this role and is firmly over with the WWE audience.
#6 - Wyatt vs Orton
Randy Orton has been somewhat revitalised since his return from injury, his blockbuster match against Brock Lesnar at Summerslam put him in the spotlight and the controversial ending to that match has made him one of the most talked about performers on the entire roster in recent weeks.
The same can not be said of Bray Wyatt who has become a very stale character and the feud between these two men, while good on paper, feels average at best.
A match between these two a couple of years ago would have been huge, however, their confrontation on last night’s Smackdown only highlighted Bray Wyatt’s desperate need for a fresh approach to his character.
#7 - The Headbangers return
I for one was looking forward to the return of The Headbangers to see how they look and if they can still go.
The answers to these questions was that they still look great, and appear to have hardly aged at all during their 16-year absence from WWE. Not to mention, they can still go in the ring.
Unfortunately though, the crowd was dead for their match and they barely got a reaction during their entrance. The audience seemed more invested in Heath Slater’s story which is to be expected but it was still a shame to see The Headbangers fade into the background after what was expected to be a more nostalgic and entertaining return.
#8 - ‘The Milkman’
Probably the most bizarre moment of this week’s Smackdown Live was just prior to the main event when a man calling himself Gary ‘The Milkman’ Millman was in the ring and challenged anyone on the roster to a fight.
This lead to Kane answering the call and giving Millman a single chokeslam before leaving.
The point of this segment was lost on me and just left me scratching my head.
#9 - Fight For Supremacy
As mentioned earlier in this article, the feud between Ambrose and AJ Styles seemed fairly obvious, a fight for supremacy over the WWE World Title and a fight to prove which one is the true face of Smackdown Live.
However, that story hasn’t been told on our screens, at least not to its full potential.
A true verbal confrontation between the pair has yet to happen and we are just over a week from their Title match at Backlash. But this feud isn’t Backlash’s only problem going into the PPV…
#10 - Boring Backlash
The whole card for Smackdown Live’s Backlash PPV is underwhelming and the build to these matches has done nothing to change that.
Backlash will be the first brand exclusive PPV of the new era and gives Smackdown Live an opportunity to set the bar for Raw to beat. Yet, with just over a week to go, the show has next to no hype or momentum going into it.
Smackdown needs to pull something special out the bag on next week’s go-home show to make Backlash a must-see event.
