With WWE Extreme Rules 2017 right around the corner, the WWE was under some intense pressure to deliver great episodes of Monday Night Raw and Smackdown Live, and for the most part, deliver they did.
The red brand might have fallen short in the mid-card yet again but the build up for the Extreme Rules Fatal Fiveway Number 1 Contender match was so good, that you can't help but lick your lips in anticipation for what is about to come.
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Smackdown Live had its best episode since The Superstar Shakeup with some fantastic action, although, it was let down by a few questionable booking decisions with regards to the Men's Money in the Bank Ladder match as well as the WWE Championship picture.
A former WWE writer just went after JBL for his comments HERE
Today, we're here to analyse which of our wishes the WWE fulfilled and which ones they decided to throw into the garbage bin. There were equal amounts of both.
Here is our list of 5 things we wanted from the WWE this week and what they delivered for the week of 30th May 2017:
#5 What we wanted: Randy Orton confronting Jinder Mahal; What we got: A bland segment where the two did not meet face to face
Hands up those who thought Jinder Mahal vs Randy Orton was going to degenerate into an American vs Foreigner feud. The WWE, true to form, decided to take the easiest route for the upcoming WWE Championship match between the two men at Money in the Bank.
Orton, in his incredibly boring and indifferent way, delivered a promo about his American roots, which resulted in "USA! USA! USA!" chants, before Jinder Mahal appeared on the Titan Tron to talk disparagingly about the United States, and proclaiming himself to be The Modern Day Maharaja.
The two didn't even meet face to face for a proper confrontation and the WWE Championship feud is feeling more and more worthless as the weeks go by. The Smackdown Live creative team have their work cut for them in order to make this something to care about.
#4 What we wanted: A Women's Money in the Bank match; What we got: A Women's Money in the Bank match
In a welcome change to the average storylines on the Smackdown Live Women's Division, the WWE Universe finally got its wish for a Women's Money in the Bank Ladder match this past Tuesday night.
After the scheduled Elimination Fatal Fiveway Match to determine the Number 1 Contender for Naomi's Smackdown Live Women's Championship disintegrated into chaos before the opening bell rang, Shane McMahon came in to make the huge announcement.
Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Natalya Neidhart, Tamina Snuka, and Carmella will be going head to head in the first ever Women's Money in the Bank Ladder match at the upcoming Money in the Bank pay-per-view. And there was also a sweet powerbomb through the announce table by Charlotte on Natalya.
#3 What we wanted: A strong week for the tag teams; What we got: A strong week for the tag teams on Smackdown Live
The return of The New Day offered a glimpse into a strong week for the tag team division on Smackdown Live and that's exactly what we got. The trio of Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, and Big E returned to a thunderous ovation and they established themselves as the Number 1 Contenders for the Smackdown Live Tag Team Championship held by The Usos.
Even Tyler Breeze and Fandango continued their recent good run with another episode of The Fashion Files and a fun match against The Colons where they picked up the victory as Breeze hit the Unprettier.
Monday Night Raw, on the other hand, wasn't great for the tag division as The Hardyz and Sheamus & Cesaro got lumped in with Dean Ambrose & The Miz in a botch filled Six Man Tag Team match that did nothing for either match at Extreme Rules.
You can't have your cake and eat it too, I guess.
#2 What we wanted: The end of The Hometown Curse; What we got: Continuation of The Hometown Curse
As Smackdown Live rolled into Georgia this week, the entire WWE Universe was praying that The Hometown Curse would end and that AJ Styles would be able to pick up the victory in front of his adoring fans.
Unfortunately, the curse claimed its latest victim as Dolph Ziggler beat The Phenomenal One clean in a shock upset. It's utterly baffling that the WWE makes its hometown heroes lose on such a regular basis. This needs to change ASAP.
#1 What we wanted: Building up hype for the Extreme Rules main event; What we got: Exactly that
The WWE built up the hype for the Extreme Rules Fatal Fiveway Number 1 Contender's Match in perfect fashion on this past episode of Monday Night Raw when Samoa Joe, Bray Wyatt, and Finn Balor squared off in a Triple Threat match and then Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins went head to head to close out the night.
It was great wrestling all around and some sound decision making as Joe picked up the victory despite Balor's best efforts earlier in the night before the two former Shield brothers put on a superb main event with The Big Dog going over Rollins clean.
The quality of matches ensures that expectations will be high for Extreme Rules.
