After weeks of mediocre shows, only saved by the return of a certain Attitude Era superstar, Raw pulled off a fairly decent show last night. But even then, Smackdown Live upped their game and produced a winner.
A lot of things in the show were questionable, but that doesn’t change the fact that not only does Smackdown appear to be the more interesting brand, it’s also the brand more fans seem to be supporting in the Survivor Series inter-brand encounters.
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Live from an international location, ie. Glasgow, Scotland, Smackdown Live opened with the ‘Phenomenal One’ AJ Styles, as he walked towards the ring and did not drop in momentum for the duration of the show.
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#1 Best: Amazing Women’s Championship match
While the Sasha Banks vs Charlotte match did create history, it was not the best match from a wrestling standpoint. HIAC wasn’t the match it needed to be to go down in history as a classic. Sasha Banks no sold her injury, after almost being carried out on a stretcher.
Psychologically, Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss did a far better job, obviously without the hoopla that surrounds just about any women’s match on Raw. The action was solid, and the sketchy end ensures that we’ll see more matches between these two. We certainly won’t mind that at all. Good job, Smackdown Ladies!
#1 Worst: Main event?
There’s a reason that fans take the ladies on Raw more seriously than those on Smackdown. Even after promoting the Women’s Championship match as the main event on Smackdown Live, it turns out that the match was smack in the middle of the show.
When the ladies on Raw say they’re main eventing a Raw or a PPV, they actually do so! This shows how little faith the Smackdown booking committee has in the women.
#2 Best: Blockbuster announcement
At first glance, when you pit the Raw Survivor Series team against the Smackdown Live team, Baron Corbin is the anomaly. Not only is he not in the same league as Chris Jericho or Seth Rollins as a performer, he isn't as big a superstar as Roman Reigns either.
Heck, he isn't even the monster that Braun Strowman has been booked as. The inclusion of Shane McMahon makes it a more legitimate team, with a captain who can keep his boys in check.
#2 Worst: Styles on the microphone
AJ Styles steals the show with incredible main events, week in and week out.
Today, he wasn't wrestling and it was quite an off day for the man. Not only was he struggling to cut a promo at the beginning of the show, he was a disaster on commentary too. While Styles has come a long way since he started, he is not quite ‘there’ on the microphone.
#3 Best: Amazing crowd
While the Scottish crowd was just as hot for Raw, as they were for Smackdown, at least they did not try to misbehave with the talent here.
There was no hijacking of the show this time. Their enthusiasm was felt through our television sets, and this made the show feel extra special. We sure hope that more shows happen in international locations. The feel is just electric at these foreign locales.
#3 Worst: Burial of NXT call ups
Both The Vaudevillains and Apollo Crews came to the main roster with much fanfare after the last Wrestlemania.
While neither could gain momentum, it was assumed that the brand split would help both. Turns out that they’re nothing more than glorified jobbers as of now. How do you recover any momentum after being pinned by Breezango and Curt Hawkins? With stronger booking, both these units could have honestly been really legitimate competitors.
#4 Best: Another inter-brand title match
We love the fact that two titles, namely the Intercontinental Championship as well as the Cruiserweight Title will be defended at Survivor Series, in actual inter-brand matches. This is not just because Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, Brian Kendrick and Kalisto will put on a show for the ages.
This just makes the brand wars seem far more interesting and gives actual stakes to both the matches. It also leaves us with the question- will The Miz defect to Raw? Survivor Series can’t come soon enough.
#4 Worst: 4-man commentary booth
Just hear us out. Jim Ross and Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler. Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby ‘The Brain Heenan’. Tom Phillips and Corey Graves. Daniel Bryan and Mauro Ranallo on the Cruiserweight Classic series. Every good commentary unit has had two people.
While we’re still not sure if a three-man unit works, why does WWE want to include a fourth person into the mix? This makes absolutely no sense. If anything, it will just make the outcome messier.
IN CONCLUSION, this was definitely an 8/10 show, with some complaints, but Becky Lynch rules.
