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This was the fourth straight night of action from Houston Texas, after a power packed lineup of WWE events, consisting of NXT Takeover: WarGames, Survivor Series 2017, and RAW, leading into this very episode of SmackDown Live.
There was enough that happened across the two hours to warrant that this show does indeed get a thumbs up rating from us. However, like most things in life, this episode wasn't perfect.
We are here to list the best and worst from this episode of the blue brand. Let us know in the comments, what you feel about them.
Here is a rundown of what we liked and what we disliked from this week of SmackDown Live.
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#1 Best: A running thread
At the top of the show, it seemed that Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, the two men that betrayed SmackDown Live at Survivor Series would be fired by Shane McMahon. Daniel Bryan saved them, and booked them in a lumberjack match, in the main event of the evening.
What we liked is what happened in the aftermath of this booking. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens approached superstars in the back, wanting to them them against Shane McMahon and brainwashing them into joining forces with the devious duo.
The two failed to recruit Bobby Roode and Baron Corbin to their cause, but when it came to Rusev and Aiden English, two men that had been overlooked for Survivor Series, they succeeded. Rusev and English played a big part in the main event match, showing their true colours.
This was a good bit of storytelling, and deft touches like these can really enhance the overall product.
#1 Worst: The grand finale
When Shane McMahon asked Daniel Bryan to take over for the night, and fire Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at the conclusion of the main event match, we were certain that something massive could happen in the main event spot.
Unfortunately, even after the brawl at the end of the night came to a fateful conclusion, Daniel Bryan would only punish Owens by booking him in a match against Randy Orton for next week's show. That is quite anti climatic considering the many possibilities we had considered and deliberated upon.
Facing Randy Orton in a match for next week isn't even a punishment. The two men have been teasing a feud on Twitter for a long time now, taking potshots at one another.
Let's hope WWE booking does a better job during next week's episode.
#2 Best: Potential plots
There are two interesting stories that could play out in a massive way, over the weeks to come. The first is the friction between Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan, the two central authority figures of SmackDown Live. The second and more interesting plot, is Kevin Owens abandoning Sami Zayn.
The former bailed on the latter when chaos broke loose during the Lumberjack match. Owens escaped through the crowd, but Zayn could not. WWE should capitalize on this aspect, in the following week, leading into the next storyline development.
#2 Worst: Two shows, one story?
In our 'Best and Worst' of RAW feature, we mentioned how we liked the fact that Paige had allied herself with Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville, as unusual as the trio was, when they took out the RAW women's division and the champion, Alexa Bliss.
We are not fond of the fact that WWE is doing the very same angle on SmackDown Live. With Ruby Riot, Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan coming together to take out the SmackDown Live women's division, it felt like a repeat of the night before.
Ruby Riot is a great wrestler, but she is not a household name like Paige is. Some character development before introducing her as the faction leader could have done everyone a world of good.
#3 Best: A monstrous new tag team
There have been rumours that had surfaced that the Authors of Pain would be making their debuts on SmackDown Live, but it may be a good thing that the did not, at least this week. It would have taken the sheen off the debut of the Bludgeon Brothers.
Both Luke Harper and Erick Rowan obliterated their opponents- The Hype Bros, when they came to the ring. We love their music and their entrance, although Rowan could lose the sheep mask. Also, their gear may be a far too maroon for this particular gimmick.
However, it was great to see that the two men squashed their opponents, as they totally should have. One particularly interesting spot involved Harper slapping Rowan, to fire him up.
For the sake of these two talented men, let's hope this gimmick takes off and goes the distance.
#3 Worst: Extending the feud?
Heading into SmackDown Live this week, we learned that the big match between Jinder Mahal and AJ Styles would not happen on the show. We learned later that it would most likely take place at Clash of Champions.
It's always great to see AJ Styles wrestle, considering he's one of the best performers ever. However, we wonder if extending this feud for one more month is really going to be a good call or not.
There are many other opponents in the roster that Styles has not faced, like Orton, Roode and Nakamura. Having seen Jinder Mahal vs. AJ Styles in the past, these feuds seem like more attractive options.
Gear up to see AJ Styles takes on the Singh Brothers in a handicap match next week, which should be, well...pretty interesting.
#4 Best: Paul Heyman's testimony
AJ Styles was defeated by Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series, but certainly earned the respect of his advocate, Paul Heyman. This message had already been posted on social media, but the whole world witnessed the advocate, praise AJ Styles to the moon and back, this week on SmackDown Live.
Heyman compared Styles to legends such as Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart and Ric Flair, and said that inside the ring, he had updated their style and made it his own. This is huge coming from someone who does not easily dole out compliments.
This concludes our weekly review, and indeed, a long four days of wrestling coverage for us at Sportskeeda. Hope you enjoyed all the updates and the analyses that we provided to you, as the events unfolded.
However there is no rest for the weary and the wrestling fan, so stay tuned for live, hot and happening news and updates as they happen, on Sportskeeda Wrestling.
