As we had predicted in our preview article, released a few hours ago, Chris Jericho did drop the United States Championship to his fellow Canadian Kevin Owens on his way out. What we could not have predicted is how, except for this angle, the rest of the show was extremely lukewarm indeed.
Gone is the SmackDown Live from before Wrestlemania, when we’d be hooked to our television sets from start to finish. This was a watered down show, and we shall tell you why we thought so, through our best and worst countdown. Let’s get down to it, guys.
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#1 Worst: Everything about the welcoming committee
When WWE does not have a strong heel, it makes a faction of several mid-carders. Remember The League of Nations? Better yet, think about the alliance between Jinder Mahal and The Singh Brothers from this week's show itself.
Unfortunately, The Welcoming Committee is not a very good faction, considering the only good wrestler in the stable (by far) is Natalya. They do not seem like a credible threat to a woman in Charlotte’s league.
Everything about them this week was awful. Carmella, a woman who should still be working on her skills in NXT, pinning the women’s champion was an absolute travesty. The promo they cut with Becky Lynch, as well as the eventual swerve (as much Becky’s fault as their own) was really quite dismal.
We could tell that Becky would not be joining the stable when the segment began. Better storytelling can save the faction but there needs to be a complete overhaul in every sense to make us care about the SmackDown Live Women’s Division.
#1 Best: The GOAT saves the show
Jericho was the best thing about Raw last year.
We believe that he’ll be the best thing about SmackDown Live this year when he returns after touring with his heavy metal band Fozzy. Although he was only part of the show for two hours, Chris Jericho saved an atrocious show from being an absolute disaster on his way out.
Not only did he start the show off on a good note (accompanied by AJ Styles and Kevin Owens), he had a hilarious backstage segment with ‘Ronnie’ Young and the weeping Aiden English.
He had a great main event match, dropped the US Championship to Kevin Owens on the way out and also made him look like an absolute Superstar inside the squared circle. We await patiently for Jericho to return from tour and be a top player on SmackDown.
Take note, part-timers. Even at his age, Jericho is going at a million miles per hour. Best of luck with your music, Y2J.
#2 Worst: Really long enhancement talent match
Sin Cara’s new ring gear is so bright, that it hurts the eyes. While we could go on about it, we’ll leave those comments for Tyler Breeze and Fandango (about whom we’ll be talking soon).
However, this was supposed to be a warm-up match for Dolph Ziggler before he takes on Shinsuke Nakamura. A match of this nature should have lasted a shorter duration. Instead, it went on and on with Sin Cara getting most of the offence in.
Instead of making Ziggler look like a legitimate threat for Nakamura, it made him look weaker than before, considering how low Sin Cara is on the food chain. If Nakamura goes too long with Ziggler now, it will hurt his credibility too.
#2 Best: The Fashion Files
Last week, in our weekly NXT- 5 Points to Note countdown, we complimented the developmental brand for showing us that there's more to Roderick Strong than just his wrestling skills. SmackDown has assigned a segment called Fashion Files to Breezango, the number 1 contenders for the tag titles held by The Usos, in the very same vein.
While the first one did not exactly go down in sports entertainment history, it’s a far better way to kill time before a pay-per-view match than what Raw is doing- singles matches.
#3 Worst: Why is Aiden English crying?
Is this Aiden English’s new gimmick? He sings, he wrestles and he cries? In which case, wouldn’t he have been better off in the independents with his released partner, Simon Gotch?
In any case, let’s move on from this minor ‘worst’ section to the most glaring mistake on SmackDown.
#4 Worst: Why didn’t Randy Orton want his retribution?
What kind of champion is Randy Orton really? He gets his belt stolen from him, he gets attacked in a big PPV match with Bray Wyatt (all by the Indian heel alliance) and he does not show up for work, to seek retribution?
Do you wonder why there is more heat for the US Championship than the top prize in such a scenario? Stupid idiot booking really. We end with Chris Jericho and his dear friend, Ronnie. Thank you, Chris!
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