Best and Worst of WWE Smackdown - 9th August 2016

After the trainwreck that was Raw’s 8th August edition, us in the Sportskeeda team approached Smackdown Live with trepidation. And thankfully, while it wasn’t the perfect show, it wasn’t the disaster that Raw was. Shane O’Mac and Daniel Bryan really won this round. There were more good moments than bad, as the storylines progressed smoothly building up nicely to Summerslam. Of course, there were cringe-worthy moments too.

So let’s take the time and look at the good, bad and ugly elements of Smackdown Live.

THE GOOD

Here are 6 things we liked about the show

Eva Marie’s wardrobe malfunction

The most hated wrestler on the roster?

For two straight weeks, Becky Lynch has been set to face the nightmare of smarks worldwide, Eva Marie. And has been disappointed every single time. This is because Eva finds an excuse every single time to not compete.

Last week, she was supposedly ‘injured’. This week, she suffered a wardrobe malfunction. The amount of heat that stunt this would generate was astounding. Her eventual distraction, during the subsequently booked Alexa Bliss and Becky Lynch match, would allow Alexa to pick up a victory over Becky.

We can say with certainty that she’s probably the most hated performer on the roster. And WWE fans can’t wait for her to get beaten down in a legitimate match.

American Alpha’s continued dominance

On the rise!

With the Usos out of action, American Alpha is spearheading the Smackdown Live tag team division. And they're doing a heck of a job because of their amateur backgrounds, synchronized drop kicks and picture perfect finisher – ‘The Grand Amplitude’.

American Alpha indeed is a treat to watch. While they finished off local jobbers in no time, the entire tag team division came to ringside and eventually came to blows. American Alpha stood tall at the end of the segment. Things look promising for American Alpha to be the first tag team champions on Smackdown Live.

Alexa Bliss

A promising debut

Eva Marie’s malfunction would pave the way for Alexa Bliss to make her in-ring debut against Becky Lynch. And boy, did she hold her own against the veteran Becky Lynch. She’s got the look, she’s got the in-ring skills and she’s got the right attitude.

Alexa’s size may work against her in the bigger picture, but we think she can definitely go places.

The Ambrose-Ziggler dynamic

Things have been set up perfectly!

Many wrestling purists doubted Dolph Ziggler’s number 1 contenders spot for Dean Ambrose’ WWE World Championship. After a fantastic promo as well as a decisive win over Bray Wyatt last week, Ziggler would be forced to team up with Ambrose after a misdirected superkick would inadvertently hit Ambrose.

While the duo managed to pick up a victory, Ziggler’s joy would be short lived as Ambrose hit him with Dirty Deeds. This sets up the match perfectly for Summerslam, and we only wonder what’s going to happen on the go-home show.

The 2-hour show

Orton and Del Rio during their match

Hey, we all love wrestling, but too much wrestling can sometimes get on our nerves. After 3 hours of RAW on Monday nights/Tuesday mornings depending on where you are; the 2 hour Smackdown show is quite often, a relief.

Shorter, snappier and more meaningful matches/segments ensure that there’s no filler content.

Heath Slater

Done with the WWE?

The hottest free agent in sports entertainment has better comic timing than Roman Reigns, and accomplished far more in his role than Roman did with the Rusev-Lana wedding segment. He was pissed about the way things are going and stormed off by saying he’s leaving. We’re genuinely curious to see how this angle plays out.

Okay maybe not. But we’re curious to know if he has 7 kids or 2.

THE BAD

Here are some things we did not like about Smackdown Live. Thankfully, they’re far outweighed by what we did like.

The lack of IC Title Build

Apollo Crews (or Apollo Creed as Daniel Bryan refers to him) was crowned as the Number 1 contender for the Intercontinental Championship last week. How was the build for the title 2 weeks before Summerslam?

With The Miz and Maryse indulging in PDA on a table, and The Miz in a predictable and not-so-humorous segment with Scooby-Doo. Way to downplay a championship that most WWE fans already don’t take seriously. Apollo Crews wasn’t even on the show. Neither was Apollo Creed. Go figure!

The Natalya-Carmella Match

Carmella finally made her in-ring debut on Smackdown Live after the beat down last week. Carmella is one wrestler we feel was called up too soon and could have benefited from a longer NXT run. Natalya also looks awkward as a heel and was far better as a babyface.

The match, while not a disaster, was probably the worst one on the card. Will Carmella be another Dana Brooke? We certainly hope not.

JBL on commentary

Arguably the worst color commentator in WWE history

It's shocking that any commentary team with Mauro Ranallo would be unbearable to listen to, but JBL just drags the quality of commentary down, every time he speaks. Or maybe, we’re just spoiled for choice thanks to Corey Graves.

Whatever the case may be, we advise JBL to pick up some tips from Graves as soon as he possibly can.