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In the modern era of short attention spans and shows springing up at what feels like every moment, reaching 1000 episodes is a significant milestone. It has been a long road for the blue brand, but the perseverance of the stars, management, and the creative team finally culminated in SmackDown 1000. The SmackDown 1000 results are in, and the question running through the mind of every fan is whether the show lived up to all the hype that came before it.
With previous events like RAW 25, the WWE was accused of being overly nostalgic s they had to walk a fine line on SmackDown 1000 to avoid drowning the fans in nostalgia. In this article, we take a look at some of the sections on the show to determine whether or not SmackDown 1000 lived up to the hype.
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#1. Truth TV
The second episode of Truth TV was on SmackDown 1000, and it was nothing short of glorious. Since teaming up with Carmella, R-Truth has become even more popular, and it has inspired him to do some of his best work.
On this week's episode of Truth TV, his guests were the McMahon Family, and I was initially afraid that his lack of chemistry with Stephanie would make the segment awkward. Stephanie had other plans because she relied on her charm and gift of gab to get the crowd fired up. When Shane came out to the ring, I figured out that they were going to do a bickering siblings segment and I wasn't disappointed. Shane and Stephanie have the most chemistry in the WWE, and it took the intervention of Mr. McMahon to prevent the siblings from fighting it out.
The fans loved Vince and gave him a "What?!" chant for his efforts which brought back a lot of memories. The segment hit its climax towards the end when Vince called for a dance break, and everyone in the ring and some fans in the stands started dancing.
Arctic's verdict: This was the right way to start the show and ensure that the McMahon family does not overshadow the rest of the night.
#2. AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan vs. The Usos
The first fight of the night usually has a lot riding on it, and this one was no different. In a classic case of an experienced tag team facing two great singles competitors, this match was going to be a slobber knocker.
The Usos have not been involved in a high profile match for a while now, and in this match, they showed the entire WWE universe what they had been missing. The match was a clash of styles pitting the Usos in-sync tag team wrestling against the unorthodox style of AJ Style and the more technical style of Daniel Bryan.
Everyone had a chance to shine as the match had some of the most memorable spots of the night. In my opinion, the best moment was when AJ unexpectedly applied the calf crusher on Jey and when Jimmy tried to interfere, Daniel Bryan caught him in the Yes Lock.
At the end of the night, in-sync tag team wrestling proved to be more efficient as the Usos stood victorious.
Arctic's verdict: This match should have been the main event instead of the first match of the show. The two teams set a very high standard for all the matches that would follow.
#3. The return of Evolution
SmackDown has always been the home of tag teams and powerful factions, but none was more prominent than Evolution. The fans went wild when they saw Evolution on SmackDown 1000 and for a good reason.
Every member of the team could wrestle a 5-star match on their best day and a 4-star match on their worst. Apart from their in-ring gifts, their promo skills were unmatched. The segment had all the tension expected from it particularly from Randy Orton, the only member of the faction who still wrestles consistently.
Despite the tension from Randy, the biggest take away from the segment was that WWE could be interested in creating a feud between Triple H and Batista. Could this be a potential WrestleMania match? Only time will tell.
Arctic's verdict: In a world where Truth TV did not exist, this would have been the perfect opening segment. The faction would have pumped up the crowd for the rest of the show, and the tension would have been trending worldwide.
#4. The Miz vs. Rusev
I had unknowingly predicted two facts about this match in a previous article, one the fact that Aiden English would interfere and two it would be a very short match. Rusev started the match with a full head of steam, and he seemed poised to win the match and become the first non-American to qualify for the WWE World Cup. His momentum only lasted until Aiden English came in and stole his attention. The Miz capitalized on Rusev's short attention span and rolled him up for the win.
Lana seemed more pissed than Rusev, and when she delivered a low blow to Aiden English, there was a look of satisfaction on her face. Lana's low blow allowed Rusev to get his hands on the WWE Drama King finally and he proceeded to take out weeks of frustration on Aiden.
Arctic's verdict: Although the Miz needed a quick victory after the embarrassing loss to Daniel Bryan, his victory was overshadowed by the One Night in Milwaukee storyline. The Miz will have a chance to redeem himself at WWE Crown Jewel while Aiden English and Rusev will probably slug it out at the pay-per-view.
#5. The Cutting Edge
The Rated R Superstar returned to SmackDown 1000, and he brought along one of SmackDown's most popular segments, The Cutting Edge. On the show, Edge gave props to Eddie Guerrero and fulfilled another of my predictions for SmackDown 1000.
Edge's first guest was Becky Lynch, and their conversation was probably the best part of SmackDown 1000. Edge tried to make Becky see reason, but she didn't care about his words. Beck went as far as telling Edge not to hurt his neck on his way out of the ring. At this point, Charlotte came out, and I could sense a brawl in the immediate future.
I was proven right again when the two women began fighting, and it took the intervention of the referees to stop the brawl.
Arctic's verdict: With Edge now involved in the Becky Lynch Charlotte Flair drama it has gained a new angle. Will Edge's words affect the psyche of the Irish Lass Kicker or will she stick to the path that she has chosen?
#6. The return of Rey Mysterio
This might have been the most anticipated moment of SmackDown 1000, and Rey delivered all that the fans hoped for.
The stakes were high because the winner got to represent SmackDown at the WWE World Cup and both superstars craved the opportunity. The fight was the first time in the WWE that the Japanese Strong Style has faced off against Mexican Lucha Libre and what made it more entertaining was the fact that the masters of the style were the ones competing.
Shinsuke held his own throughout the match, but it wasn't enough because Rey managed to dial up the 619 for the win. Will Rey emerge victorious at the WWE World Cup?
Arctic's verdict: The match was everything we had hoped for and more. Shinsuke hasn't had a legitimate challenger since Jeff Hardy, and it felt good to see him pushed to his limits by WWE's David.
The Undertaker closed the show with the Three Words of Doom, "Rest In Peace" directed to DX.
Final thoughts: SmackDown 1000 did live up to the hype. Now the WWE needs to make sure that they continue with that momentum for the rest of the year. I will talk about Big Show turning heel in a future article.
