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Unfortunately, SmackDown couldn't step up its game to match Raw's sudden spurt this week. "Wild card" stupidity was in full effect as WWE tried and failed to sell fans on the Stomping Grounds pay-per-view, which is unsurprisingly having difficulty in moving tickets. Compare that with over 70,000 people waiting in line to get tickets for All Elite Wrestling's All Out event and you see how little excitement there is for the WWE product.
Last night's episode was trite and totally missable. Did anyone manage to get anything out of it? Or did some people lose a lot more than they gained on last night's episode?
Winners: Heavy Machinery
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In the latest WWE NEWS, Heavy Machinery defeated the B-Team last night, cementing their claim to a shot at the SmackDown tag team titles. They have no chance of success, but perhaps they'll be able to impress in the match and get more shots in the future, with a tag team championship run coming down the line.
They aren't exactly an ace tag team, but the tag team titles have long been ones where everyone gets a turn holding them.
Losers: The Miz and R-Truth
R-Truth's bad night didn't just extend to losing the 24/7 Championship to Drake Maverick. Instead, he needed to get involved with Shane McMahon in an Awesome Truth reunion. Why? Because of course, the feud between Shane McMahon and The Miz must continue!
It was an academic segment consisting of another overlong Shane McMahon promo and constant interference from Vince's brood to ensure that his guys won the elimination tag team match. It did nothing for anybody.
This situation with Shane is truly circling the drain. If he's not removed from television soon, expect a flop at SummerSlam, because this is taking far too much time that could be given to much more interesting people.
Winners: Asuka and Kairi Sane
It's a miracle, they still exist!
They're "winners" for now, at least, just because they got back on television. Unfortunately, we've seen this kind of situation too many times to count. The champions lose in a non-title match and then win the one that counts, cheapening the titles and the challengers in the process.
The Japan house show stipulation makes this a little less by the book though. In any case, WWE must avoid the usual 50/50 booking temptation. This is no longer even a matter of cheap heel tactics to secure a win. The IIconics have been presented as such jokes that any loss to them would bury their competition. It's time for this joke of a "reign" to end.
Loser: Aleister Black
As his NXT counterpart Ricochet gets a shot at Samoa Joe's United States Championship in what is far and away the most exciting match on Sunday's card, Aleister Black is still stuck doing these rambling promos resembling Bray Wyatt. That's not a good place to be.
If this doesn't change after Stomping Grounds, he's in real trouble.
Winner: Ember Moon
Ember Moon having a feud with Sonya Deville sounds good. They should have some good matches together, at least. The winner might also get a filler title shot, which would be a step up for both of them.
At least they'd actually get put in matches, which is something neither of them have been doing for some time now.
Winner: Drake Maverick
Drake Maverick's long journey to the 24/7 Championship successfully climaxed last night!
Now we'll just have to see how long this lasts.
The 24/7 title remains the most entertaining part of WWE television. Take that as a good thing or a bad thing. It's allowed Drake Maverick's to show better sides of his personality than urinating on a robe. That alone is a virtue.
Losers: Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens
These guys really are just fodder for the top guys and were only there to make them look good heading into Sunday. I imagined that Kevin Owens would be a transitional champion, but even that wasn't allowed to him at Money in the Bank. Now he's just been losing in random matches.
Sami Zayn is probably in an even worse situation.
It was a decent match. With those four guys, it couldn't not be, but it meant nothing in the long run.
