WWE SmackDown: 3 things we learned from the episode before Clash of Champions (September 10, 2019)

(Discalimer: This is an opinion piece and does not necessarily reflect Sportskeeda's stand on the same.)

Each episode from WWE leaves us with something to think about, and a few things to learn, by the end of the night. With the action picking up on the go-home show of SmackDown before the Clash of Champions pay-per-view, fans managed to get a lot more than they’d bargained for at the Madison Square Garden.

From the return of The Undertaker to the King of the Ring semifinal, and the final chapter in Kofi Kingston and Randy Orton’s rivalry before their major match, there was a lot to look forward to on this week’s show.

The creatives did not disappoint much, however, there were a few spots that could have been erased to make the show much better.

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#1 WWE still doesn’t have much focus on the Tag Team Division

Since the past year, we have seen WWE go with many odd bookings for their tag team division which has done no favors to their well-established teams. From the B-Team winning the RAW Tag Team Championships, to the team of Shane McMahon and The Miz winning the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, we’ve seen it all.

At a time when established tag teams are finding it difficult to get the right bookings on the main roster, WWE is busy promoting makeshift tag teams to keep their singles’ stars relevant.

The current RAW titles are held by the odd team of Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman, while they will defend their titles against the makeshift team of Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode on Sunday.

On the other hand, the dominant tag teams of The O.C., The Viking Raiders, and Authors of Pain are nowhere in the championship picture.

Similarly, on SmackDown we saw Heavy Machinery battle against local competitors to stay relevant at a time when The Usos are out and they have a chance to climb up the ladder and become second to The New Day and The Revival.

#2 Don’t always have high expectations from the return of legends

The Undertaker was being advertised to appear at the grand SmackDown show at the MSG for some time, and many critics believed it was just to boost ticket sales.

Just a night earlier, Stone Cold Steve Austin arrived on Monday Night RAW and played a major role in the Universal Championship contract signing for Sunday. He also delivered a Stunner to AJ Styles and ended the night with the winning team after the ten-man tag team match.

While Stone Cold’s appearance lived up to the hype, The Undertaker’s appearance on SmackDown couldn't really lift the mood at the beginning of the night.

While The Deadman spoke about how much it meant for him to be back in Madison Square Garden, Sami Zayn interrupted for no real reason and asked him to leave his ring instead. The Undertaker replied with a chokeslam to The Critic of Critics instead and left the arena.

This segment did nothing at all for The Undertaker, his future in the company, or Sami Zayn, and reminded fans that the return of a legend is not always something to look forward to.

Instead, WWE could have used The Undertaker to hype Sunday's WWE Championship match as The Deadman has had his fair share of encounters with Randy Orton.

The Undertaker added NOTHING to tonight. It was so pointless for him to even show up without Bray

— 𝓅乃 🎭 (@pierobuccellato) September 11, 2019

#3 Kofi Kingston’s still got it

Kofi Kingston

Kofi Kingston has been a part of WWE for almost 14 years now and has managed to surround himself with two of the most loyal teammates a superstar could ask for.

At 38 years of age, Kofi should be losing out a bit of his energy, stamina, and athleticism after serving in the ring for such a long time and enduring so many injuries.

During a match against Randy Orton in 2009, Kofi gave us one of the most memorable moments of his career which is still looked back at even till today. While many fans would believe that Kofi would be slowing down at this point in his career, it seems like there is no stopping the leader of The New Day.

This Tuesday, Kofi refreshed fans’ memories of the iconic Boom Drop off the railing and recreated the scene for the fans on the show. This was a loud and clear statement not only to the WWE Universe but also to his challenger Randy Orton, that there is no stopping Kofi Kingston and that he’s still got the moves that made him a big star at the turn of the decade.

It’s crazy it’s been 10 years since Kofi Kingston hit the boom drop on Randy Orton in MSG and 10 years later he does it again.

— Broly (@TheGoatP1) September 11, 2019