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WWE SmackDown before Survivor Series had some good moments, but one has to come to the conclusion that a lot more could have been done in the build to Survivor Series. I mean compare the fact that Michael Cole announced that certain RAW Superstars have been invited to WWE SmackDown with the invasion angles of the past, and you'll see why this review may be leaning in a certain direction.
That said, there were certainly a few bright spots through the course of WWE SmackDown, but how can there not be in a television show that spans two hours. One has to be a little disappointed that whether it was done as a COVID-19 precautionary manner or because of a lack of creativity, WWE SmackDown did not go all out before Survivor Series 2020.
That said, here is the best and worst of WWE SmackDown this week.
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#1 Best: Two excellent WWE SmackDown matches
Daniel Bryan returned to WWE SmackDown this week with a brand new look and the match he had with Jey Uso in the main event was a pretty solid affair. It did not hurt Jey Uso at all even in defeat, considering that it was Daniel Bryan who had put him over on WWE SmackDown not long ago, and nobody would have ever thought that he'd be main-eventing the show as a singles star, all those months back.
Murphy's victory over Seth Rollins on WWE SmackDown, on the other hand, was the perfect way for the man to ascend the rungs in the WWE hierarchy and it was commendable that he did so with the best match of the night. Can we have a round of applause for the Mysterio family, all of whom played the role of cheerleaders, applauding Murphy has he picked up the biggest win of his career?
#1 Worst: Why did Adam Pearce lie to WWE SmackDown star Natalya this week?
It's almost like the creative team on RAW does not watch WWE SmackDown and vice versa (which is odd because Bruce Prichard heads both teams). Adam Pearce said that he only gets to pick one member of Team RAW and WWE SmackDown to Natalya, which was obviously a lie, especially if you consider that he picked all of the members in the RAW Women's Survivor Series team, not long ago!
Also, why did Otis, a man who lost to Seth Rollins get another chance to enter the men's Survivor Series team, when Big E, who should be in the midst of the biggest singles push of his career not get a shot, on this instance? The chemistry between Seth Rollins and someone like Dominik could also have been explored on the WWE SmackDown Men's Team, as they would be forced to work together for brand supremacy. It just seems like almost no effort was put into the storytelling aspect of WWE SmackDown this week, which is a shame.
#2 Best: Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre trade words prior to Survivor Series 2020, in an intense segment
Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre at Survivor Series just seems like the most exciting WWE match in quite some time because we have no way of telling which of the two men will emerge as the winner, in this contest. There is no element of comedy in this clash, it's just two top guys heading into Survivor Series at the top of their game. Think of Mayweather vs. McGregor or even Daniel Cormier vs. Jon Jones at their very peak, just in a WWE environment.
Because nothing is at stake in either of the other Survivor Series matches, one has to pause and think about why anyone would potentially want to see any of those clashes unfold.
In the case of Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre, these two men measured every word on the final episode of WWE SmackDown before Survivor Series in a contract signing segment that genuinely got us hyped for the upcoming clash between two men at the very top of the industry.
#2 Worst: Sami Zayn gets pinned on the go-home show before Survivor Series, and there's no build for his match at all
There is absolutely no hype for the Sami Zayn vs. Bobby Lashley match at Survivor Series at all. And yet, he was the man to take the pin on the final SmackDown episode before Survivor Series 2020. It just boggles the mind how little the company thinks of the WWE Intercontinental Championship and the mid-card of the company, in general.
And also, the pairing of King Corbin and Sami Zayn prior to Survivor Series was just so weird, as the men themselves protested that they were not a tag team unit.
It's not like there's any kind of long term plan for this unit beyond Survivor Series 2020 especially if you consider that Sami Zayn is the WWE Intercontinental Champion and that he's likely to be in a feud with Daniel Bryan, from the way things shaped up this week. The only positive from this whole debacle was Big E recognizing Xavier Woods as the most underrated performer in WWE.
#3 Best/Worst: Asuka just looks on as Sasha Banks gets beaten up on this week's WWE SmackDown before Survivor Series
Asuka impersonating Road Dogg and John Cena on WWE SmackDown in her showdown with Sasha Banks was funny, but it was weird to see Sasha Banks show heelish vibes at the top of the segment followed by Asuka just staring on as Carmella pounded the living daylights out of poor Sasha Banks.
We saw The Street Profits and The New Day working together at the top of WWE SmackDown, but this was an instance where the two babyfaces definitely showed some non-babyface-like traits heading into Survivor Series.
Be sure to check out this week's edition of Smack Talk, which is our weekly WWE SmackDown review, and see what Rick and Denise have to say about the pay-per-view. Also, if you haven't got your weekly fix of Denise Salcedo yet, catch her in conversation with Stephanie Chase as the two of them preview Survivor Series 2020 in the other video that has been shared right above.
