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WWE SmackDown delivered a solid show this week. The Blue brand featured great matches that delivered beyond expectations. Edge attacked Jimmy Uso in the main event and sent a strong statement to the Universal Champion, Roman Reigns. Interestingly, The Tribal Chief was nowhere to be seen.
Other than that, we saw an epic Money in the Bank qualifier, a huge return, and a title match being added to the WWE MITB pay-per-view. In this article, we will look at the flops and hits from WWE SmackDown this week.
#3 Hit on WWE SmackDown: Bayley
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This week on WWE SmackDown, Bayley and Bianca Belair came face to face once again. They acknowledged that their feud had been going on for far too long and mutually came to a bold decision. Belair stated that she wants to put her WWE SmackDown Women's Championship on the line against Bayley at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view in an "I Quit" match.
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Bayley took it a step further and said that if she loses, she won't just quit the title feud. She added that if she loses again at MITB, she will leave WWE SmackDown and will stop competing. This segment started off on a usual note but the twist was very well planted in their conversation.
WWE SmackDown was at risk of drawing criticism for booking another title match between Bianca Belair and Bayley. While both superstars have delivered a brutal feud, their extended rivalry has run its course.
However, WWE has found the perfect way to counter all accusations of repetitive bookings. Bayley is headed for a rematch but this time, the most successful WWE SmackDown Women's Champion in history might be forced to leave the show.
She has thrived in the WWE ThunderDome era and has low-key grown into one of the most entertaining heels on the Blue brand. If you dislike her currently, she is doing her job well.
She doesn't deserve the blame for falling victim to lazy writing at times. Even then, Bayley was one of the best performers on WWE SmackDown when the shows were restricted to the Performance Center and the ThunderDome. She deserves to have a big match when the crowd comes back.
Bayley has admitted that she used to be nervous while working as a heel in front of the live crowd. But now, she is more confident and has worked hard to improve every detail of her gimmick. Her interactions with Michael Cole have led to genuinely engaging segments.
She recently teamed up with Seth Rollins on WWE SmackDown and they were both brilliant together. It speaks volumes about Bayley’s transformation since she ditched her good girl gimmick.
It was a smart move by WWE to have one of its best superstars put her career on the line against a top babyface at the upcoming Money in the Bank pay-per-view. Although we have seen this match before, the higher risks involved this time will ensure that fans remain invested in their feud.
It will be exciting to see what’s in store for both Bayley and Belair on WWE SmackDown in the weeks leading up to Money in the Bank 2021.
#2 Flop on WWE SmackDown: The booking of Zelina Vega’s first match after return
WWE SmackDown surprised us by announcing that Zelina Vega has returned to the promotion and will compete in the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder match. She was released last year owing to a conflict with the company. It was great to see Vega back inside the ring, and she faced Liv Morgan on the Blue brand. Unfortunately for her, she couldn’t pick up a victory.
However, she doesn’t deserve the entire blame for her booking. While Morgan and Vega put up a short yet decent match, the creative team should have done better in the latter’s first in-ring bout since her surprise return on WWE SmackDown.
She is playing a heel and could have easily tricked Morgan to win. This would have helped start her singles run on an exciting note while simultaneously setting up Morgan’s push before Money in the Bank.
Vega and Morgan should be involved in a feud on WWE SmackDown so that both superstars can get their deserving share of the limelight. It will also help the creative team in booking a new rivalry and push more superstars in the women’s division. This wasn’t the only mistake on their part this week.
Most of the matches we saw have been happening on WWE SmackDown every week for the last couple of months. The top superstars deserve a lot of credit for still putting up great matches against the same opponents that they have faced for weeks in the stretch. It is high time that the SmackDown creative team invested in more storylines instead of relying entirely on repetitive bookings.
#2 Hit on WWE SmackDown: Pat McAfee
Adding Pat McAfee to the WWE SmackDown commentary team was a brilliant decision. He is an excellent orator with a flair for story-telling. McAfee had impressed us during his feud with Adam Cole on NXT, but he has taken his skills to a whole new level as a commentator. His ring-side antics, particularly during Shinsuke Nakamura’s entrance, give us epic GIFs every week.
On this week's episode of WWE SmackDown, Pat McAfee once again hyped King Nakamura’s arrival by sitting on top of Michael Cole. It was unexpected but made for a great spot. Nakamura teamed up with Big E to take on Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin.
McAfee did well to draw attention towards Corbin’s while calling the in-ring action. The match also featured interesting moments between Big E and Nakamura, and it proved that the pair should work together more often.
Both superstars worked in sync and borrowed subtle nuances from each other’s gimmick. The crowd would love to see Big E and Nakamura teaming up when the shows go live. McAfee did well in highlighting the bond between the two babyfaces.
He also did an outstanding job during the Last Man Standing match between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn on WWE SmackDown. Pat McAfee remains unbelievably committed to his role throughout the show and deserves appreciation for constantly trying to deliver engaging narratives. He is slowly turning himself into one of the best aspects of WWE SmackDown, which is a remarkable feat.
#1 Flop on WWE SmackDown: Angelo Dawkins
This week on WWE SmackDown, Angelo Dawkins returned to face Otis in a singles match. The Street Profits and The Alpha Academy have been feuding for a few weeks, which has led to Otis brutalizing the former Tag Team Champions. Montez Ford was taken off the television while Dawkins returned with payback in mind. Unfortunately, things didn't go according to his plans.
Otis threw Dawkins all around the ring and hit him with a couple of devastating body slams before pinning him within minutes. It was surprising to see one-half of The Street Profits lose in such a fashion. The creative team focused on making Otis look like a monster on WWE SmackDown but it ended up attacking Dawkins' credibility as well.
Otis' current approach towards the rest of the WWE SmackDown roster could have helped him a lot when he had the Money in the Bank contract. There's another opportunity to rebuild him and he must be booked in well-balanced matches that play to his strength.
As for Dawkins, he would like to forget about being squashed on the Blue brand. We hope to see him make a strong comeback alongside Ford and work on an intense feud with Otis and Chad Gable.
#1 Hit on WWE SmackDown: Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
WWE SmackDown Superstars Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn faced each other in an epic Last Man Standing match this week. Their in-ring meeting was intense and delivered beyond expectations. They stole the show and delivered one of the best matches we have seen on the Blue brand this year. Owens eventually won the match and earned a spot for himself in the Money in the Bank ladder match.
KO started dominating his opponent right from the start. He was relentless in his offense, but Zayn eventually managed to keep things balanced. At one point, he pushed Owens off the top rope, and the latter crashed onto two tables stacked together.
KO still managed to get up and lay a brutal assault on his former best friend. Owens slammed Zayn through the announce desk in the match's final moments and repeated the act against a wooden table.
Zayn could not get back to his feet on time, and KO won the MITB qualifier on WWE SmackDown. They always deliver great matches and somehow manage to make each one different. Both superstars deserve credit for putting themselves through physical hell to craft an engaging narration.
Owens and Zayn have been long-time friends and share an incredible chemistry that reflected well inside the squared circle tonight. The only complaint is, why wasn’t it booked as the main event of the show?
Of course, Edge and Roman Reigns are involved in a high-profile title feud. The Rated-R Superstar appeared in both the opening and closing segments of the show, where Reigns was absent from the scene. It's a big match, and the build-up understandably needs that much intensity.
However, Owens and Zayn deserved to close the show this week. WWE SmackDown peaked when the two friends fought like there is no tomorrow.
