WWE Smackdown spoilers: Oct. 6, 2015

The New Day appears to be taking an even bigger role in the programming, which is good because Big E, Kofi Kingston and particularly Xavier Woods are consistently among the best parts of the show.

On this taping, they open with promos about beating down competitors like Dolph Ziggler and John Cena on Monday night, which sets up the first match of the night.

Big E def. Dolph Ziggler with New Day and Dudleyz at ringside

Analysis: Apparently, this was a dirty finish, which I really like for New Day’s characters. What I'm not sure about is this concept of Bubba Ray and Devon being the ultimate face heroes right now and saving everyone else. They came back with the apparent goal of proving they were the baddest dudes in tag team action, and their current role deviates from that.

From there, replays of Raw segments are aired, even the awkward Summer Rae proposal. We also get a replay of the Paul Heyman, Brock Lesnar-Big Show segment.

I'm really curious to see what the writing team has planned with Big Show because there's been a lot of effort put into embarrassing him recently. Is this a way to prepare his character for a temporary write-off, or is something bigger – like a retirement match or a title push as an angry giant – in the works?

Charlotte/Becky Lynch/Natalya def. Team Bella

Analysis: Thank goodness they're finally getting Natalya involved. She's among the most talented Divas on the roster, unsurprisingly, and she deserves a role in the Divas reboot. The constant 3 vs. 3 match-ups got old fast, though, so all those capable of working alone should be doing so more often than not.

Still, with Natalya in the mix, there are seven women capable of holding the Divas title right now, and that makes it perhaps the deepest title picture in the company. That's a far cry from the two-woman show it had been for months.

Ryback def. Rusev with Summer Rae at ringside, Kevin Owens on commentary

Analysis: The only good thing to come out of Monday’s proposal embarrassment was Rusev declaring that he's basically done with the love and romance angle, and he wants gold. Ryback and KO are both good fits for him, so that will give the Intercontinental hunt some variety without awkward matchups. Rusev should absolutely be competing for belts, and the Intercontinental hunt is the spot for him.

Next up is a promo by Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman, who will face Orton and Reigns later on. Braun has been an excellent complement to Bray, and he's a severe upgrade to the Wyatt family over Erick Rowan from a character perspective. It will be interesting to see what happens when Rowan returns.

That is followed by a King Barrett promo, which is interrupted by Neville.

King Barrett def. Neville

Analysis: Nothing seems to work for Barrett, and I'm not sure this is really the answer either. Neither of these guys has enough real momentum to help the other get a push, and because of Barrett’s booking, their status as King of the Ring finalists means very little at this point.

Further, Barrett wins with a Bull Hammer, and I've never been convinced why that elbow should be any more devastating than the countless others that people hit on a daily basis. That match sets up a promo by Stardust. The Cosmic Wasteland gimmick could be really beneficial for both him and The Ascension, but they really need to vary their targets.

Randy Orton/Roman Reigns def. Bray Wyatt/Braun Strowman by DQ

Analysis: WWE creative seems to be heavy-handedly telling us that Reigns and Wyatt are permanent rivals who can fight each other at any time, and I'm OK with that. These two put on brutal, compelling matches and have great chemistry.

Add in Randy Orton and the monster, and you've got a decent main event, especially for Smackdown. This one ends when the New Day running out to beat up Reigns just to be dominant heels, and the Dudleyz play superhero again, sending Woods through a table.

This is how New Day should be booked. A combination of traditional heel tactics, with cheating and backstage beat downs, along with their usual comic efforts will give them staying power as a faction. Further, far too many tag teams have been fed to the singles guys – like the night the whole tag division lost to Reigns and Daniel Bryan – just to push whoever is going for the World title right now.

It's refreshing to see the best tag teams booked into important and/or dominant roles.

The downside is that WWE is seemingly back to where the tag division has been reduced to two teams competing for the gold. I'd like to see more of the Lucha Dragons, Prime Time Players and others in meaningful action to set up “what's next” for those belts.