Remember when there was a brief period of excitement for what SmackDown could become when rumors floated around that the company was looking to put a new emphasis on it with it moving back to Thursday nights? And how that kinda sorta seemed to be the case for the first few weeks?
You just knew there would be a drop off eventually.
Last night's episode featured the biggest nothing edition of the show since the move. Let's break it down.
Miz TV: I quite liked Roman Reigns Stupidman punching The Miz right away to get him out of the picture, because this segment would have died a horrible death had he done anything different. I also liked the tease of physicality between Reigns and Daniel Bryan. I might be the only one, but I'm really looking forward to the match between these two at Fast Lane just to see how they lay it out. The star of the segment, however, was Seth Rollins, who is just the best kind of heel because he leaves no doubt that he's utterly and completely full of shit. But he actually seems to believe the nonsense he's spewing, so it works. He's developed into quite the star.
Dolph Ziggler & Ryback vs. Goldust & Stardust: This was a house show match. The babyfaces are tied together in storyline but at this point it's got a lot more to do with creative not having anything for them now that the Survivor Series story wrapped up and all the major players within that have moved on to bigger and better things. The continued push to the Dusty brothers break up is necessary but ultimately lame and predictable because we've seen it before with these two, in pretty much exactly the same way. By the way, those "Feed Me More" chants kinda support The Authority's argument that the "YES" chant is just as over as Bryan, right?
Dean Ambrose vs. Curtis Axel: I get why you do this match, and I appreciate the follow up even, but Curtis Axel is unbearable. I can't even get into this delusional act. Curtis Axel is out there saying he's the rightful Royal Rumble winner and he should headline WrestleMania 31 against Brock Lesnar. It's such a breathtakingly stupid thing to say and think that I just want to walk away from it. You've been there. You've undoubtedly met someone in your life who was so stupid you didn't find it entertaining, you didn't feel bad for them, you didn't dislike them, you just wanted to be away from them, forever. That's Curtis Axel right now.
BNZ: No. Just ... no. Bad News Zone? No. Hell no. Stop it. Don't do this again. I can appreciate the idea, but no.
Adam Rose vs. Fandango: Yes, this is a match that actually happened because these two are still characters on the main WWE roster. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are down in NXT while Adam Rose and Fandango are working SmackDown. How ass backwards is that?
Roman Reigns vs. The Miz: The entire time I was watching this, I couldn't believe how much Reigns was selling for The Miz. The Miz. The freaking Miz. The guy who is the lesser half of a tag team featuring his own stunt double. Speaking of which, if he fired said stunt double and hired him as a personal assistant, why are we still calling him "Damien Mizdow"?
Rusev vs. Erick Rowan: How the hell does Rusev move his body the way he does at that size and general build? Watch him bump and sell in this match. If we did power rankings, Rusev would be top 5 every week. He's my hero this week for simply escaping under Rowan's legs during the corner 10 count punch spot.
Paige vs. Alicia Fox: Can we talk about how great it is that one of Fox's key moves is to pick her oppoent up, walk them to the ropes, and just drop them? Why don't more wrestlers do this?
Double date: WHAT WAS THIS?!? Tyson Kidd only sees things through Canadian eyes. Jimmy Uso calls everyone "Uce" for some reason. Cesaro will eat your food. FACT! Also, Jimmy really just wanted to respect the dinner, which should be your go to every time you end up in a dinner situation you don't want to be in. What restaurant are they in that they can start screaming at each other and literally NO ONE reacts until a punch is thrown?
The reaper: I'm waiting for the Bray Wyatt promo where he slips a "Hi, Undertaker" in the middle just to see if anyone is paying attention to him anymore.
Daniel Bryan vs. The World: I don't have anything bad to say about a match featuring Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury, let alone another Bryan vs. Rollins main event. It was fun and the booking was solid, all things considered. I do want to know why Bryan was laying his kicks into Mercury so much harder than Noble, however. That's a mystery that needs solving. Also, Kane ruins everything.
The problem with this show isn't that it was awful; it certainly wasn't that. It was just there. The issue has always been that you could skip SmackDown and be just fine, and that's what this was.
Grade: C+
That's it from me, Cagesiders. Now it's your turn to sound off in the comments section below with all your thoughts on last night's show. How did you like it, if you liked it at all?