Read on for my thoughts on last night's Smackdown.
Quite solid opening segment. I'd be fine with WWE moving from the McMahons and Vickie as authority figures to Kane, as he brings something new and different to the role. The segment did a really good job of incorporating the crowd as well.
Good tag match with The Shield. I almost don't want the stable to end, but WrestleMania's the perfect place for it.
I can see WWE swerving us to have the Wyatts breakup instead. I hope Harper and Bray have big futures either together or as a team.
That was better than I expected from Sheamus vs. Ryback.
I'm ready to see Del Rio gets his ass handed to him by Batista. They've done a good job of setting that matchup.
Bryan vs. Cesaro was pretty nice.
Interesting post-match. It makes sense to do Bryan vs. Kane on the way to WrestleMania.
I liked Orton's promo. Notably Orton hasn't beaten Bryan clean in this whole feud.
I like this Rusev fellow well enough. I hope he does something interesting.
AJ vs. Nikki was fine to keep that feud going. Just keep Aksana's knee away from AJ's face. Where the heck are we going at WrestleMania with the Divas' division? WWE's been treading water for a while now.
That was a nice next step for Darren vs. Titus. I don't think I would have split them this soon, but I think they'll do something good here. I know I got really tired of this feud years ago, but I think it might work better with the roles reversed.
Cool promo from Cody and Goldust. I'm very glad Goldust came back in top shape.
Wyatt vs. Goldust was pretty good. I don't think I'd mind another nostalgia act or two who can still go like Dust can.
Great post-match to continue the Cody/Goldust story as well as The Wyatts vs. The Shield. Pretty simple and straightforward stuff to keep things moving.
Orton vs. Christian was pretty well put-together. I loved the heel move of stopping the match to cut a promo on Des Moines. Well done.
More wrestling coming up.
I'm also having mixed feelings on the Titus v. Darren angle here. I definitely think they both gel well together and work well as a team to bring out the best in each other. The only real negative I could foresee if they remained a team would be that in two years of tagging together, they didn't have any title reigns with no real push as a tag team in sight with so many teams out there.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to singles, I personally prefer Young to be more into the mold of his NXT days where he was ruthless and angry. He doesn't need to be a heel, but still displaying aggression as a face definitely makes sense. A lot of fans (let's be honest, many of them didn't pay attention to NXT) probably view his attack on Titus to be displaying a new, rarely seen side of him. In his two years in tagging with Titus and also with him coming out, he was a completely different "goofy" character in the eyes of fans. Showing that aggression should help him a bit.
That being said, since this is the main roster and not NXT, this "rivalry" will probably not end up being anything major with the company not paying as much attention to this feud. I can't predict the future with so many questionable decisions the company has made, but I definitely think it will have a good chance at being the same result as the "JTG/Shad" feud. What are you hearing and what are your short and long-term predictions for both men? I know you alluded to it a bit before in that you predicted a "JTG/Shad" end result in the end, but what are your short-term (maybe within a year) predictions for both men? Young's house show victory against Titus this weekend, though it's a small accolade, probably won't mean much.
I also know you were predicting a Goldust/Rhodes feud by WrestleMania. Even though there are no current signs of dissension, how do you think this will play out? Goldust has been impressive, but at 44, I don't know how much longer he will continue to be relevant. With Cody still in his 20's, I definitely see logic in WWE going towards the future in having Cody gain momentum if he does feud with Goldust.
It's tough to tell how far aggression will get someone. It might help the crowd take Darren seriously as a ruthless competitor, but to really break out he has to have a character and personality people can grab onto. That said, him being built up with solid performances before they get behind him in the character/storyline department wouldn't hurt to establish him in the eyes of fans.
ReplyDeleteI think I might have been overly pessimistic and missed some obvious things. Namely: 1. WWE got some great publicity from Darren coming out. I'd like to think they'd do better by him than keeping him in a JTG role. 2. Titus is tight with Batista, who obviously is getting a red carpet treatment.
MAYBE those things add up to them actually getting some spotlight. I'd be very surprised if this became a main event feud; but if it catches fire, it could last longer. I know Titus has turned some heads in a positive way during his run (with some people even predicting am eventual WWE Title run), so hopefully they'll give him a chance to show everything he's got. I haven't heard as much about what they feel about Darren, although I'm sure they loved the publicity of him coming out. It's cliche, but how well they perform and how much the crowd likes it will determine how the feud goes to a degree. I think it could go quite well given how well they've worked together so far.
As for what happens after the feud, I'd be surprised if WWE didn't try to push Titus as their latest big man project and use Darren as more of a workhorse to have good matches. It's relatively up in the air how well things will go then, as stories and opponents will be key.
It does seem like we're not at Goldust vs. Cody just yet. I can see there being a final tag title shot at Elimination Chamber, with Cody and Goldust losing. Goldust gets frustrated leading to them feuding. It was Cody's blown moonsault that cost them the cage match, so I think Goldust would blame Cody.
I think both WWE and Goldust view this as a temporary last hurrah. As far as I know, Goldust is only signed as a wrestler on a short-term deal, some say expiring after Summerslam. I don't know if they could drag the feud out until then, but Los Angeles would be a perfect place for Goldust to end his WWE run. One of his most famous matches was the Backlot Brawl in that area. Bringing that match back as his retirement match would be really fitting.
Either way, Goldust vs. Cody at a big PPV has been an idea of Goldust's for years, so I'd be very surprised if they're doing something else at Mania.