Read on for my take on last night's Smackdown.
- Shane/Bryan segment:
I'm a little surprised Shane thinks Bryan needs to apologize. If anything, I would expect him to think Miz should be the one apologizing.
At least Bryan's calling him out on it. It's a shame Shane's probably coming back to the ring while Bryan isn't. I like Shane in the ring, though.
- Miz/Ziggler promo:
Who would have thought Miz burying Bryan in 2016 would be as hot as it is? Bryan's emotional retirement takes it to a whole new level.
Miz is FIRE here. He's playing off real events without it being a forced "shoot" style promo.
Honestly, I think Ziggler wants the spotlight more than Miz. Miz doesn't complain about his road to where he is nearly as much as Ziggler does.
That was mostly good to fire Miz up. I can't say I'm excited to see Ziggler feuding with Miz again.
- Vaudevillains promo:
I wish we got more of who these two are and WHY they do the throwback gimmick. What/who specifically influenced them to go that route? Do they have collections of black-and-white movies they watch with candlelight? The gimmick could be a lot of fun if they run with it. Also, the differences between them and the Hype Bros is such a natural story to do.
- Vaudevillains vs. H. Bros:
I'm mostly liking the offense of the heels here.
Rawley's just a ball of energy. His offense is pretty basic, but he doesn't need to really be more than that.
Well that was quick.
- Post-match promo:
That wasn't bad. We'll see how they do going forward.
- AJ/Crews backstage:
Apollo needs to show some fire. He's constantly getting run over and not really doing much about it. I don't think he needs to be "edgy" or anything and drop profanity, just stand up for himself more.
- AJ/Crews promo:
They're really pushing that nickname for AJ.
I'm not crazy about Dean losing the title so soon, but AJ's definitely deserving of being at that level.
Apollo FINALLY becoming an alpha.
- Styles vs. Crews:
It's a little tough to think Crews is upset at AJ when he's doing leapfrogs and the like.
Pretty good action between the former indie standouts.
I'm glad the superplex is important enough to try to avoid.
That was pretty solid. Both men are impressive athletes.
- Heath/Rhyno segment:
I wonder if the name Beulah was a shoutout to Tommy Dreamer.
Slater's family surviving on crackers and pizza crusts is funny. Did he not save up from his previous contracts?
This is amazing.
I'm glad Heath Slater can be a featured character now. That was really funny in a stupid way.
- Bray promo:
I love Bray playing off the snake mofif so much.
I also really like Bray wanting to focus on the flaws Brock exposed.
Nice, nice promo from Bray.
- Bray/Orton segment:
Orton already has more depth to his character than he did pre-brand split.
I'm really excited to see these two face off after that promo. It sold both of them as dangerous men with a grudge.
Fun ending to the segment.
- Nikki promo:
Bleh. I'm not really excited for another Bella super-push. She's talented, but the Bellas were shoved down our throats for a long time.
- Alexa/Natalya vs. Naomi/Becky:
I like Natalya taking Alexa under her wing. Bliss definitely has potential.
Becky's a spitfire. She always brings energy.
That was pretty much what it needed to be to set up Backlash. I wouldn't mind Alexa as champion in order to shake things up right out of the gate.
- Head Bangers video:
Mosh and Thrasher haven't wrestled for WWE since it was WWF. They were a team when Bill Clinton was president. Let that sink in for a second. Maybe they're here to take over the role the Dudleys had?
- Head Bangers vs. Slater/Rhyno:
What are Thrash and Mosher, the Head Rockers, doing in the Smackdown Zone!?
There's an interesting story here with the established tag partners from years ago against the younger duo who've never teamed before.
This is pretty fun for a nostalgia showing.
That was a fun showing for the face team, too. There's a good story to be told between the Man Beast and the ONE MAN BAAAAAAAAAAND given their characters and styles in the ring.
- Kane/Milliman segment:
The Head Bangers in action before a Kane run-in? You can't do Throwback Thursday on Smackdown now that it's on Tuesdays.
- Ambrose vs. Corbin:
It's not a stretch to think in 2009 or so Corbin would have been champion and Ambrose would have been the guy challenging him. Either way, it's good Baron is getting this level of a stage.
I'm liking this mostly being a big brawl. Maybe Smackdown can continue the Attitude Era (======b) theme and bring back the Hardcore Title? I miss the crazy backstage fights.
I like how these two styles interact.
Corbin's impressive here. I absolutely think he can be a player.
Deep Six is such a wild move.
That was fun for what it was. Corbin was protected by not having to job.
- Ambrose/Styles/Corbin segment:
I can't be the only one who was waiting for Curt Hawkins to make the save. He's still returning, right?
Fine ending to continue the road to Backlash. Will Kalisto show up to get revenge on Corbin by then?
More wrestling coming up.
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