After this column's return last week, I became optimistic about what SmackDown was going to show us this week. Last week’s episode was promising with the solid and logical advancement of their main storylines. Did they hold up this week’s episode? Some did, but others weren’t so lucky.
In pro wrestling, the amount of time entrusted to particular segments does not necessarily warrant quality. If you want people to commit to a two-hour show, every minute has to mean something. That said, let’s find out if time, and more importantly timing, was used to their full potential on the Blue Brand.
Time well deserved
The show's opener was the championship match between Bayley and Sasha and it was easily the match of the night. Like I said last week, "Fight Forever!" still reigns true for the Boss and the Role Model. The fact that this match was the opener and was given to us on TV was absolutely insane. Most importantly, it served well as the ending to Sasha overcoming her curse of not being to defend her singles titles.
Carmella's return and blindside of Sasha was the icing on the cake. It made the championship feel important knowing that Banks now has to put her head on a swivel. This was basic storytelling done well.
The advancement of Natalya’s storyline of trying to get into the Survivor Series team continues as she lost again in a Triple Threat against Zelina Vega and Ruby Riott—the latter of whom being the surprising winner. Albeit a short match, it played well into each of the women's strengths with the contentious finish being the perfect continuation of Natalya's mini-storyline. Am I actually getting excited for a Lana and Natalya faceoff at Survivor Series? Do I dare say yes?
Finally, Billie Kay's interjection in the Big E and Street Profits segment made me pop so hard. It gave me peak R-Truth out-of-nowhere comedy vibes.
Wasted time
WWE, please read the room. No one wants Lars Sullivan—someone who has been accused of sexual misconduct in real life —talking about his creepy stories about children. It is a waste of time, Vince. This is the last time I am going to mention this. Thanks.
Speaking of children and a waste of time, this episode has made me truly question my prior enjoyment of the Rollins and Mysterio family feud. This feud was given a total of two matches and two backstage segments on this week's episode. Let me say that again: a feud that has been going on since May was given one-fourth of an episode in November. Although the twist that Murphy may still be under Rollins' thumb is telenovela 101, it was severely undercut by the fact that it needed so much time to build up.
Oh, and did Rey really need to be in that Match with Corbin? Nope. Did the whole cast of this feud need to be at ringside for the match? Nope. With about 40 Superstars, could we have given some of the time for a qualifying match with Apollo Crews or Cesaro or Big E? A big YES. Booking decisions like this make us forget how deep WWE's roster is. Put Rollins and Mysterio in a qualifying match and have the two go at it there. It makes the twist make sense and adds a layer of stakes to a feud that greatly needs it.
About damn time
Finally, the character of Roman Reigns has leaned into the fact that he is WWE's golden boy. The perfect touch to what has been a well-executed heel push was when Roman was talking to Jey and basically sanctioned a match between Jey and Kevin Owens. Why? Because he is Roman Reigns and KO made a joke about his family. After this segment, I genuinely started to despise the Tribal Chief.
The match between KO and Uce-O (I am witty, yes) was pretty solid, hard-hitting stuff. With Owens looking to avenge Daniel Bryan and Jey looking to impress his cousin, the stakes were clear. The smash-mouth style of Owens in contrast to Jey's athleticism played beautifully on the canvas. With a classic, yet new, screwy finish (headbutt to balls, insane), Reigns came out with Heyman, and along with Jey, they looked like a million bucks.
Heel faction established.
The Final BreakDown: Despite wasting a lot of time keeping up with the Mysterios, this was a solid episode overall with a fantastic showing from the female superstars and an exciting direction for their top guy.
Grade: B-
*****
Image from WWE
Jacob Tambunting is a freshman at the Ateneo de Manila University currently studying BS Psychology. In his high school years, he authored plays for competitions, essays for projects, and fan fiction for fun. He currently lives with his two parents, his two siblings, and his two dogs, and is probably writing something angsty on his 10-year-old laptop. He breaks down SmackDown and writes The Supercard, where he presents a three-match card of wrestling matches from different promotions based on a certain theme.
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