I have to admit, this entire piece is basically a gigantic mark on this week’s episode of Smackdown Live.
How am I confident enough to say this? Occasionally I conduct a live tweet thread on either show, and out of the two I did this week, the #SDLive thread was much more solid and contextual.
So here’s a more detailed breakdown of what I felt were the ups and downs this week’s episode:
“The Enigma” Jeff Hardy Returns
While Matt needed the “Woken” character as a much needed boost to his revived singles run, there was less concern over Jeff suffering the same fate once he returned from his shoulder injury. But it seems like WWE listened to some who suggested Hardy go back to the ‘Enigma’ persona that got him singles success a decade ago.
The cryptic and cerebral message he had before turning around to review the return of his face paint was an added bonus, and the use of complex vocabulary was reminiscent of the stuff “Woken” Matt is known for on RAW.
It would have been a neat crossover if Jeff had also said that Shinsuke Nakamura’s attack the week before in their match had ‘woken’ him as well, but this is a character that fans have not seen in almost a decade and would be fresh enough for this generation’s WWE fan base.
SAnitY finally debuts
After a bit of a false start over what I would consider a flimsy excuse of copyright infringement (how do you trademark an actual noun anyway?), “SAnitY” finally made their presence known on the blue brand after they were called up from NXT.
Killian Dain, Eric Young and Alexnder Wolfe really didn’t need to have that match with the Usos, so the beat down before the bell rang was appropriately in displaying the trio’s knack for chaotic situations. Overall, my disappointment with WWE over how SAnitY was handled has been replaced by cautious optimism.
As for the Usos, is there really anything left for them on Smackdown anymore? I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a mid-summer shakeup that sent them over to RAW to join their cousin Roman Reigns in reforming that short lived “Bloodline” stable from two years ago.
Renee Young interviewing Daniel Bryan….and breaking the fourth wall
During an interview with Daniel Bryan, Renee Young brought up the fact that he beat Big Cass at Money in the Bank, then asking about the Gauntlet Match. Normally that is a standard question, but here’s the rub: Big Cass was released by WWE earlier Tuesday.
The standard WWE practice for released talent is that they don’t get mentioned on-air ever again. Austin Aries, Neville (who is basically still in contract limbo), and Enzo Amore were pretty much scrubbed out from WWE storylines altogether. Strange that they would even mention the big man after firing him.
Big Cass got himself in some hot water a few weeks ago when he went off script on the Montreal edition of Smackdown, beating down a local performer beyond what he was told to do. That earned him some backstage disciplinary measures, but it seems Vince McMahon was not willing to just forgive and forget.
Still, bringing up Cass’ name at all the same day he was let go, it’s an unusual move either on WWE’s part, or Renee slipped up.
Gauntlet Match leads to several story lines going forward
It took WWE long enough for them to listen to the audience chanting “Rusev Day” over and over again to give the Bulgarian a push for the WWE title, the first one on one match he’s had for the title. Ironically, it was at the expense of another superstar, Daniel Bryan, who also organically built up a fan following as Rusev did.
We also saw the beginnings of a feud between Bryan and the Bludgeon Brothers, who ambushed Bryan and double teamed him during the match, allowing the Miz to come in and score the pinfall on his longtime adversary.
My take is WWE is teasing us a run at the Smackdown tag team titles for Bryan against the Bludgeons, but as to who his partner would be, that is the mystery…unless we get completely swerved if Miz or Samoa Joe become such partners. Maybe it’s a throwback to how they threw Daniel Bryan and Kane together who hated each other at first, but ended up winning the WWE tag titles.
As for AJ Styles vs. Rusev, I think the handshake at the end signified a full turn to face for Rusev, while Aidan still remains somewhat heelish (even though English is also very much over with the fans with his recent free-styling presentation for Rusev’s entrance). It will be interesting to see how things develop with the buildup to this match to Extreme Rules.
One Missing Andrade Cien Almas
Is it just me, or am I the only one who is gnawed at how WWE just put Andrade up to feud with another guy from Mexico, just because? And Sin Cara? No offense, Sin Cara is a solid mid card talent, but he is not that much of a player on the blue brand as of late. He’s better off on the Cruiserweight division.
That said, it’s still much better than how Lashley was handled in the last month in that hapless feud with Sami Zayn. And yes, more screen time for Zelina Vega, please!
What did you think of the June 19 edition of Smackdown Live? Feel free to comment below!
An average professional doing the 9-5 grind who really loves wrestling across all platforms. Here's hoping wrestlers finally get some basic workers rights in 2021.
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