Reverse Hipster What Mattered
Corbin Outsmarts Kevin
Corbin has added Moss to his team. When Kevin came out to save the crowd from Corbin's bragging, he was bum-rushed by Corbin's new partner Moss. I'm excited to learn more about this partnership and why they are working together.
Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins threatens to beat Edge in front of his family if he doesn't show up to Smackdown next week. Seth continues his despicable character and gives us something to look forward to next week. So even though we won't be getting an Extreme Rules match, overall it's still positive.
Sonya vs. Naomi
Sonya got a lot of heat after abusing her power and holding Naomi down. She actually kicked Naomi out of the building. Naomi had the entire crowd on her side chanting make the match after she challenged Sonya. The only bad part of this feud is that Sonya disparaged Naomi a lot, and I feel like Naomi should have beat Sonya up already. I don't understand why they won't let Naomi beat up Sonya. Especially after Sonya kept using fighting words.
Liv vs. Zelina
Liv looked really good in this match. Her offense looked powerful, and she controlled most of the match. However, due to Carmella's interference, Zelina gets her first win since she returned. I liked this segment because it gave Zelina her first win while still making Liv look good and advancing the feud with Carmella.
The Main Event
I like that Smackdown tried something new. Ford vs. Roman was a fresh and exciting match. Also, I thought Montez shined even in a loss. Also, I think bringing the Demon out to offset the Roman win and send the crowd home happy was smart.
Bianca vs. Becky
Bianca and Becky had another good promo segment. This time they focused on legacy. Bianca got under Becky's skin because she pointed out that she has done at least as much as Becky in a quarter of the time. Becky's jealousy is the heart of the feud. Becky slapped Bianca, but Bianca finally got the last laugh and hit Becky with the KOD.
Nakamura Retains
The IC match was electric. I think both guys got to show off their skills. The in-ring action couldn't even be contained to the ring. Boogz took out commander Aziz ringside. Apollo and Nakamura gave us exactly what we wanted from the IC title. I can't wait to see what's next from both guys.
Rob's What Mattered
4. Happy Corbin
Happy Corbin continued to keep me entertained in a narcissistic talk show segment this week. Time will tell if Corbin's new attitude is a permanent shift or just a stop in the mid-life crisis-esque journey.
3. Make The Match!
Hints at Naomi's new story finally paid off when she went to the ring and demanded Sonya Deville to book a match for her. It's cool to see SmackDown give some time to a different story for the women. This story could pay off massively if they let it continue to build. The crowd seemed hot enough on Naomi to make this feud work.
2. Stoking the Fire of SmackDown Feuds
We don't need to see every feud take up a segment every week in a two-hour show. SmackDown has mastered the art of keeping a feud hot without having it take up a segment. This week, they built toward a confrontation between Seth Rollins and Edge just by having a replay, letting Rollins talk for a half-minute, and promoting it using the commentary team. Finn Balor as the Demon came out to confront Roman Reigns at the end of the night, but it still gave time for the main event in-ring. Becky Lynch and Bianca Belair had a brief promo segment to start the night, which was just long enough to reinforce their feud.
1. Main Event Montez
Montez Ford is a future main event babyface. This was an incredible spot to give him a rub from the biggest star in the company. We got to see Roman Reigns have a meaningful match on weekly TV, Ford got to prove himself in the main event, and it creatively continued the feud between the Usos and Street Profits. I don't know what more you could ask for on a SmackDown.
Rob's What Didn't Matter
1. Extreme Rules
Like Raw, SmackDown gave us a great show with almost minimal consequences to the PPV coming up this weekend. I'm not even sure why the show is called Extreme Rules. The only Extreme Rules match, to my knowledge, is the Roman Reigns and Finn Balor match, and I didn't know that until they said it on commentary. There are no other stipulation matches to be seen, and this week of TV (while great) gave away better matches than I think we're going to see on the PPV. If WWE wants to boost the quality of weekly TV sustainably, I think it needs to complement the PPV product, not compete or distract.
What Didn't Matter
The Women's Tag Team Championship
I didn't like the meaningless singles match between Nikki and Natalya, and that it just ended in a roll-up. Also, Shotzi and Teagan came out, but they didn't actually get to do anything, and the show just moved on. WWE has to put more thought into the women's tag team division.
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