Wrestling’s 4Rs: The Right, Wrong and Ridiculous of WWE Smackdown

How the 4Rs of wRestling Work!
Here is a quick explanation of the 4R’s. The column will run TWO-THREE times a week. We will group our feelings on the shows in various categories: The Right, the wRong and the Ridiculous. The Right is stuff that worked very well: a great promo, a great match and so on. PuRgatoRy is a section between the right and wrong. It shows equal traits from both sides that cannot be ignored and needs discussed. It is not a bad place per say, as things can get remedied or go the wrong way the very next week. The wRong is what it sounds like: bad matches, bad or boring promos and so on. The Ridiculous is stuff that had no right on TV: Stupid angles and so on. And there is always a possibility of a 5th R, which is as bad as they come. This column is supposed to be analytical, and at the right time very critical of the shows, it was the whole reason it was created. This is not a “mark” column, nor a “smark” column, our goal is to analyze the show from many different fronts, reward the good and call out the bad. We will not apologize for our opinions, they are as they are, whether positive or negative.

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SMACKDOWN 6.27.17
– The Usos defeated The Hype Bros [*1/2]
– WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship- Naomi © defeated Lana [*]
– Baron Corbin defeated Sami Zayn [**1/4]
– Money in the Bank Ladder Match – Carmella defeated Becky Lynch, Charlotte, Natalya & Tamina [***]

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THE Right:
Carmella and James Ellsworth Confront Daniel Bryan Daniel Bryan opened the show and ran down the card for the evening. Carmella came out and complained that she never violated any of the rules in regards to the Money in the Bank ladder match and that it wasn’t fair that she was stripped of the briefcase in the first place. Bryan reminded Carmella that no one had ever had someone hand the briefcase to the winner before but Ellsworth called Bryan pathetic and gutless. Bryan decided that instead of banning Ellsworth from ringside tonight, he would ban Ellsworth from the building and security came to escort him out. Ellsworth tried to run from them but to no avail. This was a fun little setup segment to kick things off. Carmella and Ellsworth both did a great job with their promos and I have to say, months ago I didn’t think this pairing would have any legs but to my amazement they are becoming one of the more entertaining and intriguing duos on the roster, so kudos to them.

WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship- Naomi © vs. Lana Lana attacked from behind during the introductions and she hit the hammerlock spinebuster for a near fall. Naomi caught her with a high kick and she finished Lana with the split legged moonsault for the win. I had zero problem with how this played out. They smartly kept it incredibly short to mask Lana’s shortcomings, she got one big near fall off a sneak attack and after that didn’t work, Naomi made quick work of her, showing she’s in a totally different class at the moment. Obviously nothing to go crazy over but a simple segment that will set Lana aside now while she develops her in-ring skills.

puRgatoRy:
The Hype Bros vs. The Usos: The Hype Bros would’ve earned a Tag Team Championship match with a win. Ryder caught Jimmy with a flapjack for a near fall to start and the Hype Bros controlled early. Jey caught Ryder with an enzuigiri knocking him to the floor to gain the advantage and when they come back from the commercial, Jey super kicked Ryder and Jimmy followed up with the Superfly Splash for the win. After the match, The New Day came out and challenged the Usos to a match at Battleground. The Usos accepted and warned them that they spit fire, so Kofi retorted with a rap mocking them. Zack got the expected WWE welcome back reward with a quick job to the champs. The finish was almost completely cut off to set up the post-match stuff with New Day, so the match was just inconsequence and a total waste as they had a chance to put on something exciting with the stakes and get the Hype Bros back into the fold in a stronger fashion.

Randy Orton Sit In: Aiden English started off the segment singing but Orton interrupted and during the commercial he laid him out with an RKO. Orton said he wasn’t leaving until he got a piece of Jinder Mahal. He said if Mahal didn’t show up right then and there, Orton would eventually find him and kick his ass. Shane McMahon came out and told Orton that he didn’t want Orton running around trying to beat up Mahal. Orton told him that he would be willing to get fired in order to get his hands on Mahal in some form or fashion, but he wanted Shane to make it simple and give him another chance at the WWE Championship. Shane gave Orton his match at Battleground but Mahal would get to choose the stipulation. Jinder Mahal finally came out and complained that this shows what is wrong with Smackdown Live, since Orton didn’t deserve another title shot. Mahal said the stipulation for their match was innovated by The Great Khali and it’s a Punjabi Prison Match. I have no idea why they did the Aiden English thing earlier. The big pop for the RKO was saved for live crowd early, so that part seemed out of place. The segment itself was solid, Orton is usually at his best when he playing his vengeful, pissed off persona but Mahal didn’t live up to his end in comparison to Orton and Shane. He needs to find a better away to convey his anger and change some of his dialogue, it just seems forced for what should developing as an extremely headed feud in the aftermath of Money in the Bank. The whole segment did its job of setting up the Punjabi Prison and we’ll see how match goes as the two times it previously occurred the quality was barely average.

Sami Zayn vs. Baron Corbin: Before the match, Zayn came out and interrupted Maria & Mike Kanellis’ promo. Zayn went on the attack early and he went for a slingshot pescado but Corbin blocked and dropped him on the barricade. Corbin grabbed a bear hug and he threw some shots to the back as Zayn fought out. Zayn came back with a lariat and he caught Corbin with a cross body off the top for a near fall. They went up top and Zayn fought him off. He leaped off the top but Corbin moved and laid out Zayn with End of Days for the win. This was fine but it didn’t get enough time to provide a satisfying conclusion to their feud. The key here was to have Corbin look dominant and for the most part it worked. The Zayn interruption of Kanellis at the start was a smart little detail that allows them to move Zayn into a program with Kanellis while Corbin begins a feud with Shinsuke Nakamura. The match itself was a letdown but the finish was smart and it leads to a smooth transition into something new for both men.

Women’s Money In the Bank Ladder Match: Everyone brawled to start and Carmella used the opening to set up the ladder and climb. The others caught on to her and attacked, knocking her to the floor. Lynch cleaned house but Tamina prevented her from setting up the ladder, hitting Lynch with a Superfly Splash. Tamina and Charlotte fought over a ladder and Lynch tried to use the opportunity to climb it but they brought her crashing down to the mat. Natalya climbed but Charlotte followed up and they fought on top of the ladder. Carmella tipped the ladder over, bringing them crashing to the mat. Everyone but Carmella climbed the ladder but it eventually tipped over, sending all four women crashing down. Carmella used the opening to climb but everyone caught her again and they pulled her away from the briefcase while she was on the ladder in a clever spot. Carmella hit a cross body off the ladder onto Lynch & Natalya and Charlotte drove the ladder repeated onto Tamina. Carmella and Charlotte fought on the ladder but Tamina tipped it over from her back. Tamina climbed but Natalya & Lynch took her off with a double power bomb. Natalya & Charlotte fought in the crowd and James Ellsworth came out through the other side of the crowd. He climbed the ladder but Lynch tipped it over, sending Ellsworth crotch first into the ropes. Lynch climbed but Carmella attacked her with a chair to take her out. Carmella climbed the ladder and grabbed the briefcase to officially win it. I thought the PPV version of this match was better. The original match had more creativity and brutality while this match just revolved mostly on climb and tip the ladder over spots. The first portion of this match was really bad, tons of sloppy actions and it seemed like the ladies were really struggling to try and get the ladder set up. It got better as it went along, with the urgency to grab the briefcase making for a good story that hooked the live crowd big time. The Ellsworth spot was well done and Carmella still didn’t outright win this clean but it provided the satisfying conclusion we didn’t get the first time around.

THE wRong:
NOTHING

THE Ridiculous:
NOTHING

The 1156th edition is over…

6.0

The final score: review Average

The 411

With the hype from last week and the potential quality of the in-ring matches on paper heading into the show, I was really disappointed with this week’s Smackdown. They had an awesome crowd tonight who were into almost everything so I think they blew a great opportunity to produce the best episode of Smackdown on the year. It was a rare night where the booking decisions clearly outshined the wrestling. The Money in the Bank match just didn’t hit the level of greatness I was hoping for and was inferior to the original match. The other matches on the show were all short changed on time and weren’t even given the chance to be great. But, like at said, coming out of this we got a good idea of what the Battleground card is going to look like and they smartly set up all the programs in some form or fashion. This edition is certainly watchable but lower your expectations coming in or you’ll be as disappointed as I turned out to be.