wrestling / Columns
Wrestling’s 4Rs: The Right, Wrong and Ridiculous of WWE Smackdown
Loading...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.
SMACKDOWN 7.18.17
Jimmy Uso defeated Kofi Kingston [**]
Mike Kanellis defeated Sami Zayn [*½]
Becky Lynch defeated Charlotte Flair [***]
Baron Corbin & Kevin Owens defeated AJ Styles & Shinsuke Nakamura [***¼]
THE Right:
Jinder Mahal Brings The Punjabi Prison: Jinder Mahal opened the show inside the Punjabi Prison. They went over the rules for the match and Mahal threatened to beat Orton to a pulp. Randy Orton interrupted him and said he couldn’t tell if Mahal was being bright or stupid for choosing to be locked in a prison with him. Orton mentioned Mahal took out the one advantage he had over him, the Singh Brothers, who cost him the previous two matches they had. Orton climbed the prison and continued to cut his promo, saying he had nothing to lose while Mahal had everything to lose. Orton declared he would be the new WWE Champion when he made it to the top of the Prison. I thought this was a great final segment in the build for the Punjabi Prison match. They smartly went over the rules of the match since we haven’t seen this match in about ten years and I loved how they executed Orton’s promo, with the slow climb up the prison to show his lack of fear and his readiness to enter the war with Jinder. It was very smart and well-done segment that did a good job getting that final bit of hype heading into the match.
Mike Kanellis vs. Sami Zayn: Zayn attacked to start and he drilled him with a clothesline on the floor. Short lariat by Zayn and he hit the exploder into the corner. Maria came in to shield Mike and it allowed Mike to drill Zayn with a hard right hand. The Power of Love by Mike got him the win. Match was a basic TV affair but I liked the story of Zayn just kicking Mike’s ass only for Maria to become involved long enough for Mike to recover and steal a win. It projected out who Mike and Maria are as characters perfectly and it didn’t make Zayn look bad since he was so dominant throughout the contest. It was an effective character highlight match and it gives them an easy set-up for the rematch at Battleground.
Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair: Natalya is on commentary for the match. They grappled to start and Lynch landed a dropkick to send an early message. Lynch attempted the Disarmer but Charlotte quickly bailed to block. Charlotte fired away with chops but Lynch came back with an Exploder suplex. Lynch countered Natural Selection into the Disarmer but Charlotte rolled her up for a near fall to break. Charlotte missed a Moonsault off the top and Lynch locked the Disarmer in again but Charlotte made the ropes. Becky pulled her back to the middle of the ring and Charlotte tried everything to escape but she was forced to tap. Lana, Natalya & Tamina attacked Lynch and Charlotte after the match and then turned their attention on each other. Tamina laid out Natalya with a super kick to save Lana. I thought the match was a ton of fun. Lynch was just simply better on this night, just constantly picked her spots in an attempt to grab the Disarmer and it finally worked and Charlotte couldn’t find that escape they needed. This felt like an intense contest between friends and the dynamic made for a great little contest.
AJ Styles & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Baron Corbin & Kevin Owens:
Corbin tried to attack Nakamura in the entrance way but Nakamura caught him and all four men brawled in the entranceway to kick things off. Corbin nailed Styles as he tried to slingshot into the ring and he gets worked over. Styles caught Owens with a dropkick and Nakamura went on the attack on Owens. Corbin attacked Nakamura on the floor, allowing them the opportunity to double team Nakamura in the corner. Corbin grabbed a bear hug but Nakamura fought out and hit a single leg dropkick. Owens distracted Nakamura, allowing Corbin to hit Deep Six for a near fall as Styles made a save. Nakamura hit a spinning heel kick and Styles made the tag to run wild on Owens. Styles grabbed the Calf Crusher on Corbin but he quickly fought his way to the ropes. Styles looked to springboard but Owens tripped him up, sending Styles crashing onto the apron. Back in, Owens super kicked Styles and hit the Pop Up Powerbomb for the win. In terms of getting heat back for Owens after his loss last week, getting the pin was fine but Corbin was made to look like the killer and machine in this match, not Owens. I thought this was one of Corbin’s best in-ring performances to date, tossing Styles & Nakamura around and really looking like the monster the company wants him to be. This was just as good as last week’s tag affair, with a nice chaotic final stretch to send both Styles/Owens and Nakamura/Corbin programs off on a high note into Battleground.
puRgatoRy:
Jimmy Uso vs. Kofi Kingston: Kofi did a one man Unicorn stampede early and then hit a delayed slingshot summersault pescado to the floor. Jimmy took control during the commercial break and he hit Kofi with a spinning enzuigiri for a near fall. Kofi came back with the standing double stomp and the Boom Drop. Jimmy countered the Trouble in Paradise into a DVD into the corner for a near fall. Kofi went for a cross body off the top but Jimmy rolled through for the win. This was a solid little match with a few nice spots sprinkled in. This wasn’t the greatest finish though, if they wanted to give the Usos a win it probably should have been stronger in order to plant the idea that the Usos don’t need a cheap or fluke style victory to beat the New Day.
John Cena Discusses the Flag Match: Cena talked about how Rusev was against the free speech that allows everyone to enjoy Smackdown Live. Cena said it’s on him whether the US flag will be waved in victory or fall in defeat but he is ready to go. He said the US represents a nation of fighters and he is ready to fight at Battleground. He talked about all the events the flag flew high for and the flag will fly high on Sunday. Cena began to wave the flag but Rusev attacked him from behind. Rusev locked in the Accolade on Cena and Cena passed out. Rusev waved the Bulgarian Flag and leaves. The promo and attack were both pretty good, Cena had tons of passion and energy in his promo and Rusev looked strong in his post speech destruction of Cena. The problem was that this still came across as forced. The battle of nations theme for this feud hasn’t had enough time to build and generate strong enough heat, so while in terms of delivery it was great, there hasn’t been enough time for a strong execution.
THE wRong:
NOTHING
THE Ridiculous:
NOTHING
