wrestling / Columns
Wrestling’s 4Rs: The Right, Wrong and Ridiculous of WWE Smackdown
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...How the 4Rs of wRestling Work!
Here is a quick explanation of the 4R’s. I 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 10.31.17
– 2 Out of 3 Falls Match- Bobby Roode d. Dolph Ziggler [***1/4]
– Baron Corbin d. Sin Cara by DQ [*]
– AJ Styles d. Samir Singh [SQUASH]
– Rusev d. Big E [**1/4]
– Shinsuke Nakamrua d. Kevin Owens [***1/2]
THE Right:
Shane McMahon Addresses Survivor Series: Shane McMahon kicked off Smackdown to discuss the ongoing battle with Raw. Shane discussed how Smackdown has been seen as the inferior brand to Raw so he shook things up to change the perception of the show, which led to the siege of Raw. Shane then addressed Kane’s attack on Daniel Bryan from Raw this week and Shane promised hell to pay. Shane officially announced he will be on the Smackdown Live team as its captain and says they will take care of business in their ring. A very short and sweet retort from Shane to kick off the show. He addressed the feud, made the announcement of him joining the team, and then brought out Roode and Ziggler for the first match. This was perfectly timed and got every point across without dragging on for several minutes, which was so refreshing to see.
Two out of Three Falls Match- Bobby Roode vs. Dolph Ziggler: This match was for the third spot on team Smackdown Live! They grappled to start and Ziggler turned up the aggression before Roode cut him off with a clothesline. Roode hit a Blockbuster for a near fall before they took the fight to the floor. When they came back in, Ziggler caught Roode with a superkick to take the first fall. During the break, Roode catapulted Ziggler into the corner and he rolled him up to win the second fall, bringing it to a tie. Roode hit a Urinage for a near fall but Ziggler answered right back with a spike DDT for one of his own. Ziggler countered the Glorious DDT into the Zig Zag for another big near fall. They trade roll-ups with the tights for near falls and Roode rolls Ziggler into the Glorious DDT for the third fall and victory. This was the kind of quality match I knew these two had in them. The Survivor Series spot stake definitely helped elevate the drama in the final fall but they did a great job in that final segment throwing bombs at one other to try and capture the win. The finish actually paid off those stupid finishes from the past few weeks, so props for converting that into the final clean victory that Roode needed in his first main roster feud.
Smair Singh vs. AJ Styles: Before the match, Mahal sent another message to Brock Lensar, promising to show he was a beast conqueror at Survivor Series. Samir slapped Styles so Styles pounded away on him and hit the enzuigiri. Styles Clash by Styles gave him another quick victory but Jinder Mahal attacked him right after the match. Mahal slid Styles rib first into the ring post and stretched him across the post. Mahal laid him out with two Khallases. The squash was quick like it needed to be and the post match beat down was solid, setting up their WWE Championship match in the UK. Styles has two dominant wins over Mahal’s lackeys and coming out of this beat down Styles/Mahal has easily become the most intriguing match of Mahal’s championship run to date.
Kevin Owens vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: The winner joined team Smackdown at Survivor Series. Nakamura was in control early, landing various strikes and forcing Owens to bail. Owens came back with a super kick for a near fall and he cut off a Nakamura comeback with a DDT. Nakamura landed the single leg dropkick to begin his comeback and he hit the corner knee lift. Sami Zayn made his way out and the distraction allowed Owens to roll him up for a near fall. They fought up top and Owens took him down with the Fisherman’s Superplex for another near fall. Nakamura rolled though the Pop Up Powerbomb into a weak version of the Kinsasha and Sami pulled Owens to the floor to save him. Another Zayn distraction allowed Owens to shove him into the post and he hit a Frog Splash back in for another close fall. Suddenly, Randy Orton’s music played and he took out Zayn from behind with a back suplex onto the announce table. Nakamura hit Owens with a Kinsasha to pick up the win. So two thirds of my prediction came true, now it’s time to see how they fit Owens/Zayn into the Survivor Series picture now. Great main event, the action really picked up as it went along with Owens going deeper into his playbook to try and pull out a win. I’m glad they didn’t go the stereotypical distraction finish route, as the music playing set up a cool looking Orton sneak attack to take Zayn out of the equation. They made Orton and Nakamura look like strong threats in the Survivor Series match, now it’ll be interesting to see how Owens & Zayn respond.
puRgatoRy:
Baron Corbin vs. Sin Cara: Corbin drilled Cara with a big boot and he repeatedly goes after the mask of Cara. Cara fought back, shoving Corbin into the steps and pounding away at him in a fit of rage. Cara tackled him over the announce table as the ref called for the bell and Cara continued his assault on Corbin. Corbin bailed into the crowd to get away from Cara. I’m sick of the matchup at this point but at least this week they added some little elements to make things more interesting. Corbin is out to embarrass Sin Cara by going for his mask and Cara got fed up, unleashing a side of him we never saw before and FINALLY looking like a serious threat to the US Championship as a result. They made significant progress in fixing this program but now it’s time to deliver something worthwhile in the ring.
Rusev vs. Big E: Big E, Kofi and Woods are dressed as Akeem, Brother Love & Jimmy Hart in the spirit of Halloween. Big E toyed around with Rusev to start but Rusev sent him into the post shoulder first to take control. Rusev worked the shoulder of Big E but Big E came back with a series of belly to belly suplexes. Rusev nailed Big E with a high kick but Big E answered right back with a urinage. Suddenly, Aiden English began to sing but Woods interrupted him with the trombone, causing English to attack him. Kofi chased English into the Big Ending from Big E but Big E ate a super kick from behind by Rusev for the victory. The final few minutes of this were really good but the shenanigans on the outside overtook what was becoming a fun little power match. It was just a little too cute for my taste. Still, Rusev & English getting one over on the New Day was a good decision and launches what could be a fun and certainly entertaining little tag feud going forward.
THE wRong:
NOTHING
THE Ridiculous:
NOTHING
