BRM Reviews the 10/2/2020 Smackdown

Post Reply
User avatar
Big Red Machine
Posts: 27378
Joined: Dec 16th, '10, 15:12

BRM Reviews the 10/2/2020 Smackdown

Post by Big Red Machine » Oct 4th, '20, 23:19

OPENING SEGMENT- The acting was good, but the storytelling here was a total failure.
Heyman was going to declare Roman the Tribal Chief but Roman wouldn’t let Heyman do so because Jey Uso didn’t actually acknowledge him as such. Roman called Jey out. Jey said that Roman had shown his true colors, but Roman said he was being generous, getting Jey in a main event so Jey could buy something nice for his wife and kids. He said that Jey was the one who was selfish. Roman then deiced to show his generosity by telling Jey that if he wanted another title shot, he could just have it. In Hell in a Cell, even. But this time, there would be “the highest stakes ever in a match in WWE.” He then went and whispered something in Jey’s ear. I assume this was the stipulation, but apparently not. Roman went to leave. Jey told him he would accept, no matter what the stakes were.

Where to start:
1. Just to get this one out of the way first, I HATED the way Hell in a Cell was just so casually thrown out. I realize that it has been devalued for a long time, but I think they can at least keep some of the mystique around it by having the wrestlers treat it with fear- or at the very least some dread. I know that Sasha and Charlotte damaged this severely a few years ago when they were eager to have a Hell in a Cell match just to be a women’s first, but I think if you start having the wrestlers treat it as something they REALLY don’t want to do unless absolutely necessary because it could shorten their careers, you can build it up again.
2. Maybe I missed something last month, but my understanding was that the “Tribal Chief” was just a nickname Roman has thought of for himself. Now it seems like they’re treating it as some sort of official thing, and Roman can’t feel like he has legitimately acquired this title unless all of the other Anoa’i family members submit to him as such. I think this hurts the story they have been telling a bit, as if this is a real title Roman is seeking and he needs all of the other to acknowledge his leadership, him beating on Jey to get him to say it the way he did at the PPV is relatively reasonable. If it’s just a nickname and Roman is trying to get Jey to call him by the nickname, then Roman is just being a self-important dick, which is what his character seems at its core to be.
3. If Roman wants Jey to say that he’s the Tribal Chief so badly, then it would make a lot more sense to get to the PPV match by having that be the stipulation. Roman wants Jey to say it so badly that Jey says “you have to give me another shot at the title because you cheated in the last one via low blow.” That would be much better than having Roman jus offer one t show how generous he is, and then attach a secret stipulation that is supposedly…
4.“The highest stakes ever in a match in WWE.” Whose idea was this? The main event of Survivor Series 2001 had the stipulation if WWE lost, the company would just down and all of the wrestlers would lose their jobs. SummerSlam 2005 had the custody of a child on the line. How much higher stakes than that can you possibly get? Hell… we had a match where if The Undertaker lost, Paul Bearer would be entombed in concrete (Great American Bash 2004)! What’s going to be on the line here? Is Roman going to demand that if he wins, he gets to set off a nuclear bomb in the city of his choice?
5. The above issue also kills the idea of a mystery stipulation being something that people will keep tuning in to find out what it is, because we know that whatever it is, it will wind up being disappointing.

Oh. It’s not over. After Roman left, AJ Styles came out and cut a borderline racist promo, asking if it really matters who gets to sit at the head of the table with “the most chicken bones” at the “luau.” He also made a comment about sacrificing a goat. He said that Jey Uso is a worse athlete than Jimmy Uso, and that Jey should just stand aside and let AJ have a title shot instead. Jey attacked AJ and beat him up on the outside. When we returned from a commercial, it was time for…

JEY USO vs. AJ STYLES- 7/10
During this match Cole plugged Roman’s earlier comments about this title match being “the highest stakes match ever in WWE” and that it would have “real consequences.” Corey Graves then said “you can’t just throw phrases like that around willy-nilly in WWE.” I fell of my chair laughing at that, and continued to roll around on the floor for a good three minutes.
They had a great athletic match that Jey won clean. Getting big wins cleanly is important to pushing someone for a title shot, but this was a mistake. AJ Styles is a big enough name that he should only be used as a stepping stone for someone you have real, major, long-term plans for. Jey Uso isn’t that. Once this program with Roman is over (probably after Hell in a Cell), he’ll go right back down the card. In the long run, this loss will only hurt AJ, and won’t wind up helping Jey at all.

SAMI ZAYN PROMO- GREAT!
Holy sh*t, he’s talking directly to the camera! My theory is that Hunter secretly had Sami tape this in secret, then waited for a point in the show where Vince went to the bathroom to air it.
Sami cut a GREAT promo and through out the extra title belt. I’m pretending in my head that when Sami said “this belongs in the trash of history” he was talking about the belt design, too.

OTIS PROMO- He’s going to represent himself in court for this clearly ridiculous lawsuit. Also, court is apparently scheduled for next week’s TV show, because trials usually happen on Friday nights.

TUCKER KNIGHT & THE MIZ ARE BARRED FROM RINGSIDE: Otis Dozovic vs. John Morrison- squash
JoMo got squashed by the big goof. The worst part of this is that this match was completely pointless because the thing they’re building up to is a goofy comedy sketch, not some sort of story where Otis trying to get revenge on the heels, so this win doesn’t do anything for Otis and just makes Morrison look like a jobber.

BIG E. PROMO- He should have been more serious.
He challenges Sheamus to a Falls Count Anywhere match next week. He teased that they could wind up in Disney World. Don’t tease that if you’re not going to pay it off.
Big E. said that this needs to happen next week because if one of them is drafted from one show to the other, they might not ever be able to finish this feud. If that’s the case, then shouldn’t the same apply to Roman vs. Jey and Orton vs. Drew, both of which have already been booked for Hell in a Cell?
Actually, even if one of them does get drafted, couldn’t they just use the Quarterly Brand-to-Brand Invitational to allow them to finish is.

SHEAMUS vs. CHAD GABLE- 0.25/10
They made an effort to give Gable a little bit of shine before having him get put down by two Brogue Kicks.

THE KO SHOW WITH SPECIAL GUEST ALEXA BLISS!- bad
Yes, really. The KO Show. Three minutes ago they’re trying to tell me that Big E. and Sheamus MUST blow their feud off before the draft or else they run the risk of never being able to do so because they will be separated in the draft, and now they’ve got a guy from Raw here for no explained reason to do a talk show.
Owens tried to tell Alexa that she has changed by saying that she isn’t the happy, smiley woman he first met at the Performance Center five years ago. And that might be true, but Alexa changed away from being that person LONG before she met The Fiend.
Owens tries to justify his presence here by saying that he is here in the hopes that getting answers from the recently turned Alexa Bliss! will give him insight into why Aleister Black turned on him. Why would he think that? The whole thing with Alexa’s turn is that her change is due to having come into contact with The Fiend, just like Balor, Rollins, Miz, Bryan, and Braun all changed after coming into contact with The Fiend. It’s been portrayed as a mystical thing. Aleister Black’s turn has none of that!
Also, doesn’t Roman now screw up the “when you come into contact with The Fiend, you change” thing? He was a heel before he attacked The Fiend and he is still that same heel afterwards.
Alexa admitted to being “brainwashed.” The Fiend showed up and attacked Owens. How much to you want to bet that he won’t change, either?
The Fiend offered Alexa his hand. She took it and smiled.
Basically, this was just another segment where Bray Wyatt magically appeared and attacked someone snore.

KAYLA BRAXTON INTERVIEWS MATT RIDDLE, GRAN METALIK, & LINCÉ DORADO- bad
Riddle is too goofy now. Lincé suggested they get all go party afterwards. Kayla asked where Kalisto was. Lincé said that Kalisto was still in the locker room and having trouble getting his mask on because his head was go big.

BARON CORBIN, SHINSUKE NAKAMURA, & CESARO vs. MATT RIDDLE & LUCHA HOUSE PARTY (Lincé Dorado & Gran Metalik)- 4/10
Why am I still watching Lucha House Party vs. Ceasro & Nakamura?
Kalisto came out to yell at his teammates. He wound up accidentally kicking Lincé Dorado in the head, but it didn’t matter because Riddle won the match for their team. Arguing happened after the match, with Metalik holding Lincé back and Riddle holding Kalisto back.

CARMELLA PROMO- bad
She’s a heel now and she blames all of us fans for her being a goofball with R-Truth. Also, she took a picture with what appeared to be a Fischer Price toy camera from the 1970s.

SASHA BANKS PROMO- good, but I don’t understand why she’s getting a title shot. She didn’t do anything to earn one.

They announced that Big E. vs. Sheamus in a Falls Count Anywhere match was official for next week, and also that Owens will face The Fiend next week, even though Owens is a Raw wrestler. They’re just calling it a “special cross-brand” match.

WWE INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE MATCH: Sami Zayn(c) vs. Jeff Hardy- 7.5/10
The stories of the match were Sami’s injured ribs, and a turnbuckle pad that Sami exposed early on. They built both up very well, and used the turnbuckle for the heel finish.

We got two great matches tonight, but other than the main event I thought the booking was bad and the promos and stories mostly didn’t work for me. I’m also sick and tired of seeing some of these matches over and over again. That darn draft can’t come soon enough.
Hold #712: ARM BAR!

Upcoming Reviews:
FIP in 2005
ROH Validation
PWG All-Star Weekend V: Night 2
DGUSA Open the Ultimate Gate 2013
ROH/CMLL Global Wars Espectacular: Day 3

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 22 guests