10 Biggest Talking Points From WWE SmackDown (Aug 16)
The show of the year draws near!
This past Monday, Raw got a chance to fire its final shot prior to SummerSlam. On Tuesday, it was Smackdown's turn. Despite the fact that the Raw brand has more matches on the SummerSlam show, Smackdown has two of the most anticipated bouts of the event - Dean Ambrose versus Dolph Ziggler and John Cena versus AJ Styles.
The final build for those two matches was quite strong, as was Randy Orton's final bit of hype for the Orton-Lesnar main event. The problem was the rest of the show - just like Raw, Smackdown still has pacing issues. While Raw runs too long and the brand is forced to use a thin roster to fill three hours, Smackdown often feels rushed. Despite the fact that the company spent fifteen years with a two-hour flagship show, it sometimes seems like the people in charge forgot how to fit everything into 120 minutes.
There were some frustrating moments but, overall, the important stuff was good enough to make Smackdown a thumbs-up show. It will be interesting to see if the pace slows down or speeds up after SummerSlam, once the show is building to Smackdown-exclusive pay-per-view events. There may be less pressure, but they'll also have to several feuds per episode.
We'll find out the answer soon enough. Meanwhile, here are 10 big talking points from the August 16th episode of Smackdown.
10. Bringing Out The Worst In Both Men
The main feud on Smackdown revolves around WWE Champion Dean Ambrose and number one contender Dolph Ziggler, who are set to clash at SummerSlam. Both men are babyfaces (though Ambrose is more popular than Dolph), which has thus far made for a strange dynamic.
Dolph has spent a lot of time bragging about how good he is, but he's gotten so stale over the past year-plus that his protests come off more like whining than anything else. Dean Ambrose has continually pointed this out, and questioned if Dolph is as good as he says he is. It's had the consequence of making Ambrose look like a bully, but he's still the crowd favourite.
On Smackdown, Ziggler finished off an impassioned promo with a surprise Superkick, flooring the champion - another dastardly move. And, for the first time in a long time, it felt like he was showing a bit of an edge, too. It came off a lot better than his character work typically does.
So in the end, we're left with two babyfaces who are both acting like heels in a feud... and it's working. In order for the program to continue past Sunday, though, we need an actual, full-fledged turn by someone (preferably Dolph).