13 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (July 23)
Downs...
3. Commentary Chaos
Shawn Michaels' pre-advertised guest commentary stint didn't happen last night. Instead, 'HBK's' involvement was restricted to MizTV and while this isn't the most egregious bait-and-switch WWE have pulled since WrestleMania, him pulling on an announcer's headset would've been preferable to what we got in the first hour.
This write loves, loves, loves The New Day, but Xavier Woods and Big E didn't do the best job filling in alongside Tom Philips and David Otunga. Their constant shenanigans were a distraction. Announcers should enhance the action, not detract from it, even when they're stand-ins. Unfortunately, The New Day were too colourful and expressive for the job and their capers actively undermined anything unfolding in the ring - particularly during Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Apollo Crews.
WWE get a pass for this as Byron Saxton's unfortunate absence (more on this later) almost certainly forced a last-minute change of plans, but E and Woods still took away from the viewing experience.