3 Ups & 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Sep 26)
Repetition reigns in the 'Land Of (Scant) Opportunity.'
SmackDown is sinking.
Last night's show wasn't close to the worst WWE have produced this year, but the blue brand hasn't delivered anything above mediocrity for months. At best, SmackDown provides two passable hours of television with few major quality swings, and at worst, it delivers some of the WWE product's most egregiously bad material.
This week's SD sat somewhere between these barometers. A wildly inconsistent broadcast, it drew a depressingly low live crowd, and will do nothing to reverse the ratings crisis or improve the brand's rapidly dwindling reputation. SmackDown has jumped the shark, and episodes like this are the reason why.
Repetition was the night's key theme, with Dolph Ziggler and Jinder Mahal retreading familiar ground, and two old foes locking horns in the main event. Elsewhere, the upcoming Usos vs. New Day match got a stipulation, Carmella battled Charlotte Flair, and Rusev got patriotic after last week's win over Randy Orton.
Which segments swam against the tide, and which ones sucked SmackDown down the drain? Let's take a look.
Downs...
5. An Imperfect 10
Baron Corbin and AJ Styles' United States Title feud continued through Tye Dillinger this week. 'The Lone Wolf' wrestled 'The Perfect 10' with AJ on commentary, and in typical Corbin fashion, there was nothing to the match at all.
It wasn't awful, but the action was completely disposable, with Dillinger unable to drag anything close to exciting from his lumbering, awkward opponent. He played a decent foil for Baron's bullying, but there was a noticeable lack of heat until the finish, when Corbin finally got one over on the two babyfaces.
Baron shoved AJ's water bottle in his face, and thew Dillinger over the announce table and into the US Champion amidst the confusion. He slid back in the ring, and while Tye came within a hair of breaking the 10 count, he was unable to do so.
Corbin took the count-out victory, then challenged AJ to a match at Hell In A Cell. Hopefully Styles is able to summon something greater from Baron, as the challenger's recent offerings have been lacklustre at best.