WWE put on a great show on Thursday with NXT Takeover, so it comes as a little bit of a shock that a show for the main roster the following night could be so bad. SmackDown was almost a complete wash this week with only two bouts really standing out above the rest. Sheamus defeated Wade Barrett in the match of the night and Jimmy Uso couldn't answer the 10-count against Bray Wyatt in the main event Last Man Standing Match. Everything else on the show was either some kind of comedy segment, a terrible match or something barely worth watching to begin with. I typically try to focus on the positive aspects of SmackDown and WWE in general, but shows like this make it difficult not to sound jaded. WWE definitely has the right idea trying to appeal to all age groups, but even little kids had to be disappointed with a lot of what went on during SmackDown. Alicia Fox and Paige continued to build their feud heading into Payback, as did Rusev and Big E, Cesaro and Sheamus and El Torito and Hornswoggle. The Shield opened the show with a decent promo that gave hope for the rest of the show, but things mostly went downhill from there with only a couple of bright spots for the rest of the show. Let's look back at SmackDown and review some of the things we learned on Friday night.
I have been a writer for Bleacher Report for several years, and am now happy to also be a writer at What Culture! I do my best to contribute anywhere I can in a positive way, and that includes in my writing. Some people call me The Doctor, but Chris is fine.
