10 Ups & 7 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Feb 19)
8. Overlong, But Functional
Last night's opening segment was too long. That WWE chose to pad The Miz's apology to Shane McMahon out to such an extent contributed to its on-the-nose feel, as there was way too much exposition. The writers could have trimmed at least 3-4 minutes from this thing and accomplished the same job, only more effectively, but it looks like they left their quality control filter at home.
Other than the length and the hammy Miz/Shane material, the segment was solid. It was at its best when the suddenly heel Usos came out. They rightly noted that Miz and Mac have no rematch clause, called Mr. Mizanin a joke, a loser, a failure, and a fraud, and "a wannabe A-lister with C-list" skills. A savage verbal takedown continued when The Usos suggested McMahon finds himself a new tag team partner, and while Shane retorted with embarrassing dad patter (never say "ya dig" again please, chief), the rematch was booked.
Their Elimination Chamber clash over-delivered. Round two will likely go the same way, though Miz's dad sitting at ringside almost guarantees shenanigans. Still, The Usos are one of the best in-ring tag teams in WWE history, and will likely find a way to make it work no matter how convoluted the booking gets.