5 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (22 May - Results & Review)
Downs...
4. Snoozer Of An Opening Segment
Material for WWE's front-loaded, show-opening promo trains is typically on the weaker side, so they only really come to life if the workers asked to deliver dry lines inject their own passion into them. Unfortunately, Rhea Ripley didn't do that when she was flying solo and challenging Jade Cargill to a title rematch at Clash In Italy next week.
That's a boring development, not least because their feud was sucking wind before WrestleMania. Neither woman needed to continue the story, sp Rhea's announcement fell flat with the live crowd on Friday. Then, the set up for Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss (or so we thought) vs. members of Fatal Influence was monotonous and the segment fizzled out badly.
Delivery from Rhea and Charlotte, in particular, wasn't great. However, it’s also worth saying that the writing is so uninspired and lazy for these sorts of skits. Also, did this sort of match need this kind of set up? Did it really? WWE could've got away with announcing Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid vs. Charlotte and Bliss/Ripley via a match graphic. Hell, Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett could've delivered the news with a smile and it would've been just as exciting.
Of course, WWE's creative team know they've got 3 chunky hours to fill every week on SmackDown, so they pretty much told Rhea, Charlotte, Alexa and the Influence crew to go out there and chew through words for the sake of words. Splice in a PLE challenge that nobody wants and this entire deal sagged.
The only thing it had going for it was fans popping for Ripley's entrance.