3 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE Smackville
Smackville or Smackvile?
WWE's experimentation with house show specials on the Network has been surprisingly limited since the service launched in 2014. Japan's Beast In The East stands out, as do the first Roadblock event and Elimination Chamber 2015, but most have represented missed opportunities. Starrcade, Live From MSG and King Of The Ring 2015, for example, were all functional at best without being exciting.
Would Smackville, the latest attempt to turn live event touring into on screen gold, be any different?
It was a tall order from the start, because WWE decided they'd only air around one hour of content from Nashville. Fans were promised a WWE Title Triple Threat, an Intercontinental Title match and another three-way for the SmackDown Women's Title going in though, so there was something to hang one's hopes on. WWE sort of delivered on their word without really going the extra mile.
Smackville wasn't strictly bad. It did, however, once again prove that the promotion's blink-and-you'll miss it approach to these specials, and the sparse snippets they provide, won't be nourishing enough for every fan. Indeed, WWE would probably be better off keeping the cameras rolling from start to finish rather than cherry picking a match here and there...