3 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE SmackDown (7 Feb)

Downs...

6. Opening With The Dirt Sheet

San Jose wanted wrestling.

It was that simple, and that's why the crowd yawned though the opening 'Dirt Sheet' segment involving The Miz, John Morrison, New Day, The Usos and Corbin-ites Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode. As lighthearted as 'Once Upon A Time On The Dirt Sheet' was, people just didn't dig it, and they sat on their hands throughout.

Miz and Morrison are the perfect opponents for New Day, that's true. Still, this was poor set-up and could've lasted two minutes instead of 10. When WWE are stretching skits to kill time on a two-hour program, you know there's a problem, and this reeked of filler designed to pad out SmackDown's format sheet.

It would've been better to open with The Usos vs. Ziggler and Roode tag-team match then transition into this. In fact, the 'Dirt Sheet' should've taken place as a pre-tape like it used to back in the day. Miz and Morrison's quirky, almost-meandering banter shines there, not in front of live crowds.