5 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (3 Oct - Results & Review)
Downs...
3. Not The Greatest Opening Segment
A minor positive to start: Yours truly liked how Paul Heyman tried to drive a wedge between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton by saying “this can’t last”, but there really wasn’t much to the opening promo segment other than catchphrases and that plot point. All of this honestly could’ve been achieved with a brief backstage skit at some point in the show.
It didn’t tell fans anything they didn’t already know. At least it was on the shorter side and to the point, but yeah - it isn't exactly news that Randy would like a shot at the WWE Title again someday. If that was all Heyman was saying, then...why bother? He did allege that neither man could trust the other, which is fair enough, but that didn't even play into things come headliner time anyway.
Quite obviously, Triple H only formatted this for the top of the show so Cody's entrance would pop the live crowd. Rhodes barely said a word before being interrupted by The Vision, and Orton said nothing himself after riding to the champ's rescue. This was all Paul E, which isn't the worst thing in the world but even he can't turn nothing material into something essential.
The match pitting Rhodes and Orton vs. Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed had already been announced ahead of time too, so it isn't like WWE planned to set the thing up during this bit. Thus, it proved to be wasted minutes, and a 2-hour show like SmackDown doesn't actually need to spin wheels and chew up time.
Harmless, but flawed.