7 Ups & 7 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (May 14)
1. Copy & Paste
Criticising WWE's over-dependence on revolving door talking segments is nothing new, but the problem has been particularly pronounced over the past few weeks, with the Wild Card Rule reducing Raw and SmackDown's opening slots to copy/paste jobs.
These things invariably kick off with a Superstar from the opposite brand hitting the ring, or interrupting a home-team player. More red and blue stars follow until we end up with a big, ugly stramash, a bunch of unproductive and unengaging dialogue, before a match is made, a brawl breaks out, or both.
Last night's fit the formula to a tee. Roman Reigns, The Miz, and The Usos came over from Raw, filling the Wild Card quota in the first segment. Shane, Elias, Rowan, and Daniel Bryan balanced them out. It was boring as hell. WWE effectively ran the same dull angle they've been peddling on their main roster brands since the Wild Card gimmick came into play. It's almost as bad as those 30-minute Authority openers from back in the day. Almost.