This week's SmackDown was the worst I have seen in a long time. Other than one pretty good match and one very good match, there was nothing about this show to enjoy and the blame for that has to be on whoever booked the show from top to bottom. It almost felt as if someone had just stopped trying and threw together a show that may have looked alright on paper, but came off as terrible on television. Let me rephrase that. Even this show could not have looked good on paper. Despite the top notch performances from Sheamus and Barrett, it just wasn't worth watching. Too much comedy and matches that were too short took up most of the show. Even the announcers seemed like they lost their ability to seem enthusiastic until the brawl between the two mid-card champions. Jimmy Uso put up a good effort against Bray Wyatt, but if the person booking the show had any sense they would have ended it with the Barrett vs. Sheamus match. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8ZmpMZaq5U This show is also a good example of why WWE is not doing so well these days. Appealing to all age groups and all types of fans is WWE's best strategy, but don't insult the intelligence of the fans. Not one person in the arena or watching at home should be happy with how Jack Swagger was pinned in his match either. This is a guy who holds collegiate wrestling records and he lost with one of the weakest pinning combinations next to someone simply placing their boot on his chest. Perhaps the problem is that WWE brought up too many Superstars too close to each other. Just in the past few months we have seen Rusev, Bo Dallas and Adam Rose make their debuts, and not one of them has really caught on the with the WWE Universe the way they had in NXT. NXT Takeover was an outstanding two hours of wrestling and if the main roster doesn't want to be outdone, they better pull out all the stops at Payback. This year's event returns to Chicago, IL which is always known to be an enthusiastic crowd, but we will have to wait until Sunday to see what happens. Sound off in the comments section with your thoughts in this week's SmackDown and your predictions for Payback.
I have been a writer for Bleacher Report for several years, and am now happy to also be a writer at What Culture! I do my best to contribute anywhere I can in a positive way, and that includes in my writing. Some people call me The Doctor, but Chris is fine.
