Hello W3 family! Since my work schedule shifted on me unexpectedly we are trying something a little new. Instead of the (mostly) detailed reviews of Raw and Smackdown on their respective days, you all are now treated to a Battle of the Shows. Ill pick the ups and downs from each show and give (in my professional opinion) a brief analysis of who won the week. Plus, its good to switch things up every once in a while to keep our faithful readers on their toes. Lets get into it!
RAW vs. Smackdown
RAW:
Pluses:
+ The B Team winning the Tag Team Battle Royal: The B Team has been the shining light of this division in the absence of a hopefully soon to re-debut Authors of Pain. Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas have been oddly entertaining being goofy and annoying all while actually making me interested in their impending loss to the Deleters of Worlds.
+ Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens: I'd seen a lot of blow back from this match, saying it was boring and what not. I felt quite the contrary. Kevin Owens, especially as of late, can bring the life back into any stale match with explosive offense out of nowhere. Finn Balor looked good as ever. Finn also had a feel good moment at the beginning of this match, doing his entrance with a group of special needs kids...and the Big Show?! Yeah, he randomly showed up...and did Finn's entrance. It gave me the Warm and Fuzzies.
+David Otunga!: Not a real plus but RAW was mostly lacking this week. It was nice to see he was still employed and it was a nice change of pace from Coach or Booker T as the rotating 3rd.
Minuses
- Shelton Benjamin/Sami Zayn: All of this is just....no. A waste of two good talents to poor writing and a whole bunch of sadness.
- Baron Corbin- Randomly interferes and says Stephanie made him the "Constable" of Raw. While it is interesting to see where it leads, its sad that there is literally nothing for Corbin to do on RAW aside from be the Sherriff.
- Women's 6 person tag match: If you've ever read anything Ive posted on this site, you know I despise these kind of matches. Riott Squad faced Sasha, Ember Moon, and Alexa Bliss....except Alexa pretended to be hurt to we got Bayley instead. It was a little all over the place but the Faces won! Except they didn't because Deputy Dawg Baron Corbin reversed the decision, because apparently he can do that now. Its chaotic, clunky story telling like that that can cause viewers to stop watching.
Smackdown Live!
Pluses:
+Miz and the New Day: Brilliant segment. Pancake batter was involved, Mr Booties-Worth was there, and Xavier Woods called Miz "Hokagie Miz". The nerd in me was very excited by this. The match the all had later on was good as well.
+Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles Contract Signing: 5 to 10 minute segment that ended up being one of my favorite things. Shinsuke is amazing as a heel, making people hating him for silly things like wanting a pen that works. AJ Styles also slapped the shit out of him, which I believe is already a meme out in internet land.
+ New Day vs. Rusev, The Miz, and Samoa Joe: Earlier I mentioned hating 6 Man Tags. This one was good. Everyone got in great offense, had ample time to shine, and of course, there was pancakes involved. In all seriousness, this was a fantastic match that kept me entertained even though it was close to bed time and my attention dwindles then.
Minuses:
-Big Cass: His interview was pointless. I love Renee Young so I watched, but other than her I cant say anything good about this...Actually he is better on the mic than he has been in a while. That's my good thing.
-Mixed Tag Match: Naomi was my biggest minus from this match. A dive through the ropes could have gone really wrong if Aiden English hadn't been there. Props to him. It wasn't a bad match at all, but it wasn't good either.
-No Sanity: We've waited long enough. Give them to us. Actually I wouldn't mind seeing them after the Bludgeon Brothers vs. Good Brothers. That could make for a very interesting feud.
Okay so... I tallied the score, consulted with the expert panel, and asked my wife for permission. The winner of this weeks Battle of the Shows is.....SMACKDOWN LIVE! No surprise here actually. Smackdown has been killing RAW lately. Its frustrating as a wrestling fan to see half the talent on the main roster being under utilized on the flagship show. This does NOT include Rollins by the way. That dude is on fire and is definitely the most over person. Overall, this week in wrestling has been okay at best. NXT will bring the average back up and have things looking just a little brighter.
Check out all our goodies on the site here, check me out on Twitter at @buuurch1, and as always, Take Care!
RAW vs. Smackdown
RAW:
Pluses:
+ The B Team winning the Tag Team Battle Royal: The B Team has been the shining light of this division in the absence of a hopefully soon to re-debut Authors of Pain. Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas have been oddly entertaining being goofy and annoying all while actually making me interested in their impending loss to the Deleters of Worlds.
+ Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens: I'd seen a lot of blow back from this match, saying it was boring and what not. I felt quite the contrary. Kevin Owens, especially as of late, can bring the life back into any stale match with explosive offense out of nowhere. Finn Balor looked good as ever. Finn also had a feel good moment at the beginning of this match, doing his entrance with a group of special needs kids...and the Big Show?! Yeah, he randomly showed up...and did Finn's entrance. It gave me the Warm and Fuzzies.
+David Otunga!: Not a real plus but RAW was mostly lacking this week. It was nice to see he was still employed and it was a nice change of pace from Coach or Booker T as the rotating 3rd.
Minuses
- Shelton Benjamin/Sami Zayn: All of this is just....no. A waste of two good talents to poor writing and a whole bunch of sadness.
- Baron Corbin- Randomly interferes and says Stephanie made him the "Constable" of Raw. While it is interesting to see where it leads, its sad that there is literally nothing for Corbin to do on RAW aside from be the Sherriff.
- Women's 6 person tag match: If you've ever read anything Ive posted on this site, you know I despise these kind of matches. Riott Squad faced Sasha, Ember Moon, and Alexa Bliss....except Alexa pretended to be hurt to we got Bayley instead. It was a little all over the place but the Faces won! Except they didn't because Deputy Dawg Baron Corbin reversed the decision, because apparently he can do that now. Its chaotic, clunky story telling like that that can cause viewers to stop watching.
Smackdown Live!
Pluses:
+Miz and the New Day: Brilliant segment. Pancake batter was involved, Mr Booties-Worth was there, and Xavier Woods called Miz "Hokagie Miz". The nerd in me was very excited by this. The match the all had later on was good as well.
+Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles Contract Signing: 5 to 10 minute segment that ended up being one of my favorite things. Shinsuke is amazing as a heel, making people hating him for silly things like wanting a pen that works. AJ Styles also slapped the shit out of him, which I believe is already a meme out in internet land.
+ New Day vs. Rusev, The Miz, and Samoa Joe: Earlier I mentioned hating 6 Man Tags. This one was good. Everyone got in great offense, had ample time to shine, and of course, there was pancakes involved. In all seriousness, this was a fantastic match that kept me entertained even though it was close to bed time and my attention dwindles then.
Minuses:
-Big Cass: His interview was pointless. I love Renee Young so I watched, but other than her I cant say anything good about this...Actually he is better on the mic than he has been in a while. That's my good thing.
-Mixed Tag Match: Naomi was my biggest minus from this match. A dive through the ropes could have gone really wrong if Aiden English hadn't been there. Props to him. It wasn't a bad match at all, but it wasn't good either.
-No Sanity: We've waited long enough. Give them to us. Actually I wouldn't mind seeing them after the Bludgeon Brothers vs. Good Brothers. That could make for a very interesting feud.
Okay so... I tallied the score, consulted with the expert panel, and asked my wife for permission. The winner of this weeks Battle of the Shows is.....SMACKDOWN LIVE! No surprise here actually. Smackdown has been killing RAW lately. Its frustrating as a wrestling fan to see half the talent on the main roster being under utilized on the flagship show. This does NOT include Rollins by the way. That dude is on fire and is definitely the most over person. Overall, this week in wrestling has been okay at best. NXT will bring the average back up and have things looking just a little brighter.
Check out all our goodies on the site here, check me out on Twitter at @buuurch1, and as always, Take Care!
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