Smackdown LIVE Best and Worse Moments
Bray Wyatt Continues to Play the Mind Games
So we start today's blog post off with a bad moment and a complete down for me, this week's opening that saw the feud between Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton develop even more. Now, this is a feud that really does have so much potential.We have the new face of fear and the viper going head to head. Orton is so easily capable of making Wyatt look like a major star and Bray can very easily give Orton exactly what he needs at this stage of his career and together they really could deliver some stellar matches and stand out moments. However, while I did enjoy the early work I can feel myself losing interest more and more as the weeks go by. I do love that Harper is back and he is playing some kind of role in this storyline but I didn't like the fact that Wyatt was unable to pick up the victory at the No Mercy pay per view on his own and I strongly dislike the supernatural vibe the WWE have gone with when it comes to this feud. I honestly do believe they could be doing much more with this. Last night we did get to see the theme of mind games continue when Bray Wyatt was brought down to the ring by a group of buzzards the twist was that he was sat up in a casket. Yes, that's right, a casket. The Undertaker vibes were strong last night. Sure, it works with a part of Bray's character but I personally strongly disliked this whole thing. It was a cheap way to get Kane involved in the work tonight and make him a part of this story for a while but I really didn't like it. Less really is more with Bray Wyatt and I really do hope the WWE start realising that and working from that knowledge. I do still think that Orton and Wyatt could have one amazing match that is highlighted as one of the best of twenty sixteen but at the moment I'm going to have to give it a down.Alexa Bliss Proves a Point
Alexa Bliss really has been one of if not my favourite female competitor on the Smackdown LIVE roster over the past couple of months. From the moment she was drafted she been making an impact and has found herself as one of the top stars in the division despite having to compete with and alongside top veterans such as Natalya. Her mic work could still do with some improvement but she has bags of confidence and her potential is sky high. She has of course been focusing her attention on Becky Lynch and the Smackdown LIVE Women's championship but with Lynch currently out of action Bliss has had her title opportunity put on hold and in the meantime the former NXT star has been looking to build momentum and prove a point in the build up to her championship match in three weeks time in Glasgow, Scotland. At the No Mercy pay per view, Alexa fell to Naomi in a weak one on one match up however on this weeks show she set out to prove Naomi's victory was simply a flook and silence the critics. The matchup itself was far stronger than what we saw from the two at No Mercy two weeks ago. The action was far less messy and we got bags of character from Alexa who for me was the stand out of this bout. It was interesting seeing just how over Naomi is and while I am a huge Alexa Bliss fan I really do hope that Naomi gets the chance to hold that championship at some point. We had a couple of strong spots throughout this match, I do still believe that Bliss has a lot more to show and there really is a fantastic match and all round performance yet to come out of her but she remained impressive last night and picked up the victory over the veteran, Naomi.Curt Hawkins....Curt Hawkins
I don't even know where I begin when talking about Curt Hawkins. When it was announced he was making a return to the WWE I was actually really excited. I was never his biggest fan in the world but he sure has some talent and there has always been great potential in him and I loved that he was going to be a part of Smackdown LIVE, he just seemed like the perfect fit. However, as they showed more of him in the build-up to his return I just started to loose interest and the character already wasn't working for me. He did finally arrive at the No Mercy during the kickoff show which was easily one of the earliest mistakes they made. Now, the character does have some entertaining factors and I'm sure it could grow on us on time but at the moment I'm struggling to see the originality and if it's not done the right way I really could grow bored of this really quickly. Last night Hawkins did make an appearance on Smackdown LIVE when he was set to go one on one against a personal favourite of mine, Apollo Crews. The match of course never happened and I have to admit that I got so many Eva Marie vibes when watching Hawkins and this whole segment last night. There are so may similarities between the two and I don't think I really want to have to see both weeks in and week out. I do want to believe the WWE can turn it around for Hawkins but at the moment he's getting a thumbs down.
Carmella Delivers Some home Truths to Nikki Bella
I honestly cannot believe how much my opinions on the Nikki Bella/Carmella feud have changed recently. If you remember a couple of weeks back I was at here moaning like there was no tomorrow about this feud between these two women. I spoke about the lack of story and meaning behind Carmella's actions and I just wasn't feeling the work at all. However, recently my opinions have changed so much! Their match at No Mercy could have been better but we did have some real stand out moments and as I have said from the beginning this feud really is going to and is doing wonders for both Carmella and Nikki Bella. Nikki really is helping Carmella get settled into the main roster and giving her the push that she needs as a new star. Every single week Carmella is just getting better and better showing, more improvement and confidence both in the ring and on the mic and she's finally getting a reaction from the live crowd and the fans at home. During the show last night, the former NXT star took to the mic to verbally bash Nikki Bella and deliver a thew home truths to the former champion. Nikki, of course, wasted no time heading down to the ring to confront Carmella and it wasn't long before the two were once again face to face in the middle of the ring. Honestly, this was one of my favourite parts of the night. Carmella really did show how far she has come and Nikki also really got to show how much stronger she is on the mic. Both women match equally on their delivery for me personally. Carmella came across perfectly and we finally got more of an understanding as to why she has targets, Nikki. She made the feud much more personal and really gave it that realistic feel. Nikki held her own perfectly and defended herself very well. She was over with the fans and had her Fearless army right behind her. I also loved how the segment ended. We've seen these two fight and chase each other around arena's for the past month or so and so and seeing Carmella walk off with the final word really was the best way to close this segment. I really am growing to really like this feud and I'm definitely interested in seeing where it goes next.
James Ellsworth Main Events Smackdown LIVE
Where do I begin with this final point? Overnight James Ellsworth has become an internet star. From
the little funny faced man that was almost murdered by Braun Strowman on RAW to the man massively over with the WWE Universe and two victories over WWE World Champion, AJ Styles. I honestly think I've spent most of the week talking about James Ellsworth more than anyone else. During last week's episode of Smackdown LIVE Ellsworth went one on one against AJ Styles with Dean Ambrose as special guest referee and of course thanks to the actions of Ambrose, Ellsworth was able to pull off the ultimate upset and defeat WWE Wold Champion, AJ Styles. On the same night during the Talk Smack show general manager Daniel Bryan announced that James would be reciving a championship match on this week's show and that, of course, was the main events last night. Yes, thats right, James Ellsworth main event Smackdown LIVE and it was one of the best things I've ever seen. I honestly enjoyed this main event so much! Ambrose was brilliant throughout and it was the first time in a while that I've felt as though the fans really were behind Ambrose and into what he was doing and saying. I love the chemistry between Styles and Ambrose and throwing Ellsworth into the picture really has taken the entertainment factor up a little. I was left completely entertained and genuienly enjoyed what I was watching. Poor James Ellsworth did take a beating but as Ambrose pointed out, that DQ finish does mean he currently holds more victories over AJ Styles than John Cena.
I know I say it almost every week but I really did enjoy this week's episode of Smackdown LIVE. I felt as though the women's division looked strong and finally had some story being added. I found several segments and backstage work genuinely funny and entertaining and we had some decent in-ring action as well. Smackdown LIVE really does continue to prove to be the stronger of the two shows. As always you can let me know what you thought of this weeks show by leaving a comment bellow or by dropping me a tweet over at @TezangiVictoria.
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