Smackdown LIVE Highlights Wrestlemania Go Home Show Edition
AJ Styles and Shane McMahon Open the Show
I'll be honest, despite trying my best to change how I feel about the whole thing, the one story heading into Wrestlemania I haven't been able to jump on board with is AJ Styles vs Shane McMahon. Okay, I can understand completely why the decision was made to book these two into a match; it attracts the more casual fans, there's potential for some big spots and lets be honest there's a great story to be told if done right and to be fair they have done a pretty good job telling this story. We've seen AJ and Shane develop an interesting relationship and watching their rivalry grow over the past month has actually been entertaining and a lot of that comes down to Styles' strong mic work during promos and segments. The story in itself is actually really strong and I don't have a problem with the feud what so ever. What I do have a problem with, however, is the fact that this is Wrestlemania and after having the year he has had (keep in mind it was his debut year) Styles just deserves a heck of a lot better. I understand that there weren't many other options but as you would have seen in a post last week (that will be linked bellow) I listed several other booking decision they could have gone with for AJ this year for Mania. Last night's episode of Smackdown LIVE kick started with the spotlight on this feud with the contract signing for this match taking place and to be fair it was actually a very solid opening to the show and again, it did its job. By the end of the segment, I was far more excited about this matchup than I was this time last week and we got to see that final bit of story development that was needed to really draw in the more hardcore fans. There was so much I loved about the segment from the fact Daniel Bryan mediated the whole thing to what we heard from both men. It was a strong opening and as a more picky hardcore fan, I was able to see future stories they would be able to work on from this one feud.This is How You Sell a Wrestlemania Match
If there is on feud I haven't stopped talking about over the past month it's the rivalry between power couples the Miz and Maryse and Nikki Bella and John Cena. Fans have been talking about the whole thing since the feud had even kick started and with the majority not happy with the booking decision due to the changes of the original Wrestlemania match up for Cena (a one on one with the Undertaker) the four superstars have had to work their butts off to ensure that this is a gripping, entertaining feud that fans can actually get behind and enjoy and to be fair I have to say that I really do believe they have done just that. Week after week I have found myself more and more interested in the story these guys have been presented us with and it's been great to see every single superstar have a part and own that part they have in this feud. I will admit that there have been some cringe moments and parts where I've sat there and just wished they had decided to stick with Cena and Taker but while I still believe that would have been far better and more suited for Wrestlemania every week I have found myself genuinely enjoying this feud more and more. The mic work from all four has been rather strong and in particular last night, they all really did a great job giving their rivalry one last push. Seeing Miz and Maryse mock Nikki and John over the past couple of weeks has been amazing! They honestly did a fantastic job and I can honestly say that there were moments I was genuinely laughing at what I was seeing and while I wasn't sure about it at first the more I watched the more I liked what I was seeing. I felt as though the segment between the four last night was the strongest segment of the night. This was exactly how you sell a feud on the go home show of Wrestlemania. They made the match feel like a bigger deal, the feud felt personal, and by the end of it I really was excited to see what goes down at Wrestlemania on Sunday.A Surprise Returns Shakes up Women's Championship Picture
Up next we have the women's division and boy did they look strong last night. First of all, I have to express my serious frustrations over the news that the Smackdown LIVE Women's Championship match will be on the kickoff show. Again, I get it, there are around fourteen matches taking place at Mania this weekend and we need some of those to feature on the kickoff show but why on earth it has to be the women's championship match I don't know. It one hundred percent feels as though it deserves to be on the main show and last night really did prove that. We got to see and hear from every single woman competing in this match on Sunday and you did genuinely get the impression every single one of these women wants to walk out of Wrestlemania as the champion more than anything and during that single segment last night we got to see all the different characters and strategies we are seeing going into this match. It really did feel as though it was anyone's game. All the women feel as though they have certain issues with certain other superstars and the whole thing was done so so well and a lot stronger than the build up for the RAW women's championship match. Of course, the biggest piece of information we took from last night's show was Naomi's return and the fact she will be competing at Mania this Sunday for the title. I honestly wasn't expecting to see her return last night and so I'm not going to lie.... I did mark out... a lot... It was amazing seeing and hearing the crowd reaction she got. Everyone was up on their feet cheering for her and she really did have the whole arena eating out the palm of her hands. This was such a strong element of the go home show. They could have left her return for Wrestlemania night itself but seeing it take place last night was such a big deal and that huge element of surprise really did show us the difference in the build up of both titles matches from each brand. I honestly am so angry that these girls are not going to get to showcase themselves on the main show but I hope they really are given a great deal of time and they get to prove to everyone why the deserved their spot on the main show.The Not So Good Moments of the Night
As far as the more disappointing moments of the night goes they, unfortunately, have to be the work of the tag team division and that closing segment. Lets first take a look at the tag team division; I flat out just am not enjoying anything from the tag team division on both brands and I strongly believe the problem we're seeing here is the same problem we're seeing in the women's division, there just isn't enough superstars to fill out a whole division and so we are constantly seeing the same names in the spotlight and no change in storylines. Both brands have really failed their tag teams and heading into Wrestlemania I'm not really excited about either match. What I do love is how both matches are completely different from one another; While on RAW we can expect something far more over the top and exciting with the Smackdown LIVE tag team championship match we can expect to see a pure wrestling match that is far more catered to fans who want to focus on actual wrestling rather than big storyline's and crazy spots. I do believe that both these matches could be strong given that they are provided with enough time, however, the build up last night was just weak. Instead of focusing on the whole division they really should have paid attention to the two main teams heading into Mania this Sunday. An in-ring promo from American Alpha would have been perfect. It's simple but what they need is to really be able to get the fans behind them, something they have struggled with far more than they should have since their call up. Make this match feel like a big deal, make us believe this match means the world to them, something, anything that allows us as both hardcore and casual fans to jump on board with this match and make it a must see.The other thing I was seriously disappointed with was that final segment. Now, the main event itself
And that is it for today's post. You can let me know what you thought of lasts night show and what matches you are most looking forward to at Mania this weekend by leaving a comment bellow or by tweeting me at @TezangiVictoria. You can catch me live tweeting throughout very show during Wrestlemania week.
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