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[TX85]

Being better than Raw doesn't make it good.

Every major wrestling show on American television is better than Raw. Impact, ROH TV, Lucha Underground, NXT, NJPW on AXS, etc.

Three hours is still way too long. You could watch ROH, LU, and NXT in the same time it takes to get through one excruciating episode of Raw.

True but so then I think Smackdown is good on its own

 

[Loki882]

Really the only misstep of any significance for the entire night, imo, was having Bray Wyatt jobbed out in yet another major PPV match, to Old Man Kane.

 

[Slushy]

I didn't give two sh**s about the rematch, BUT this poster was pretty sick!

Sounds like La Sombra AKA Andrade "Cien" Almas wants out:

Del Rio also finally revealed what got him suspended to led to his departure:

Of course it was. It was that and along with many more things that made me not want to be there. But there are rules. Their wellness program is one of their rules. I can’t call it absurd because when you work for them, you sign a contract. You know that you are subject to their terms. I don’t think it’s fair because there is a big difference in people using medication to obtain better… (he wants to say performance enhancing) physical performance. But when it is like in my case, a testosterone replacement, where I am a 40 year old man and it is a medical matter that I have proof of from my doctors. I don’t think it is something fair. But I come back to the same thing. It’s their wellness policy and you have to abide to it. So yeah that was part of it, but not all of it. There were many reasons. But it did help me to make the decision to say, “Goodbye, see you later. I don’t want to be in this company."

And as I’m leaving in two years, that was my last time with this company. Now all that’s left is to do what’s here for me in Mexico.

 

[SpideyVille]

Smackdown finally having a tag team and women's division with Becky being champion and AJ as the top guy with the wwe title could improve Smackdown even much more

The problem is, right now, those divisions are exactly filled with credible people. For Tag, you have the experienced Usos, and AA, who are getting pushed too hard too soon and don't have the long list of credentials like guys like AJ, KO and Finn. Outside of that, you have Breezango, Ascension, Vaudevillians and Hype Bros, who have all been booked as jobbers on Raw, and now Rhyno/Slater, who may or may not receive much of a push now that that story has paid off.

For the women, you have Becky and Natty, but then you have Nikki who is somewhat decide, but still reflects the Diva era. And you have Alexa, Emma, Naomi, and Carmella who all need some more time to develop because they have potential, but not polish. And then there's Eva Marie lol

Now the biggest knock against the Raw roster is that they have bigger, more proven names, but that also hurts them. Practically everyone needs to be protected, which means its hard to stretch out feuds for long with clean wins. They don't have many female jobbers, and the Tag division is feeling stagnant because you have Enzo/Cass and The Club, both of which should be champions, but won't be because they want to get the New day to break the record.

Overall, Smackdown has a lot the roster that will hopefully create new stars, but as of right now, they're not quite on the level of delivering like Raw is. Last night was great, but it also felt like a Takeover event, because there were fewer matches and people were given longer time to work with. But the fact that they're only a two hour show and have less superstars doesn't bold well for the show as a whole.

 

[SpideyVille]

Didn't watch Backlash live last night #becausefootball, but kept up with the results via the thread and Twitter. I skimmed through the show earlier this morning, and I'm absolutely thrilled for AJ, who has been my favorite wrestler for years now. Gotta credit WWE for doing the right thing here...this is AJ's time, and they pulled the trigger on him right when they should have. I've always felt that Styles works best as a face, but I can't deny that he's crushing it as a heel these days. The success he's having in WWE is pleasantly surprising...I wasn't sure Vince would give him anything beyond an Intercontinental title run.

Also happy for Heath Slater...I've always found him to be entertaining. Kinda cool to see the crowd get behind him like this.

Yeah, I expected AJ to be involved in the IC MITB match at WM, but I'm glad they put him on this path. It sucks that he doesn't have the Club, but I like his work lately on his own and he's definitely a joy t watch.

Part of me also wonders if they learned their lesson with Sting. They jobbed him out twice and that was the end of his career. AJ, while a tremendous performer, is up there in age and it's better to give him the belt now while he's still capable of performing at a high level, as opposed to waiting a few years down the line.

 

[Wheels]

American Alpha is being pushed too hard when they were taken out of the tournament and setup to feud with The Usos, who don't even have the titles? Okay then. What are they supposed to do not push their best team?

 

[SpideyVille]

American Alpha is being pushed too hard when they were taken out of the tournament and setup to feud with The Usos, who don't even have the titles? Okay then. What are they supposed to do not push their best team?

AA is basically the team version of Apollo Crews. Are they talented? Of course, hands down above most others. But they don't have anything beyond the in-ring stuff. Having them win the belt right away would have been boring, because unlike Becky, who was the other obvious fan-choice to win, they don't have that story of over-coming adversity.

I personally think the Usos will get the belt on Tuesday, if not, whenever they get a rematch, and AA will feud with them in time for the next PPV. But taking them out of the PPV and setting them up for a feud like this helps out both teams and creates a compelling story because now you want to see them get revenge. Without that, they're just happy to be there.

 

[TX85]

When AJ first came in, I was pissed that he lost to Jericho at WM and then twice to Roman for the title then the weird start to the feud with cena but realized that at least he had been a #1 contender already,main evented and have quality matches

Now I realize that he did all that, beat John Cena clean to end their feud and is now wwe champion. All less than a year being in the company!

 

[Wheels]

AA is basically the team version of Apollo Crews. Are they talented? Of course, hands down above most others. But they don't have anything beyond the in-ring stuff. Having them win the belt right away would have been boring, because unlike Becky, who was the other obvious fan-choice to win, they don't have that story of over-coming adversity.

I personally think the Usos will get the belt on Tuesday, if not, whenever they get a rematch, and AA will feud with them in time for the next PPV. But taking them out of the PPV and setting them up for a feud like this helps out both teams and creates a compelling story because now you want to see them get revenge. Without that, they're just happy to be there.

I'm just going to have to agree to disagree with you on "they don't have anything beyond In-ring stuff". Chad Gable especially shined during their promo segments on NXT. I don't have a problem with WWE not giving the titles. by the way.

 

[Benstamania]

January 4, 2016...at NJPW's biggest how of the year, Wrestlekingdom, 2 of the company's top 4 stars; AJ Styles faced Shinsuke Nakamura for the IWGP Intercontinental title...in the coming days we would hear that both men were coming to WWE...8 months and 1 week later, they are the champions of 2 of the 3 brands within the company...not the way that many of us would have thought 2016 would turn out when they faced each other back in January.

 

[RetroNaz]

I think the NXT writers needs to have a chat with the Smackdown and Raw crew to talk about how to build their performers up.

They've produced some incredible segments, most of which were all done in the ring.

 

[famicommander]

Remember that according to Ryback, the original plan for AJ Styles was for Ryback to squash him at Wrestlemania.

It was the reactions AJ got at the Rumble and subsequent events that changed all that.

 

[SpideyVille]

I'm just going to have to agree to disagree with you on "they don't have anything beyond In-ring stuff". Chad Gable especially shined during their promo segments on NXT. I don't have a problem with WWE not giving the titles. by the way.

But that's just it. As someone who hasn't followed them through NXT, I don't know that based on what they've done on main. I haven't seen them do any kind of promo work yet, unless they've done it on Talking Smack or something. But in terms of building them up and giving them a story outside of that, I feel like they haven't done much with them.

 

[Wheels]

Remember that according to Ryback, the original plan for AJ Styles was for Ryback to squash him at Wrestlemania.

It was the reactions AJ got at the Rumble and subsequent events that changed all that.

WWE has decided not to push guys who got over and sold merchandise before; they've gotten behind guys like AJ, Owens, Ambose and Rolliins. You really should stop trying to find excuses to not give WWE credit for good things.

 

[WereCoyote]

Nope, styles clash

Correction, Low blow to set up Styles Clash.

 

[TX85]

Correction, Low blow to set up Styles Clash.

You're like 15 hours too late for the correction but thanks

 

[Loki882]

I'll take it if it means that the Styles Clash still won him the WWE title match. Besides, this feud has been built on crotch shots practically since the beginning (for some reason). So having the match end that way was, in a weird way, fitting I guess.

 

[SpideyVille]

This crotch shot makes more sense than when it was Undertaker's finisher last year.

 

[Slushy]

That surreal moment when The Face of a rival company comes the WWE Champion...

I'll take it if it means that the Styles Clash still won him the WWE title match.

Its really awesome they let him use his signature move to win the title when they went out of their way to weaken it throughout the year.

 

[Wheels]

I never saw Van Dam as the face of ECW because he wasn't pushed as such, like say Taz was. AJ at least had brief stints in TNA where he was pushed as the #1 guy.

 

[famicommander]

WWE has decided not to push guys who got over and sold merchandise before; they've gotten behind guys like AJ, Owens, Ambose and Rolliins. You really should stop trying to find excuses to not give WWE credit for good things.

I already said I was happy to have been proven wrong, but unless Ryback is an outright liar then it's true that they originally planned to job AJ out to him.

 

[Wheels]

I already said I was happy to have been proven wrong, but unless Ryback is an outright liar then it's true that they originally planned to job AJ out to him.

I didn't say it wasn't true but I think it's more important that WWE recognised AJ's value and changed course. Plus Ryback's figures on how much he had to spend on the road were far-fetched so him lying isn't that hard to believe.

 

[famicommander]

I'm pretty sure he's just too dumb to do math.

 

[SpideyVille]

I had heard the Ryback stuff, but I also heard that AJ would have won the Universal title for Smackdown had Roman not been suspended. So they definitely had high plans for him as recent as a few months ago.

 

[Tvar10]

so now that AJ won the WWE Championship he should be considered one of the best wrestlers of all time. Hes the only one to hold WWE, TNA, NWA, IGPW, ROH titles....

You think thats enough to put him into the WWE HOF when he retires? or will all his previous stuff be ignored and have it based on his WWE career. Sting made it with his accomplishments in WCW. I realize WWE owns WCW now but i still find it weird that he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame with 2 WWE matches (both losses) under his belt.

There are also some other wrestlers in there who never wrestled in the WWE but still made it based on other promotions