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SMACKDOWN LIVE IS BAD HAIR VS. WORSE


piranesi

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The first hour felt super-talky, but at least it was a good kind of talky, where stories got advanced, character developed, and interest was stoked.

The blue women's belt looks good, and the tag belts look better.

Who the heck do you bring in to face Slater and Rhyno? I can't think of any NXT teams. Just put two lower card randos together?

Carmella's heel turn is off to a good start. More than the turn itself, I like what the then represents: a willingness on the part of the creative team to change course when something isn't working. So many of WWE's biggest issues these last few years have been because of unwillingness to do just that.

The women's division on Smackdown is in a really good spot right now in that we've got a really diverse group in terms of experience levels, and everyone in it has a well-defined, unique character. Contrast this with Raw which basically just has the two women in the title feud, Dana as Charlotte's lackey, and Nia squashing jobbers twice a month.

The thing about Bryan is...have you ever known a really high-functioning alcoholic? Someone who shows up for work every day, seems relaxed and able to deal with life's hassles, has normal outside interests, and then one day you learn they've been downing a fifth of Popov every night since before you've known them? That's Bryan, only with wrestling instead of alcohol.

I'm 99.9% sure the whole promo was worked, but I think the thought that he could do that, that he could say "Fuck it" and just go wrestle again and to hell with the consequences is something that weighs on him, even if he's made up his mind.

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31 minutes ago, Go2Sleep said:

Remember when Miz starting cutting good serious promos in 2010 and everyone wanted to see him get pushed, then we got WM 27?

In defense of that awful match, the audience's emotional investment in the entire sordid affair was undercut by the fact that they'd essentially been prompted to sit there and wait until Rock inevitably got involved. They knew that nothing that happened before Rock's appearance mattered. I have a hard time holding that against either Miz or Cena. Especially at the end of a WrestleMania, a show which at that time was starting to become a gargantuan slog.

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It wasn't The Miz or Cena's fault and I never thought it was a dreadful match either. It was fine up until the first false finish. I was never a big fan of Miz's in-ring work but he has improved over the years and his character work has always been great.  Just watched Talking Smack and Holy shit! 

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I love that creative decided to just turn Carmella after she hasn't been getting the reactions they hoped. It was a cool and unexpected surprise from a company that can be a little too predictable. Plus, I can get behind heel Carmella much more than I can face Carmella.

Becky and Alexa had a good little match. 

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5 hours ago, Vader does my taxes! said:

I still don't understand what the stip for Ziggler-Styles was supposed to be?  If AJ won, he got a title shot.  If Ziggler won. he got added to the Ambrose-AJ match that AJ was only going to get if he beat Ziggler.  Erm, something seems off about those stips, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

The way it came across to me was, AJ had earned a title shot no matter what by beating Cena.

He was just fighting to keep Dolph out and keep it one-on-one.

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Couple random things (I'm not gonna try and quote everything)

- according to my Snapcaht - they had Nikki and Carmella do a pull apart on Talking Smack

- I think with Carmella - they needed her as a face because of the way the Smackdown roster was structured but with Nikki back (and clearly the fans were cheering her) it was easy to change things up (plus you could see the crickets Carmella was getting). Of course this is assuming they dropped their "bitches be crazy" thinking

- Poor American Alpha. Yes the crowd sucked but this sure isn't NXT. 

- I really don't want to be "over sensitive" about this but I'm still a little "boy I don't know..." about doing this angle with Bryan when he has openly talked about being depressed about not wrestling and how the company made him do the GM position. Granted if they are doing this to already get him out of this position.

- Man - Shane vs Brock is gonna be even more of a cluster than the Taker match

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The Miz is right by the way. I'm sorry. He just is

Bryan was a self-righteous prick for calling him a coward for not wrestling a more dangerous style.

Because it worked out so well for Bryan, didn't it?

Retired at 35.

 

 

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Not even kidding, scripted or not, I think that Bryan/Miz exchange got to a root of a key problem in the wrestling business.

"You should be willing to entirely destroy your body and brain for the business and its fans!"

"But, um, what if I don't want to?"

 

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I'm one of Miz's biggest supporters, his Hollywood/don't-hit-me character is great and I think he's one of the only natural heels still around, so that promo got a big pop out of me.

I think the IC title is perfect for him and he's made it his own just like Mr Perfect did back in the 90s but I would definitely like to see him get one more opportunity at the top just to see if it works out any better than last time - he had his shortcomings back in 2011 but his character was also poorly booked and he got stuck wrestling an OAP then overshadowed by The Rock too

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I see people saying they like the Miz because he is a heel that gets heat, which is a novel concept in the WWE where pro wrestling has been dead for so long. What is he? A reality star pretty boy douche. Fine. Give him that role and a consistent push and holy shit, people hate his guts. I would almost guarantee this is a work because DB understands pro wrestling. He is the most over character in the last 5 years by far and its not close. You want heat? There's your fucking heat.  

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36 minutes ago, joseph2112 said:

 I would almost guarantee this is a work because DB understands pro wrestling. He is the most over character in the last 5 years by far and its not close. You want heat? There's your fucking heat.  

There was a story that leaked out a few years ago about when Miz put his hand up when someone hit him with a title belt. 

WWE Management and certain wrestlers were mad he simply didn't just take the shot on his, well, head.  And, the horror, it didn't look as cool as it should have as a result. 

No, there was absolutely pettiness and nastiness in Bryan's comments towards him.

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6 minutes ago, steve said:

Don't work yourself into a shoot, brother.

But it is a shoot, though. Isn't it?

Bryan: "I destroyed my body for the business. I'm a hero!"

Miz: "I didn't. I'm a villain!"  

And this is the same company that just encouraged Randy Orton to take 10 staples to the head because, well, doesn't it shock everyone and seem exciting and get us a few more buyrates?

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One thing I'll say:

The whole point of Mick Foley's first biography: "I destroyed my body for the wrestling business! It was worth it!"

Me, as a reader: "But maybe it wasn't, though? And you just don't realize it yet." 

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11 minutes ago, Reed said:

There was a story that leaked out a few years ago about when Miz put his hand up when someone hit him with a title belt. 

WWE Management and certain wrestlers were mad he simply didn't just take the shot on his, well, head.  And, the horror, it didn't look as cool as it should have as a result. 

No, there was absolutely pettiness and nastiness in Bryan's comments towards him.

Maybe so, the point is its two people were having a  conversation that had elements of reality and sounded like two real people with an issue. It's a far cry from someone walking around saying where is the DEMON KING for three hours and coming across like a satire of a cartoon.

And to me, that was the definition of a good shoot promo. You can take away something real from it, and other people might just take it on the surface. It means something to both.

Not a "the writer in the back told me to lay down for my opponent" bullshit that was made popular by certain people that used to write wrestling for a show they killed. Fuck that.

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4 minutes ago, joseph2112 said:

Maybe so, the point is its two people were having a  conversation that had elements of reality and sounded like two real people with an issue. It's a far cry from someone walking around saying where is the DEMON KING for three hours and coming across like a satire of a cartoon.

And to me, that was the definition of a good shoot promo. You can take away something real from it, and other people might just take it on the surface. It means something to both.

Not a "the writer in the back told me to lay down for my opponent" bullshit that was made popular by certain people that used to write wrestling for a show they killed. Fuck that.

True, it was a good shoot promo.

But it's a weird shoot promo when you realize the supposed good guy (Bryan) is willfully delusional and the bad guy (Miz) actually does have his shit together, after all. 

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