Smackdown is a continuing testimony to The Miz's greatness

[The Comedian]

Good things:

• The Miz is pretty much an "all-time great promo" machine at this point. Dolph was ok too although I wish he could get across emotion without screeching.
• I actually liked the Orton stuff, maybe it's just continually amusing to hear the announcers treat a guy who loses every PPV match like he's some terrifying threat.
• I liked the women's tag too, as Smackdown continues to make me more interested in Enzo & Cass's valet than Raw does in any of their Horsewomen.

Bad things:

• Not enough Becky Lynch.
• Cena made a Harry Doyle reference but didn't follow up with a "juuuuuuust a bit outside" on commentary.

[BorneAgain]

Cena can always kill on the mic when he's serious, but him and the great loose atmosphere on Talking Smack made for a fantastic promo. Given Ambrose had some good material on there already, fingers crossed they give AJ the chance next week. 

[Nice Guy Eddie]

I liked how pumped The Ascension were after being on the winning end of a match. It's been a long while for them, hasn't it?

With The Usos going over clean tonight, I'm hoping that means Beauty & the Manbeast are holding onto the tag titles. I still think they will, with AA interference to add more fire to the Usos/AA feud.

[(BP)]

It's probably because I just watched Bergman's Persona, but I was really there for Randy turning into Bray in the chair. 

[jstout]

Fun main. Glad someone likes the Orton-Wyatt stuff, but can't get into it knowing that despite all his "eater of worlds" crap, Wyatt's not going to beat Orton. He's gonna come out a chump like he always does. Has anyone else talked so much shit they've never backed up before? "I'm so spooky, I'm such a bad man, I'm a God, but I'm still going to lose to you anyway because it's just what I do."

 

[HumanChessgame]

During the Orton/Bray stuff all I could think of was when Hogan got lost in the Dungeon of Doom.

[ChesterCopperpot]

Excellent stuff from Cena on Talking Smack

[Charlie M.]

Cena was good on Talking Smack but I thought Becky was even better. She is the people's champion.

Miz ruled this week again. I love him putting his picture up over LeBron. I knew he was going to turn on his own people for not giving him a proper celebration. His goofy dad was there! He made fun of Ziggler's parents. He completely owned Dolph on the mic and then Dolph tapped into all of his pain and frustration to fire back with a strong promo of his own. Dolph screams a lot on promos so they wisely gave him something to scream about. You'd think they're setting up a big win for Dolph but in reality he does have a bunch of non-wrestling stuff going on right now so he may be taking a break.

That 8 man tag was quality stuff and they're really turning this weak tag division into something. The Usos got some cool new music. Heath Slater house of fire baybay! I'm thinking that Alpha might get involved at No Mercy so they can extend Slater & Rhyno as champs. They're actually a really good tag team once the bell rings.

Styles and Ambrose had another quality match. We all knew Ambrose wasn't going to win but they still built to some convincing nearfalls. I liked the finish too because it escalated things between Ambrose and Cena but didn't make AJ look like a chump either. Ambrose might have had the match won but it wasn't conclusive.

I honestly think they went too far with Carmella beating Nikki again. At this point, it's become silly and actually doesn't feel like it means anything anymore.

[Swift]

Miz came across as a true star tonight. Just seeing him as the scrawny kid from Tough Enough was a testament to the amount of work he's put in and how far he's come. In 10 years, I could honestly see him being where Rock is now in terms of being a mainstream star outside of wrestling.

[piranesi]

It's amazing what just a little thought and a little time thinking through a story will do.  I felt actual sympathy for Dolph Ziggler. The stipulation made sense because of how they built it up in the previous matches, where Dolph was cheated but still....bottom line is a jobber.

And that promo led to a logical choice by Dolph instead of just some GM figure coming out and barking out "CAREER vs. TITLE ON PAY PER VIEEEOOOOW!!!" and having it come out of nowhere and mean nothing.

Just like, a few hours sitting down and sketching it out and working on the writing to sell the stipulation instead of just thinking that the stipulation itself has weight all on its own.

Hell, we didn't even really need to announcers squawking about it after.  They coul have just faded out and it would have been more effective.

[Kyuubi]

The new look Usos are awesome and Heath Slater is surprising a great face. It just goes to show you that you don't have to be a great wrestler with awesome moves to get over with the crowd. You just need good booking if you lack a pretty face and physical skill. I am enjoying Rhyno and Slater. I am glad that Ascension did not really step foot in the ring because those motherfuckers needed to get future endeavored yesterday. Kind of disappointed by the lack of American Alpha, but eh.

The Miz just took Dolph Ziggler's soul. I thought he was gonna pull a Friday and waddle backstage crying after that promo. But surprisingly he cried in ring and gave an emotional promo. Put his career on the line which is great. I am rooting for Miz because fuck Ziggler, but yeah, good shit.

And I kind of just fast forwarded the who cheap horror flick between Randy and Bray. I mean if it did not end like Pulp Fiction dungeon, thenn nothing was going to be worth the pay off as I don't care for Bray as a legitimate threat and I don't care for Randy.

Naomi needs the title. Sure Becky is great and I like the girl, but Naomi has always been overlooked and given shit gimmick after shit gimmick.

The tag match was great. Alexa Bliss is a great heel.

AJ Styles continues to get the best out of his matches. Dean brought his working boots this match. Of course, it was going to end with shenanigans but whatever. The cognitive dissonance of John Cena is astounding. Like he actually just said that no one beats him twice in the row and I am like, "AJ beat you twice. It was literally the last three PPVs relevant to you like..." 

Good show. Needs more content because it felt small, but whatever. It is better than the overbooked convoluted nonsense of Raw.

 

[Eivion]

Another good show. Dug all the stuff with the women though I do think Nikki probably should have won the tag match,

8-man tag was fun. Loved Heath's hot tag.

Miz is fantastic, and I'm going to be very sad when he loses the belt to Dolph in a couple of weeks. Not taking anything away form Ziggler, I think that was actually his best promo so far on Smackdown. I did feel sorry for him. At the same time though Miz destroyed him and talked so much shit about about the city so damn well after that already great video looking back over his career.

AJ/Dean was good another good match, and I dug Cena on commentary.

Becky was great on Talking Smack, but Cena is just another on level when given the chance in such a loose environment.

[Overly Critical Man]

If The Miz ends Ziggler's career, he'll be the greatest face of all-time.

[JCM]

AJ and Miz are such great top heels with Miz giving the best promos in the company and Styles having the best matches in the company. Can we ship Bray off to Raw please?

[Jamal]

I dug the women's tag too and I like the little mini feud that Naomi and Nattie are selling as well. The ending surprised me though. At this point, Nikki HAS to beat Carmella at the PPV. 

The show could have used a little more Becky and Alexa but it's all good especially if we get a six ladies tag next week. Hint hint lol 

[Sammo~!]

So Career vs Title pretty much telegraphs Ziggler winning right? I mean it's a good redemption story and dastardly heel Miz is going to need his comeuppance eventually. But on the other hand Dolph is super stale and if he just went away for a while and focused on making a career out of stealing other people's jokes I'd be okay with that too. Or, third option: Ziggler loses and comes back under a mask. It's been a while since we've had a good Charlie Brown from outta town plot.

[Kyuubi]

I kind of would be the guy that would cheer up Dolph Ziggler ironically. I would just say, "Dude, everyone goes through slumps like John Cena in 2011 lost to the Miz, lost to CM Punk, and then lost to CM Punk again, and then lost to the Rock and then CM Punk again. Kept losing and just had a shit year until the next Wrestlemania after that. Sure, that guy stole your girlfriend and even his commitment to not commit to her still does not make her favor you. Your greatest claim to fame is that you fucked Amy Schumer and she mentioned how "athletic" the sex was and compared it a wrestling match. And John Cena has been in Hollywood movies while your greatest acting gig was that you played Colonel Sanders fighting against a chicken....You know what, Nevermind, just retire, dude."

[GuerrillaMonsoon]

If they were building up Bray Wyatt to be a Scooby Doo villain of the week, this might be acceptable.

[Sammo~!]

Who would it actually be when they unmask Bray Wyatt

"The eater of worlds was actually..."

*pulls off mask*

"IRS!?"

"And I would have gotten away with it if you kids just paid your taxes."

[caley]

I kept waiting for that Randy Orton lost in the boiler room segment to end up with Randy walking into a pitch black room while Bray Wyatt's ghostly voice says "Put your hands in the first bowl, Randy, it is filled with eyeballs" as Randy puts his hands into a bowl full of peeled grapes.

[DreamBroken]

Loved the Miz/Ziggler segment once again. Usually I hate career on the line stips making an outcome obvious but the build to this has been great and has at least a little bit of doubt in it. Both guys are two of my favorites so I remain torn since it still feels too soon for Miz to drop the title IMO but Ziggler needs a big win. The match at No Mercy should have incredible heat for it. Also love how over Rhyno is, big pops for all his moves and causing ECW chants everywhere. Real good women's tag, I continue to dig the Carmella/Nikki feud and look forward to their PPV match. Nikki has to win in the end but I think they have done a great job making Carmella a big deal ever since the draft. Enjoyed the Orton/Wyatt movie scenes, randomly amusing skits throughout the night. I like them two as rivals and still think their matches will be good stuff. Assuming it's a lengthy feud, I would imagine Wyatt will get at least one PPV win over Orton. Quality main event from Styles/Ambrose and a great chaotic finish with Cena. Only three matches tonight but still manages to be another very good week of SDL. Also tonight no sign of Shane and Bryan.

[Gorman]

5 hours ago, caley said:

I kept waiting for that Randy Orton lost in the boiler room segment to end up with Randy walking into a pitch black room while Bray Wyatt's ghostly voice says "Put your hands in the first bowl, Randy, it is filled with eyeballs" as Randy puts his hands into a bowl full of peeled grapes.

Remember, they were also in Cleveland for the Boiler Room Brawl at SummerSlam 96.

[The Green Meanie]

Again, SDL wins this week! Another quality episode with compelling stories, wrestlers playing their characters well, etc. Surprisingly, a lot of people were missing this week but the show pulled it off well and didn't need them.

Two important things that haven't been pointed out yet:

1) NO Shane or D-BRY AT ALL (Yay!)

2) David Otunga FINALLY told the story of what Rikishi told him on the set of the Adam Sandler movie, and apparently he was in "Bad Man" Rikishi mode.

[RIPPA]

The Awesome - pun very much intended - Miz video from Smackdown

 

[RIPPA]

Poor poor awkward Renee