Miz TV
The opening segment wasn’t bad, but it certainly wasn’t the best. The Miz did a good job of sounding defeated as he had to “follow the script”, but other than that the segment really did follow the script of “show what happened last week, insults, set up match.” The match happened immediately instead of later in the night, but still. Also it was very long; there’s a roster full of wrestlers and we got twenty minutes of Shane McMahon. And this is coming from someone who actually likes Shane!
Grade: C+
Gauntlet Match: The Miz vs Elias, Drew McIntyre, and Shane McMahon
The Elias match was short and neither did much of anything. The match with Drew was okay; they’re keeping him looking absolutely dangerous. And then Shane McMahon did that awful triangle choke. This whole opening part of the show had entirely too much Shane; free The Miz from him.
Winner: Shane McMahon
Grade: C
Backstage Stuff
Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose bullied Ember Moon so…looking great for that Be a Star stuff, huh?
Daniel Bryan and Rowan said that Heavy Machinery hadn’t earned a title shot. I think they earned the title shot by being basically the only other team on Smackdown.
Not Graded
Heavy Machinery vs Some Randos
It was a cute, quick squash match. Give Heavy Machinery the title shot!
Winner: Heavy Machinery
Not Graded
24/7 Title Antics
After trying to hide, R-Truth got locked in a storage box and Carmella had to go for her match. Jinder ended up finding Truth and did a hilarious Mella impression. Later on in the night, we find out that Truth is still in the box and being shipped to Monday Night Raw in Los Angeles. Truth, Mella, and this title are gold.
Grade: B
Sonya Deville vs Carmella
This match could’ve been great, but there was too much outside nonsense for a match so short. What even are we doing with Mandy Rose and Deville? They had relationship problems and now they’re okay again. Either make them a top heel tag team or break them up because they aren’t doing much for each other.
Winner: Sonya Deville
Grade: C-
Social Media Mess
Alexa Bliss brought her coffee to the ring one time and now it’s a Thing. Tragic. Bliss continued to be the master manipulator she is though so I will give her some credit for that.
Not Graded
Big E is back for real!
Welcome back, Big E! I will miss your lovely Twitter presence. This was slightly better than the opening segment with Miz TV, but I’m going to say it’s mostly due to Big E’s return and the way the New Day breaks the fourth wall sometimes. Dolph Ziggler, Sami Zayn, and Kevin Owens showed up because nowadays all promos require at least 4-7 people. Again, this segment did its purpose, which was to promote the upcoming steel cage match between Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler at Stomping Grounds.
Grade: B-
More Backstage Stuff
Bayley did a short “I’m gonna beat them” promo before running off as her music started.
Aleister Black was still demanding a match, saying his door is wide open. It’s an interesting strategy and I do wonder who’s going to take him up on it.
Not Graded
Bayley vs Nikki Cross
This was a decidedly average match. Both women are capable of so much better. Bayley’s win here definitely helped her gain back some momentum after the loss on Raw. I want to see a bit more out of Bayley Blue Belt though.
Winner: Bayley
Grade: C
Backstage Stuff 3: Electric Boogalee
We saw a rerun of the latest episode of Firefly Funhouse. What are we supposed to put that breakfast spread on again? It was funny in a twisted way though.
Zelina Vega said she’d make sure Apollo Crews didn’t get another match. And Chad Gable was taking notes for some reason; maybe he was there to show off his new haircut.
Not Graded
New Day vs Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn
This was pretty good for the New Day’s reunion match. We got a proper unicorn stampede! As the main event, it did well and was certainly better than the other matches we had tonight. But it felt like the New Day never kicked it into high gear. And not sure how we’re supposed to take Ziggler, Owens, or Zayn as credible threats if they just keep getting beaten.
Winner: New Day
Grade: B-
Final Thoughts
I usually try to be optimistic and find the high notes of each show, but this one was a struggle. It felt like a lot was happening, yet at the same time nothing was happening. There were too many short matches and too much Shane McMahon. Also the wild card is confusing; it went from 4 superstars to about 7. Throw the whole rule away.
Overall Grade: C
