Considering the rather poor build and the low expectations going into this, I think for the most part this show wasn't as bad and actually gave it a 6/10. Granted, nothing major really happened but most of the matches were ok and there were a few entertaining bits here and there so figured I wouldn't go too hard on the rating. Thoughts:
- Kickoff ma...meh, who cares....
- Great opening match for the main show and a rather shocking finish with Ziggler, the big underdog going in this match, actually winning and becoming new US champion. The match itself was really good - some may argue MOTN - and in all fairness, there were a couple of very creative spots, including the finish but the decision to put the belt on Dolph felt weird and totally out of left field. Don't know if this is a last hurray of sorts for Ziggler with his contract expiring but even if that's the case, I'm not sure the timing was right, not to mention it didn't do any favors for either Corbin or Roode.
- I cannot express enough how happy I am for both Rusev and English because the way I see it, they took a joke and turned it into perhaps the hottest act on Smackdown these days. The house was ready to erupt last night when they kept teasing a possible victory and I for the life of me cannot understand why WWE did not pull the trigger here. This was the perfect time and place for so many reasons: a) the best reward for both Rusev and English (and boy do they deserve it, b) the fans wanted it so bad, including your's truly c) this was the perfect way to protect the Uso's by not having them eat the pin....Anyway, I just hope WWE realize what they have in these two guys at the moment and put them straps on them soon enough.
And by the way, how about some props to Chad Gable, huh? What a monster performance....bravo !!!
- Woman's title match was practically a cluster, as expected and, well, at least Charlotte retained...Didn't really understand Natalya's promo afterwards, talking about...turning her back on the fans? Uh, isn't she a heel already? Even if this means she is retiring still felt really awkard...
- B Bros vs. Breezango was a glorious squash, as it should have been, don't get me wrong. The problem is, Breezango seem to have lost most of their steam lately and that ain't good...
- The much anticipated tag match saw KO and Zayn win with DB doing the (very) fast count in the end. Perhaps not as bad as the woman's match earlier, this too was sort of a cluster due to the two referee inside the ring thing at the same time.
Now, the big story here is obviously the decension between Shane and DB that has been growing and growing for weeks now, almost as if WWE are building to match between them at Mania. I mean, we all know that DB hasn't been cleared and I most certainly do not want to get my hopes up but how on earth can the payoff NOT be a match between them? I guess we'll just have to wait and see...
While on the subject, left and right I keep hearing about how this is all leading to a Daniel Bryan heel turn. Well, either I'm stupid or...I'm stupid because I don't understand why everyone has come to that conclusion. My understanding is that this is all stemming from Daniel Bryan taking KO and Zayn's side in this whole ordeal but...wait a minute...who is really the dick in this story if not Shane? Sure, he made some fair points about how KO attacked Vince and how Zayn interfered during the Hell in Cell match or how both interfered at Survivor Series but how does this lead to a Daniel Bryan heel turn is something I just have a hard time understanding. Sure, DB did the fast count last night handing the win to KO and Zayn but, again, who was the bigger dick to stop at 2 when Zayn clearly had the three count? In other words, why is it that this isn't Shane McMahob being the one going heel here?
In all fairness, I will admit, I did find it weird that during the sequence where KO pushed DB onto Shane stopping the three count, DB did not point out the fact that he was pushed from behind when confronted by Shane. Alls he did was keep his head down and apologize when clearly it wasn't his fault.
Anyway, being this is the big angle these days on SD, we'll just have to wait and see how they approach this and, hell, if I am wrong about this heel turn that everyone is almost considering a given, I'll be the first to admit my mistake....
- Hopefully this Jinder chapter finally ended last night...HOWEVER...I do want to point out that I disagree with all the hate towards the guy. He ain't the best performer on the roster but I do find it unfair that he gets crapped on by everyone when clearly what we witnessed for the past six months was anything but his fault. We all know why WWE did it and yes the booking for the most part sucked but I think we should cut Jinder some slack here....
