goc Posted January 5, 2017 Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 I'm still going to give the credit for Smackdown's quality to these two men who grew up watching the best rasslin ever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomethingSavage Posted January 5, 2017 Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 For what it's worth, Bruce Prichard (on his podcast) has also given some credit for SmackDown's recent success to the Armstrongs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goc Posted January 5, 2017 Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 Meltzer said in the Observer that Brian James (Road Dogg) is one of the lead writers on Smackdown along with Ryan Ward so I didn't just make it up. The parallels to old Alabama/Tennessee style rasslin are there, especially in how the feuds on Smackdown feel way more personal and character driven than on Raw where everything still seems to be caught up in chasing titles. I mean Nikki Bella vs. Natalya is a lot lower on the SD totem pole than the Reigns/Rollins/Owens/Jericho stuff on Raw but it feels way more heated and interesting because the promos have been really personal and nasty instead of doing jokes & just talking about belts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted January 5, 2017 Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 Dave says Goldberg is going to be wrestling at the February PPV. Him wrestling for the title (most likely Reigns) and then getting screwed by Brock makes the most sense. It's funny how this feud is almost exactly mirroring the 2004 version Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted January 6, 2017 Report Share Posted January 6, 2017 Jesus Christ, SmackDown this week was fucking awesome. And since I had just read that Road Dogg and possibly Scott are major parts of the booking/ writing team, I was totally feeling and picking up on the huge Southern Armstrong style through a modern production prism that this week's show had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomethingSavage Posted January 6, 2017 Report Share Posted January 6, 2017 Agreed. SmackDown is fucking fantastic right now. The last couple of weeks have been especially awesome, for sure. They're constantly keeping matches loaded in the chamber for the following week - making things feel episodic, anticipated, and exciting without any of the desperate "crash TV" cliffhanger elements. It's just good storytelling - setting up stories and characters that keep you interested and on the hook to see what happens next. Nobody feels overexposed. They're smart enough to leave us wanting more in almost every single segment. On a side note, I never thought I'd be buying into Baron Corbin as a breakout star. But the guy's been handled incredibly well since the TLC build (and match) with Kalisto. It's still too early to tell, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him land a decent spot on the eventual Mania card. I know nobody's booked him into anything substantial over in the "Speculation Card" thread yet, but ya never know. At the very least, barring any major fumbling on his part, he should be in that upper mix immediately after Mania. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goc Posted January 6, 2017 Report Share Posted January 6, 2017 Jesus Christ, SmackDown this week was fucking awesome. And since I had just read that Road Dogg and possibly Scott are major parts of the booking/ writing team, I was totally feeling and picking up on the huge Southern Armstrong style through a modern production prism that this week's show had. As far as I know Scott is just an agent who helps put the matches together. But that's not exactly an unimportant position especially when we've seen some really well laid out matches on SD recently like the Four Way Tag where American Alpha won the tag titles & the Corbin/Ziggler/AJ triple threat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyPulis'Cap Posted January 6, 2017 Report Share Posted January 6, 2017 Meltzer said in the Observer that Brian James (Road Dogg) is one of the lead writers on Smackdown along with Ryan Ward so I didn't just make it up. The parallels to old Alabama/Tennessee style rasslin are there, especially in how the feuds on Smackdown feel way more personal and character driven than on Raw where everything still seems to be caught up in chasing titles. I mean Nikki Bella vs. Natalya is a lot lower on the SD totem pole than the Reigns/Rollins/Owens/Jericho stuff on Raw but it feels way more heated and interesting because the promos have been really personal and nasty instead of doing jokes & just talking about belts. Not to just ape everyone else, but Smackdown has really been on a roll ever since the brand split. I couldn't agree more, so many of the storylines feel personal and based in some reality, without it being Russoesque shooting and insider terms. The show has taken guys and girls that seemed very played out, and given them a sense of freshness by letting them tap into their real personalities and experiences. You very much believe Miz when he says people disrespect his toughness or ability, you believe Ziggler when he says that he's always been close but lost the big matches, Nattie when she says she is jealous of the Bella's success etc. And everything is seemingly building logically - ending a WWE show with 3 matches already booked for the TV show the next week is unheard of in recent years, and all are the next logical steps in storyline progression rather than just being thrown out randomly. I will say that I think that RAW has also been pretty decent the last couple of months as well, but I am suffering burnout on the different combinations we've seen of Reigns/Jericho/Owens/Rollins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goc Posted January 6, 2017 Report Share Posted January 6, 2017 I would agree that Raw has also improved lately but it's never going to get any credit for it until it injects some life into the main event scene. The Reigns/Rollins/Jericho/Owens stuff is all very played out and they desperately need to just pull the trigger on the Jericho/Owens split already. And even then I'm not sure what else they can do to freshen up the main events other than going all the way with Braun. I don't see Finn Balor as doing much to help out because while he's not a stale character he's also not an interesting one and is going to look very bad in the usual Raw formula of 20 minute in ring promos. If it was me, I'd strap a rocket to Big E as he's charismatic, a good promo and still fresh as a singles act. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FMKK Posted January 6, 2017 Report Share Posted January 6, 2017 Agree on the Big E point. I think he really has what it takes to elevate himself beyond all the guys currently in the Raw main event scene. He probably needs a bit more of a serious edge but I bet Vince will love him cutting Rock comedy promos. Wasn't there speculation around the back end of 2013 that there were big plans for him in the future? Obviously those never materialised but the opportunity is still there. As for Balor, having someone back to have fresh matches is a plus of course but to me he's far too similar a worker to Rollins and Owens to make much of a difference. So much about those guys in the ring just seems, I dunno, substance-less? Insubstantial? Maybe shallow is the right word. Besides, the demon character, which could genuinely be something interesting if built with subtlety, has no reason to exist outside of 'the paint looks cool.' The more I think about it the more I want them to just go fuck it and have Braun win the Rumble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted January 6, 2017 Report Share Posted January 6, 2017 Roman v Jericho and Owens for the US title announced for Raw. Well that's how they are going to get that belt off him. I guess Stephanie is back to full fledged heel now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chief Posted January 6, 2017 Report Share Posted January 6, 2017 Adding to the SmackDown love. This week's episode was REALLY good, even better than the usual high standard. One thing I'd like to see them do is beef up the baby-face side of things on top. I want to see Luke Harper as a baby-face. I can't even really comprehend what that would look like, but I have a crazy feeling it would work. They've already planted seeds for it if they choose to pull the trigger: - They tease tension between Harper and Orton, but they're not obvious about it. - They had Harper in that title match a few weeks ago and pushed how he's a wild card. They stressed how AJ had wrestled the other guys so many times he's familiar with them but he's never wrestled Harper. He's an unknown. I think he can get over in a 1997 Mankind kind of way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted January 6, 2017 Report Share Posted January 6, 2017 Meltzer said in the Observer that Brian James (Road Dogg) is one of the lead writers on Smackdown along with Ryan Ward so I didn't just make it up. The parallels to old Alabama/Tennessee style rasslin are there, especially in how the feuds on Smackdown feel way more personal and character driven than on Raw where everything still seems to be caught up in chasing titles. I mean Nikki Bella vs. Natalya is a lot lower on the SD totem pole than the Reigns/Rollins/Owens/Jericho stuff on Raw but it feels way more heated and interesting because the promos have been really personal and nasty instead of doing jokes & just talking about belts. I think it's both honestly. Clearly there's an obvious Southeastern influence on the show, but the way things flow week to week is what made NXT the new hotness when Ward was writing there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy James Posted January 6, 2017 Report Share Posted January 6, 2017 I would agree that Raw has also improved lately but it's never going to get any credit for it until it injects some life into the main event scene. The Reigns/Rollins/Jericho/Owens stuff is all very played out and they desperately need to just pull the trigger on the Jericho/Owens split already. And even then I'm not sure what else they can do to freshen up the main events other than going all the way with Braun. I don't see Finn Balor as doing much to help out because while he's not a stale character he's also not an interesting one and is going to look very bad in the usual Raw formula of 20 minute in ring promos. If it was me, I'd strap a rocket to Big E as he's charismatic, a good promo and still fresh as a singles act. They need Stroman. Not even kidding here, when's the last time we had a "monster heel on top" run? Mark Henry? It's at least something different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted January 7, 2017 Report Share Posted January 7, 2017 I know Balor is not good on the mic but I think he could bring some freshness to the main event scene on Raw for a little while. Almost certain they will go back to Roman/Finn as there is no way they are going to let Balor have that win hanging over Roman. I would expect that to be the Spring feud post mania this year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shakla Posted January 7, 2017 Report Share Posted January 7, 2017 Came in late, but that Bayley/Nia Jax Raw match was booked and executed horribly. The incompetent (in storyline) sound guy playing Sasha's theme while the match is ongoing. And not a throwaway match, but one for a title shot at a major PPV. Was a very "Diva era" move there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alucard Posted January 7, 2017 Report Share Posted January 7, 2017 Came in late, but that Bayley/Nia Jax Raw match was booked and executed horribly. The incompetent (in storyline) sound guy playing Sasha's theme while the match is ongoing. And not a throwaway match, but one for a title shot at a major PPV. Was a very "Diva era" move there. Agreed. Kills me every time the supposed monster Nia Jax constantly jobs to bayley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FMKK Posted January 8, 2017 Report Share Posted January 8, 2017 Really hope this 'I'm John Cena, recognise' becomes a permanent catch phrase. It's one of the better ones they've come up in a long time and really captures the motivation of his character. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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