Did Smackdown Accomplish Anything This Week?

In terms of drawing, Smackdown obviously did what it needed to do. Ratings aren't out yet, but they hyped big matches for this week's episode. Developing angles and promoting matches and segments will lead to people being interested. But that is not what I am talking about today. The booking last night, did that accomplish anything?

First, Lana got a rematch against Naomi for the Women's Championship. It was a short match. Lana hit her finisher and Naomi just kicked out and went on to win. That doesn't really make Lana look good. A lot of people have been critical of Lana's wrestling ability. I would be one of them to some degree. But there are fans that were hoping for competitive matches in this new era. The WWE definitely could have told a different story in that match.

And is it really over? Lana has had a lot to say on Twitter.

I obviously did NOT get pined! I want a FAIR title match! Clearly the ref & all of @WWE are cheaters & favor @NaomiWWE over me! #SDLive pic.twitter.com/puUUrbWIap

— CJ (Lana) Perry (@LanaWWE) June 28, 2017

Does this lead to Lana complaining next week and getting another rematch? Should it? On one hand, it would be nice to just move on already, especially if the WWE is not planning to give Lana the title right now. On the other hand, it is at least a real possibility that the WWE continues this, especially now that fans on social media have gotten wind of Lana not having both shoulders down.

Second, the briefcase ladder match. No Ellsworth this time. Of course, he still got involved. This time, however, Carmella took the briefcase down herself. Ignoring the Ellsworth ban and it being violated, this is how the match should have ended at the PPV a few weeks ago. Ellsworth tries to cheat. He gets taken out. Carmella gets the briefcase. The whole controversy of a man grabbing the briefcase in a match that is supposed to be about the women does not exist.

Once again, is this really the end of it? There was once again a controversial finish that might lead to another segment featuring the women complaining. And they would have a point. James Ellsworth was banned. He violated the rules. Shouldn't something happen?

This is exactly like what happened last year with Seth Rollins. Rollins was getting way too many title shots. On an episode of Raw, he got a shot against Kevin Owens, with Chris Jericho banned from ringside. Jericho ended up still finding his way to ringside and he interfered. Owens ended up retaining. As much as I hated Seth Rollins getting so many title shots, isn't this a situation they created where he should have gotten a rematch? There was a rule and that rule was broken, resulting in Rollins losing the match. It just seems like bad writing.

It seems like the WWE has once again written themselves into a bad situation. They obviously should not do the ladder match for a third time, but it does seem pretty stupid that they created this rule, the rule was broken, and Carmella ended up benefiting to win the match. The previous situation with Seth Rollins was not handled in the smoothest way, and I expect this situation to not be handled in the smoothest way.

I made a point last week that there would be no reason to redo these two matches if the outcome would be the same. And it seems the outcome was exactly the same. Not only did the same woman win both matches, but both matches ended in a possibly indecisive or controversial fashion that makes you wonder if it is all over yet. That is why I would say the booking of these matches did not accomplish anything. It was just a bunch of hype for no big developments in these storylines. They could have used the situation to give the briefcase to someone new, while Carmella carried her momentum from the whole controversy into a title feud with Naomi, who could have definitively been free from Lana, who is complaining on Twitter about how the match ended.

Moving on to the men, Zack Ryder & Mojo Rawley took on The Usos. If the faces won this match, they would have gotten a shot at the tag titles. I was all for this happening. But the WWE had The Usos win. A triple threat feud also involving New Day would have been good. It would have made things more interesting.

It just feels like everything is as it was coming off Money In The Bank. The women's ladder match ended with Carmella winning and controversy involving Ellsworth. That is where we are at right now. The women's title match ended with Naomi retaining and Lana having a complaint she believes warranted a rematch. That is where we are right now. The tag title match ended in a way in which it was obvious New Day was not finished with The Usos yet. And that is where we are right now. Nothing has changed. All Smackdown accomplished last night was maintaining the status quo. It remains to be seen what direction they will go with this, but last night's Smackdown didn't serve to progress anything in a fresh direction.

The Hype Brothers Back In The Mix

If there is any team that stands a chance to take the tag titles off The Usos instead of New Day, it is Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley. These two had earned a title shot last year, but Zack Ryder suffered an injury that killed the push. Ryder recently returned. The Usos retained the tag titles against New Day by shady means. And here we are.

Ryder and Mojo will have to beat The Usos to get a title shot on Smackdown tonight. Just in terms of fairness, they should have just gotten the title shot. But this makes things more interesting and provides a match to get some hype on a stacked Smackdown tonight. The face team should be winning this.

What about New Day? Keep them in the title picture, as well. A triple threat would be nice. Both face teams have an argument for another title shot. Both are pretty over. Both can stand a good chance of getting the tag titles. This should be a solid feud.

Injuries Impacting Smackdown's Title Scene

December has sometimes been a terrible month for the WWE. Not only is this a month you typically get terrible ratings with the holiday season and all, injuries have sometimes struck in this month. I am talking key injuries. Injuries to top stars or people involved in the title scene. It seems this December has already given that gift to the WWE, particularly on Smackdown. I just want to mention these situations.

AJ Styles suffered a minor injury at TLC a few weeks ago. He is obviously still holding the WWE Championship, but it has hurt the storylines they were going with in an obvious way. Moreover, Smackdown has not had its top Champion to wrestle at house shows. There is no need to strip Styles of the title, but this situation has obviously made things difficult for the WWE.

Last time I talked about Zack Ryder, I said he should get a push. I might have jinxed him. I was talking about a solo push, but the WWE did look ready to give him a push in the tag division, alongside Mojo Rawley. And then Ryder got injured. They just get the push, and then this happens. There are other teams they could push. There are other individuals that could team with Mojo. Why should he get screwed out of the push just because his partner got injured? Either way the WWE slices it, they have options to work around this. But once again, it is obviously making things difficult for the WWE.

Brings up the question, is this brand split really a good idea? This brand split is different from the last brand split you had. This is an era where the WWE is giving their workers more time to wrestle and giving them certain more freedoms. Yes, they still ban some moves. Overall, however, this can be considered a more wrestling-friendly era than you have had from the WWE in the past. But that comes with a price. Injuries. I only brought up two recent injuries on Smackdown impacting title feuds. I could have brought up Finn Balor. I could have brought up numerous women. And the WWE wants to do a long-term brand split? This era also features less legitimate star power than the previous era involving a brand split. All it takes is a few key injuries here and there to really mess up what is going on. I don't think giving your workers more freedom in the ring mixes well with a desire to have a brand split. Yes, the WWE could pluck someone from wherever that would be eager to work for them, and wrestling fans would probably love it, but that person will likely not have the star power to appeal to the wider audience. And that leads to the WWE needing to rely again and again on old part-timers. It is terrible situation.

Previewing The Backlash 2016 Undercard

The tag tournament to crown the inaugural Smackdown Tag Team Champions has gotten a bit muddled. It looked like it would be American Alpha vs. Rhyno and Heath Slater at Backlash to crown the new Champions. The Usos turned heel and attacked American Alpha. Due to an injury angle, American Alpha is out and a new match will occur this Sunday to see who faces Rhyno and Slater. The Usos and Hype Bros now get another shot at the titles.

Let me start with this new match. Who wins between The Usos and Ryder & Mojo? This tournament just felt too face-friendly in the final rounds. I am glad that The Usos turned heel. And since Rhyno and Slater are faces, why wouldn't The Usos win this match?

Who wins the tag titles? A contract for Heath Slater is also on the line. It is obvious Rhyno and Slater should win. This is one of the most entertaining acts in the WWE right now. I talked about last time what kind of person should be the first to hold a new title. You have to either be very over, have already been getting a great career, or be someone the company is likely to follow up with properly and give that great career to after the big win. A lot of fans have been enjoying Heath Slater. A guy that has been mostly a lower-midcarder is usually not a good choice to make history like this, but he is pretty over now and it would make for a good storyline. Speaking of storylines, the only way I can see the face team losing is if Rhyno turns on Slater and the story turns to Heath Slater having to beat Rhyno for a contract, which he eventually does. It could happen, but I would rather it didn't. If Rhyno does win the tag titles, even if it is just a short reign, wouldn't that be something? He wins it, but The Dudleys never did in their recent run?

Onto the Intercontinental Championship feud between Miz and Dolph Ziggler. The big story for Miz these last few weeks has been what he said to Daniel Bryan on Talking Smack. The WWE has just been selling this idea this week that Miz is a coward. That is just terrible. After Miz stood up for himself and gave Daniel Bryan a verbal stomping, this all just looks bad. This has nothing to do with disliking Daniel Bryan, liking Miz, or any combination of that. I am not a huge fan of either of the two guys, although I can respect them. But why should Miz be made to look so pathetic? If you don't want this story to be about Daniel Bryan being bullied, that's fine. If the WWE won't let Daniel Bryan get in the ring to shut Miz up that way, it shouldn't be about pushing around Daniel Bryan. But Miz's character looked so strong two weeks ago. People speculated if this could be his ticket back into the main-event scene. And the WWE has let it all crumble to Miz being afraid to fight. That's no better than the angle Kevin Owens had last year where he walked out of matches. Given the hype Miz had around him, this is a poor way to follow up.

Onto the actual match, Miz should retain. Attention is still on him. Dolph Ziggler is just there. He is another guy I think they dropped the ball on, in terms of storylines. He had a heated storyline with Dean Ambrose, failed to win the title, failed to beat AJ Styles after that, and just keeps on coasting on. They should have done some kind of angle where he snapped and turned heel. I am not even sure it will happen if he loses to Miz this Sunday. He will probably just keep coasting on to something else.