5 Things We Learned From SmackDown Last Night

After a memorable edition of WWE RAW this week that saw the former Shield make another step toward an eventual reunion, how would WWE SmackDown counter? With this being the go-home show for Hell In A Cell on Sunday, hopes were high heading in to television.

Those hopes were quickly thwarted.

The Tuesday night brand started off the show with a whimper. We got an awkward opening segment with Nakamura in the ring, a thrown together women’s match, a long video recap of things we have already seen, and Dolph Ziggler doing whatever it is that he’s doing again.

And that was just the first hour.

But something of consequence had to happen right? Right. We did learn some things from this week’s broadcast, for better or for worse, so let’s get on to our five big takeaways from this week’s SmackDown Live.

1. Nakamura Doesn’t Need To Do Interviews

The WWE formula typically requires a guy to be able to talk to be a star.There are of course notable exceptions. Brock Lesnar, for example. But more often than not, they throw everyone out in front of the camera and expect them to be able to talk.

WWE seems intent on having a foreign language star like Shinsuke Nakamura follow their usual blueprint. He doesn’t need to. Though Nakamura does speak English, the segments come off doing more harm than good and are usually poorly scripted. This week we had Nakamura actually using the line “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.”

That’s bad.

Look, Nakamura is “The King of Strong Style.” He doesn’t have to talk. Let his unbelievable charisma speak for itself. We don’t need to hear him talk to see that he’s full of personality. 

The segment this week ended with the Singhs coming out on the ramp, distracting him, and resulting in Nakamura being assaulted from behind by Mahal. Mahal stood over him and held the belt high to close it out. 

2. Roode Needs To Dominate On Sunday

Let’s be honest. This is terrible.

Imagine channel surfing and coming across that entrance. Or a couple seconds later as Ziggler blows an air horn into a microphone with a blank look on his face. This is not captivating television in the slightest. It’s like nails on a chalkboard. 

Bobby Roode needs to be booked like a star in this feud, and thus, he needs to obliterate Ziggler at Hell In A Cell. The recent NXT call-ups have left a lot to be desired, so let’s not let Roode join those ranks. He’s a guy with a big following that can be a major star. 

Ziggler is obviously on his way out of the company, his gimmick has virtually no heat, and although these two could have a great competitive match, I want to see Roode dominate in short order. The booking requires it. 

3. The Usos Are Among The Best Promos In The Company

The Usos and New Day feud is slowly coming to a close (I think?), but the Usos still may have not peaked.

Every time these guys come out and cut a promo, it’s better than the last time. They are absolutely knocking it out of the park with their current characters, which are so much more interesting than the neon babyface gimmick they used to be saddled (sandbagged?) with. 

I’m expecting the Usos to regain the titles on Sunday night and move into something fresh, though I wouldn’t be surprised if the feud continued. It’s not like there is a lot of depth in SmackDown’s tag team division. 

Speaking of which, whatever happened to Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin?

4. The Absent U.S. Title

Although Baron Corbin will be challenging AJ Styles for the U.S. title on Sunday, Styles again didn’t perform on this week’s show (more on that in a minute). He appeared via the titantron to confront Corbin about his match (and loss) against Tye Dillinger on this week’s show.

I’ve written about this before, but it has been disappointing to see them tease bringing back the always exciting U.S. title open challenge, only to ditch that and have Styles virtually absent from the ring on television now for several weeks.

So what’s the reason we haven’t seen SmackDown’s best performer in the ring for so long? According to a new report, it’s because Styles has been saved for dark matches following the tapings to get people to stick around for the WWE 205 Live broadcast. With the new push Enzo Amore is receiving, they’ve been trying to grow the cruiserweight brand with more emphasis, and they need the fans sticking around for the show. Especially given the lackluster crowds at recent SmackDown tapings to begin with. 

While the strategy certainly makes sense, we really need to see Styles back in the ring on a weekly basis. SmackDown has slowly become less “must see” week after week, and much of that is due to the absence of the “Phenomenal One.” 

5. Wait, What’s The Purpose Of The Cell Then?

SmackDown closed this week with a brawl between Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon that went all over the arena (including out onto the concourse and through a WWE merchandise table).

The reason? Their match this Sunday at Hell In A Cell will now be a falls count anywhere match, of course.

But wait. Isn’t their match also a Hell In A Cell match? Why yes, it is. Isn’t the purpose of the Hell In A Cell to contain the men in a cage? Yes, it sure is. In the past when the competitors break through the cage, isn’t it supposed to be an added bonus and surprise? Yes, sure thing.

So, I guess they gave away that surprise factor for Sunday. The purpose of the cell now seems to solely be for Shane McMahon to take a crazy fall from the top of it. Kevin Owens alluded to that happening during his promo on SmackDown. For the love of all that is holy Shane, please be careful. You really don’t have to be a spot monkey at this point in your career (life).

There’s no doubt that the match will be memorable. Kevin Owens is a master in the ring, and Shane McMahon has played his role brilliantly.