Hello, my name is Jeffrey Bowie Jr. A bit about me, been a wrestling fan for about 20 years. First it was WWE (or WWF then). Next it was TNA (back during their ESPN days). Then it was UFC (came on board during the season when Quinton Jackson and Forrest Griffin were coaches). Then Ring of Honor and New Japan wrestling followed. In my free time I’m a filmmaker, so expect film references when reading my blogs. Now enough about me; Here’s my reaction from this past Sunday’s Hell in a Cell. This is strictly my opinion on how I felt about the show and the direction I feel creative should take following these matches.
WWE Smackdown Tag Team championship match: The USOs vs. The New Day
This was an excellent match with some fine storytelling as well. Woods and Big E had some fun early on in the match, but cranked up the intensity as the match went on. Xavier Woods being the valiant babyface towards the end was superb. This match also put over the importance of the Tag Team titles and how far these teams are willing to go just to capture them. The Usos winning was the right call. The New Day simply have no other opponents (of course, the WWE could have brought up Authors of Pain or Sanity) while The Usos have Chad & Benjamin, along with The Fashion Police. Simply a fantastic match to end (supposedly) a really fun rivalry.
The Key now is where do both teams go? The Usos are strong heels, but the Fashion Police and Chad & Benjamin are not hot at the moment. It would be nice if creative gave either team some layers to their characters. The main roster audience doesn’t know much about Chad & Benjamin (if you haven’t watched NXT or been around the time when Benjamin was in the WWE), so providing these guys with a story of why they’re here and what drives them as wrestlers could really help them connect with the audience. Having Great matches would help as well (which shouldn’t be a problem with these two). The Fashion Police simply need show that can bring the intensity to their characters. As fun as the fashion files are, adding another layer to their characters would give them not only longevity, but some credibility in terms of facing the Usos.
As for the New Day, I hope they do more than simply brush off their loss. The more interesting route they can take is have New Day come out for a serious promo. No jokes, no catch phrases. Put over there disappointment about losing the Tag Team titles and vow to regain them. WWE can easily storyline a journey for the New Day trying to regain the titles up until WrestleMania. Put them in side feuds (this would be a great time to call up some tag teams from NXT). Watching these men fight and struggle on their way to recapture the tag team titles would make for compelling television. Personally, The New Day vs. The Usos would be my WrestleMania tag title match. Perhaps the New Day can put their jobs on the line in desperation after the Usos refuse to give them another shot. It would be nice to have a Tag Team title match at WrestleMania that has an actual long term build and story.
Rusev vs. Randy Orton
A well worked match, but I didn’t care for this match because: A) Neither of these men are compelling at the moment and B) This feud just hasn’t been booked well. What does Orton gain from beating Rusev? Nothing, but apparently creative doesn’t seem to be interested in pushing Rusev thus he’s just a jobber to the stars at the moment. Which is such a shame as Rusev was great as the badass monster heel. Rusev should easily be one of the top heels on Smackdown, but he continues to be treated like a nothing.
As for Orton, his character has been the same for years whether heel or face. He’s stale. Even if he turns heel, he would still be stale. Orton’s character needs to undergo some type of change. He doesn’t need a complete overhaul. However as long as Orton remains the same, he’ll always be a stale character whether he’s heel or face.
Tripe Threat Match for the United States Championship: AJ Styles vs. Baron Corbin vs. Tye Dillinger
A fun, but generic WWE style Triple Threat match. Corbin winning doesn’t surprise me, but it doesn’t necessarily excite me either. I was extremely disappointed in the way WWE treated AJ’s open invitational. I loved it when Cena did the invitational as it elevated the title and the wrestlers who he had matches with. AJ Styles could have had fantastic matches with various wrestlers on the roster, but instead creative decides to squander the concept with this non sense with Dillinger and Corbin.
I don’t have a problem with Corbin winning. He still needs a bit more seasoning before being thrust into the main event thus putting the title on him is fine. Not only that, but this frees up Styles to be in the main event picture. However, creative squandered a missed opportunity that could have had people buzzing about smackdown weekly. Whatever. To be honest, I don’t want Dillinger back into the title mix until his character does more than count to 10 and wrestle. Who he is? What is his goal/ambition? We need some dimension to his character. I’m intrigued with where Styles goes next after this feud with Corbin.
Personally (and I’m fantasy booking here so you can skip down if you hate that stuff) I would’ve kept the title on Styles and had him feud with Sami Zayn. He has been criminally underused since his excellent feud with Owens back in 2016. Having Sami come out and express his frustration for his lack of success in the WWE could have been a nice slow burn for his heel turn.
Then, he would answer Styles open invitational in which he loses in a strong effort. The guys shake hands after the match. The next week, Sami once again answers the challenge, but first saying he just wants one more shot and feels he can beat Styles. The two have another match in which Styles wins again. Styles offers to shake hands with Sami, but he walks pass Styles disappointed. Eventually frustration and obsession with beating Styles grows and he once again answers Styles challenge at Survivor Series. Styles once again retains the title and he offers his hand. Sami accepts, but he finally loses it and viciously attacks him. Styles leaves on a stretcher.
The next month of build will consist of Sami’s obsession of beating Styles, promos, and fights between the two showing how personal the feud has become. The two face again in an intense brawl like match (showcasing how personal this feud has gotten at the December pay-per-view ). Sami finally wins and captures the United States title in a nefarious and brutal manner that leaves Styles with a potential career threating injury. Sami spits on Styles after he wins and leaves as Styles is being put onto a stretcher. Zayn would carry the tradition of the open invitational, trying to prove that’s he’s better than Styles. His matches end with Sami violently and intentionally hurting his opponents to gain the win. I would keep Styles away for several months until WrestleMania season. One night, Styles answers Sami’s challenge. Sami refuses, but is eventually forced to put his title on the line at WrestleMania against Styles.
And there you have it, my way of how I would build Styles vs. Sami. Based off of talking Smack, the two seemingly will feud. I’m excited for it, but I feel this is a WrestleMania caliber match and a long term between build between these two heading into WrestleMania would be great.
Smackdown Women’s Championship match: Natalya vs. Charlotte
A good match with an ending that I didn’t mind too much. I agree with others that Natalya didn’t seem desperate enough to pull this stunt, but keeping this feud going and having Charlotte chase for the title (let’s be honest, she’s probably going to win it at Survivor Series) will only engross the fans towards her even more. The pop she’ll receive will be huge once she’s finally able to takedown Nattie and become champ. Of course, it’s all up to creative and they can’t drop the ball on this feud. Build Natalya’s character up as the antagonist. And no, her being a crazy cat lady isn’t a compelling character.
Jinder Mahal vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Look, the Jinder Mahal experiment just isn’t working. However I’m not going to cry and moan about this as Mahal is going to be champion for some time so sadly, I must accept it (or not watch). I will say this; it would be nice if Mahal had some dimension added to his character. I’ve talked about dimension and layers a lot in this piece and it’s very important that characters are fully fleshed out. We as human beings are simply more than just one thing. Imagine if Beatrix Kiddo (Kill Bill) was just this crazed assassin who killed everyone. Take out that she was a mother. Or that she went through struggles and hardships to reach Bill. She would be perfect. No one is perfect. People wouldn’t connect with the character because there’s no emotional attachment to her. Same thing with Jinder’s (well aide from him being a crazed assassin) character. He’s a heel only because he’s foreign. First, this is unrealistic. Since Jinder doesn’t have any other layers to him then there’s no connection with the crowd as he’s not an empathetic character the audience understands. If creative is trying to paint him as a delusional heel then that’s not coming across that way. The announcers aren’t playing this up nor are any of his challengers. Him being a delusional heel could actually be very interesting.
As for Nakamura, where does he go from here? Sadly, Nakamura has the same problems as Jinder. If you’ve never seen Nakamura outside of the WWE then all you know about him is that he has an awesome entrance and is an artist. That’s the way he’s being built in the WWE. They never have him use his strong style because it’s not the WWE style . Nakamura is a highly talented and charismatic wrestler. I wish WWE would stop giving him a mic. English is clearly not his native language, so why show his weaknesses? Give him a manager. Or hell, have him speak in his native tongue in video taped segments so you can put subtitles. It’s time for Vince & company to reexamine how they approach Nakamura’s character to the audience. Let Nakamura be Nakamura. Let him use his own style and not adjust to the bland WWE style. Let him stand out from the crowd and produce awesome matches. This character isn’t working and I’m nervous that Nakamura might end up like Bayley soon. People will start to boo him if this down trend for Nakamura continues. I’m curious to see where Nakamura goes from here, but I hope things only go up from here for him.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Bobby Roode
Overall, a boring match. WWE doesn’t seem to get Bobby Roode’s character. Basically, it’s the Sasha Banks situation with Roode. He has a heel character. Roode is a rich, arrogant, douche bag (if you watched NXT then you know this). This is not a character with redeeming qualities for a babyface, yet Roode is positioned as a babyface on the main roster. This is a mistake and if Roode turned heel Tuesday then I would be fine with it. Ziggler’s character is a mess. These guys were put in a death position (it makes no sense that buffer matches exist at all). My suggestion for this feud; end it, and put Roode in his proper place as a heel.
Falls Count Anywhere Hell in a Cell match: Shane McMahon vs. Kevin
Logic and Shane punches aside, a really good match. First, the stipulation was extremely silly. If Shane really wanted to trap Owens then why would he add the falls count anywhere stipulation? I would’ve preferred Owens destroying Shane and getting the clean victory. However, there’s no denying that I’m intrigued on the Sami Zayn heel turn. I wouldn’t be surprised if the reasoning is that he’s simply tired of being underused and mistreated by Shane. I’m curious to know how well Zayn will do as a heel. Sami’s heel turn is indeed a strong hook for Smackdown. As I’ve said before, it seems like Zayn and Styles will feud. Styles brought the situation up and disapproved. I’m really looking forward to where everyone goes and I hope Owens and Zayn don’t simply become a tag team because these guys deserve to be in the main event, not in some makeshift tag team.
Well, there you have it. Comment about how you felt about my opinions. Did you love it? Or do you think I should be fired like Road Dogg? Feel free to comment below and if you have any ideas I would love to hear them. Thank you for reading.