The latest episode of SmackDown saw the feuds and storylines shift gears as it was the go-home show for Saturday Night’s Main Event XLV. For a show that holds such significance, you would normally expect the high-stakes storytelling and intense feuds to dominate the entire broadcast. However, Triple H delivered another substandard episode of the blue brand filled with video packages and excessive recaps.
Despite those structural flaws, The Game still delivered a few key moments that kept SmackDown’s pulse beating. Held at the MVP Arena in Albany, the show was stacked with several high-voltage segments and incredible matches. Adam Pearce took charge as the interim General Manager of the blue brand this week. He made some groundbreaking announcements involving Rhea Ripley’s future and the Undisputed WWE Title picture.
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Here are four things Triple H got right on WWE SmackDown this week:
#4. Adding a massive stipulation to the tag team match
Gunther and Sami Zayn will team up to battle Cody Rhodes and CM Punk in a huge tag team match at Saturday Night’s Main Event. However, the lack of stakes in this bout made it feel like just a random match on the card and it didn’t make much sense. But Triple H finally rectified that creative misstep this week on SmackDown as WWE officially added a huge stipulation to this tag team match.
Adam Pearce made a blockbuster announcement, stating that if Gunther and Sami Zayn manage to beat the babyface duo at SNME, they would get added to the Undisputed WWE Championship match at SummerSlam. The addition of such a blockbuster stake was the right call as it was the need of the hour. This now makes the tag team match at Madison Square Garden more prestigious rather than making it look like a star-studded exhibition.
#3. Proposition of an interim WWE Women’s Champion
For weeks, Rhea Ripley’s future was shrouded in uncertainty due to her being sidelined from television. However, WWE finally shed light on it this week on SmackDown. Adam Pearce made a bombshell announcement that Ripley wouldn’t be able to compete at SummerSlam this year due to her injury. Due to this, he announced a huge Ladder Match for The Biggest Party of the Summer to crown an interim WWE Women’s Champion.
WWE also kicked off the qualifying matches for that ladder match last night on SmackDown, where Tiffany Stratton and Jade Cargill punched their tickets. The decision to crown an interim WWE Women’s Champion at SummerSlam was the right call. The world title not being featured at the biggest event of the summer just because of Rhea Ripley’s injury would have been a great mistake and Triple H made a brilliant decision.
#2. Featuring Blake Monroe on the show
Blake Monroe arrived on Friday Night SmackDown with massive momentum and unparalleled hype last month. But all that quickly disappeared right after she made her main roster debut. The newcomer hasn’t gotten any television exposure and hasn’t been involved in any feud on the brand since her arrival. But fans finally got a glimpse of Monroe this week, when she blindsided Candice LeRae backstage with a huge assault.
That segment worked as a reminder for fans that The Glamour is part of the roster. Featuring Blake Monroe even in a backstage segment is better than not featuring her on the show at all. While this is a positive development, it’s not exactly what fans wanted. While featuring Blake Monroe in a backstage capacity is certainly a step up from leaving her off the broadcast entirely, it is a modest consolation prize for the fans who are eager to see her in a prominent role.
#1. SmackDown ending in an all-out brawl
The biggest highlight of SmackDown was the mainevent where fans witnessed absolute pandemonium. Cody Rhodes was involved in a one-on-one match with Gunther, where CM Punk was at the ringside. However, the match ended in a disqualification after Sami Zayn showed up and a chaotic brawl broke out. The show ended with all four superstars brawling at ringside, while security and officials tried to separate them.
This is exactly how the mainevent should have ended, as all four men are set to collide in a blockbuster tag team match at Saturday Night’s Main Event. What happened on SmackDown has raised the intensity of their rivalry and added much more drama to their upcoming match. Although it was a typical booking of a go-home show, Triple H brilliantly executed the mainevent involving Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, Gunther and Sami Zayn.
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Edited by Subhasish Deb
