Liam O'Rourke Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 Chaser pretty much said it all. I've got time for Ellsworth, he has a place on the show for sure and when something catches on, you should run with it for all it's worth, so I'm glad they did.  But the lifeblood of the company is still the TV deal with USA that is coming up in the not-all-that-distant future. Ratings are approaching all-time lows, and rather than throwing the most quality guys you have on the shows to try and make stars and create interest and get things going upwards, they're almost prioritising the show that loses money by structural design. They're keeping Joe, the best pure heel in the company, in Orlando. Nakamura doesn't have fifteen years like Orton's had, and he's fucking awesome, so we're burning daylight with him just to keep NXT strong, and NXT doesn't need to be. The Cruiserweight Classic showed the same audience will watch the Network for great wrestling (with the CWC getting more viewers than NXT by the end) no matter what you call it, and you can always restock those cupboards.  There was just something about the week Ellsworth wrestled AJ Styles for the World Title and Nakamura was farting around with Patrick Clark in front of people who didn't pay to get in that made me take stock of this landscape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gaffer Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 Â Â The New Day are prime examples of WWE milking shit to death. I just find their promos irritating, same shit every week with those three. The thing I struggle with after all this time, is working out what the purpose of their promos are- from a kayfabe perspective. Nobody else in WWE comes to the ring every single week to just cut a hardcam facing promo for no real reason. Why would these wrestlers just come to the ring and start dropping cultural references? Because they're massive nerds who've found themselves within the company they fapped over as kids. It's actually quite a logical example of the modern guys being marks. Don't get me wrong, I fucking hate their shtick now, but it makes perfect sense in context. They're any number of fans who if they actually could cut a promo themselves would totally go out dressed as Gangrel for the craic talking about how Triple H is kind of like that big dragon you can't beat in Skyrim and how dope was In Your House 10? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drkopen Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 Watching Raw last night and the final segment felt like to go home to Survivor Series. It's feels a little odd that we now have a Smackdown episode. Â It'll be interesting to see what they do tonight - will they continue the build to Survivor Series or just forget about it because Takers doing something at the Rumble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Clint Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 I fully expect the top guys from Raw to appear to close the show with another brawl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briefcase Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 Predictable WWE will just be Smackdown getting the upperhand on the red shirts of Raw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 Watching Survivors '98 and the Ellsworth-like introduction of Duane Gill as the mystery opponent for Mankind really tickled me. The guy has the cheesiest entrance theme, a titantron just consisting of him taking other people's moves as a job guy and him being scared by his own pyro is class. I never knew he'd been in that role prior to Gillberg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Jazzy G Posted November 15, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted November 15, 2016 Duane Gill had a little run if I remember correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted November 15, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted November 15, 2016 Yep he won the light heavyweight title as Duane Gill, and held it for about a year before losing it (as Gillberg) to Essa Rios. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB6937 Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 Well that was okay. Nothing great but another watchable show. Â So are we to assume we'll be getting more regular Taker appearances now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L_E_T_H_A_L Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 Perhaps this year's 'Mania will be Undertaker's last and he's going to hit the Road to Wrestlemania in fifth gear from Survivor Series onwards culminating in a title vs career match - something similar to Shawn Michaels' swansong in 2010. Can't think of any other reason why he'd be returning for regular TVs at this stage of his career in his current physical condition (despite how good he looks, the man's body is falling apart).  Return or not, I have to disagree with 'Taker's statement that  "Wrestlemania will not define my legacy." Of course it will.  His closing remarks (that Team SmackDown had better win or those responsible would answer to him) adds even more interest and intrigue to the Survivor Series, for me. There are so many elements at play and potential ways WWE can go from Sunday. Hopefully they don't make a complete arse of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyattSheepMask Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 It's episode #900 of Smackdown, so I don't think he'll be back properly tonight more likely just to get the ball rolling with whatever they have planned for him for Wrestlemania Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Jazzy G Posted November 16, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted November 16, 2016 I still don't get why Nikki Bella is the Smackdown women's team captain and not Becky Lynch *coughJohnCenacough*. Sometimes I'll watch stuff on the Smackdown women's division and it feels like Becky Lynch is there to lend the Total Divas promotions girls a touch of legitimacy. Some of the camera work was terrible as well. They cut to an upper body shot of Carmella doing a moonwalk in the ring and it looked ridiculous. I wonder whether they're trying to save some money by using local camera guys nowadays, as there's surely no way somebody who knew WWE would miss a shot like that. Â The 16 man tag was a bit of throwaway fun. Let everybody get their stuff in. I was a little disappointed that nobody got gored, though. Â Edge looks like he's enjoying his retirement with his huge beard. This episode felt like it was stuck between trying to hype Survivor Series and celebrate being the 900th episode. How easily impressed are fans nowadays that they chant "Holy Shit" at 'Taker in the ring with Shane? If he says he's having a run maybe it'll be alongside Kane so he doesn't have to go full tilt. It was an alright show, hopefully they get back to business as usual next week. If this brand thing keeps up maths suggests the 1000th Smackdown will be during the build to No Mercy? That may be a better opportunity to get all nostalgic about how far they've come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyattSheepMask Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 They gave Nikki the captaincy ahead of the champion as there was the Lynch/Bliss title match to follow afterwards, so if you were to go with 'the champion should be captain' a d they decided to switch the belt then they would have had to then change the captaincy. Obviously, Lynch retained so it wouldn't have mattered anyway, but if they hadn't decided that at the time it just saves a headache later on by having Nikki just be the captain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Jazzy G Posted November 16, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted November 16, 2016 They could decide the captaincy after the title match? Although they never really did very much around the Smackdown women's team apart from Nattie's John Tolos/Bill Alfonso impression and her churning out a different song lyric every week. That's a great gimmick for one of the better wrestlers in your division to have. At least it's not the farting thing. The Smackdown and Raw women's divisions are like night and day at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamply Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 They could decide the captaincy after the title match? Although they never really did very much around the Smackdown women's team apart from Nattie's John Tolos/Bill Alfonso impression and her churning out a different song lyric every week. That's a great gimmick for one of the better wrestlers in your division to have. At least it's not the farting thing. The Smackdown and Raw women's divisions are like night and day at the moment. Raw has the better female wrestling talent, but I can honestly say I'm enjoying the Smackdown women more. For me the division is far more entertaining from a character POV.  The inevitable Becky/Eva Marie feud has the potential to be a bag load of fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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