The Smackers Thread

[TildeGuy~!]

Looks like he’s already slotted in as Smackdowns Miz even before having a match so I’m sure he’ll be ok.

[Statto]

Aside from the Bloodline stuff, this week's highlight was that Pretty Deadly double-team with one being launched/shrugged off the other's back into a codebreaker.

One of those moves that'd be a bit too contrived in terms of set-up to have as a finisher/do every week (so watch them start using it every week...) but the kind of thing that'll pop you every time they use it, used sparingly.

[Tsurutagun]

Nice that they brought the hemp belt back

One thing that annoys me about the title presentation in kayfabe world is even when you forget that the Undisputed Title is no longer Undisputed. Triple H slags Roman for not defending the belt enough on Raw and has to make a new title to get around this and a) he kisses his ass and b) Roman whose character is one that is paranoid and thin skinned doesn't go "what did you say about me on Raw the other week" 

Lazy writing 

[CL Punk]

9 hours ago, TheScarlettChad said:

That belt is just atrocious 

Agreed. I took one look at it and wondered if Goldmember had designed it.

[FUM]

I feel like everyone says how bad a belt is anytime one is unveiled then they get used to/over it and it’s not so bad.

Not convinced I’ve ever seen anyone go “phwoar! Look at that!” after any belt unveiling lately.

The new belt is pretty much the same as the old belt.

[d-d-d-dAz]

7 hours ago, FUM said:

I feel like everyone says how bad a belt is anytime one is unveiled then they get used to/over it and it’s not so bad.

Not convinced I’ve ever seen anyone go “phwoar! Look at that!” after any belt unveiling lately.

The new belt is pretty much the same as the old belt.

It really depends on your feelings on yellow.

I actually quite like the big W titles, they’re a very very good bit of branding and you immediately go ‘oh, so they’re a WWE champion’ which is what you’re after.

[DavidB6937]

Yeah the thing about some of the nicer looking belts is they don't have that clear brand association. You can absolutely see why they do what they do especially when they're giving them out to celebs and sports people etc. Are they the best looking belts? Of course not but they work for their purpose.

[Supremo]

Phenomenal closing segment. We’re fully back. This is the best thing this company has ever done. Maybe Cody shouldn’t have won at WrestleMania. Roman’s deadpan glance at Solo to execute the hit was incredible. Has any character in the history of WWE gone through as much stress as Jey Uso these last few years? Lad’s a mess! The conclusion of this storyline has to be Jey Uso just having a lovely day, chilling on the beach or something, chomping on a Cornetto, not a care in the world.

Bloodline implosion tag match at Money in the Bank? Tasty. Suddenly those crazy prices seem quite reasonable now!

CM Punk and Daniel Bryan references? In this current climate?! Wow. Never has there been a clearer indicator that Vince isn’t back running everything like he used to. That never would have happened a few years ago.

Wade Barrett calling Pretty Deadly matches is my new jam. He’s having the time of his life with these lads. His delight at them being complete whoppers is super infectious. Yes boy!

Is Lacey Evans’ gimmick that she introduces a new gimmick every time she appears? I can’t keep track! Crowd legitimately didn’t seem to know who she was. The three thousand faces of Lacey Evans. I guess she at least keeps her job until Royal Rumble, when she can take up half the field.

LA Knight might be the next big thing. You can’t argue with these reactions. Never ever do a springboard moonsault again though. Terrifying! 

Hit Row vs. Gallows and Anderson? Are you joking me?! Fuck off, lads. Not even a mid-match Michael Cole rap makes this forgivable.

Edited June 5, 2023 by Supremo

[The King of Old School]

6 hours ago, Supremo said:

Phenomenal closing segment. We’re fully back. This is the best thing this company has ever done. Maybe Cody shouldn’t have won at WrestleMania. Roman’s deadpan glance at Solo to execute the hit was incredible. Has any character in the history of WWE gone through as much stress as Jey Uso these last few years? Lad’s a mess! The conclusion of this storyline has to be Jey Uso just having a lovely day, chilling on the beach or something, chomping on a Cornetto, not a care in the world.

Bloodline implosion tag match at Money in the Bank? Tasty. Suddenly those crazy prices seem quite reasonable now!

CM Punk and Daniel Bryan references? In this current climate?! Wow. Never has there been a clearer indicator that Vince isn’t back running everything like he used to. That never would have happened a few years ago.

Wade Barrett calling Pretty Deadly matches is my new jam. He’s having the time of his life with these lads. His delight at them being complete whoppers is super infectious. Yes boy!

Is Lacey Evans’ gimmick that she introduces a new gimmick every time she appears? I can’t keep track! Crowd legitimately didn’t seem to know who she was. The three thousand faces of Lacey Evans. I guess she at least keeps her job until Royal Rumble, when she can take up half the field.

LA Knight might be the next big thing. You can’t argue with these reactions. Never ever do a springboard moonsault again though. Terrifying! 

Hit Row vs. Gallows and Anderson? Are you joking me?! Fuck off, lads. Not even a mid-match Michael Cole rap makes this forgivable.

Got to be singles/title matches against Jimmy at MITB and Jey at Summerslam, no?

 

[theringmaster]

On 6/3/2023 at 6:11 PM, Tsurutagun said:

the Undisputed Title is no longer Undisputed.

THIS!!!!

The belt design doesn't bother me, the fact they call it 'Undisputed' when its clearly disputed by the other brand drives me nuts! I imagine Vince heard a UFC Champion called it and liked the sound of it without actually taking the time to think what it actually means. By calling it that they are completely sh!tting on the Heavyweight Belt: What's the point of being a World Champion if another guy is the 'undisputed' Champion?

[Fatty Facesitter]

Overall - Massive Blooine developments and some steady build towards Money in the Bank. Only a few minor gripes again this week as Smackers continues to bang. 

👍 Bloodline Business - They’ve done it again. A couple of months ago we thought this had all run it’s course and we felt like Cody was shafted at Wrestlemania and that we simply can’t have nice things. But they took a gamble on the Bloodline angle still having plenty of juice left, they’ve decided to crown Cody at Wrestlemania 40 instead and it’s all going to pay off. Another great night and this is turning into one of the best long-term storylines they’ll ever tell. How Jey Uso isn’t grey I’ll never know. Brilliant. Terrific drama. 

👍 Pretty Deadly/Theory vs Brawling Brutes - Pretty Deadly should be renamed the Dog’s Bollocks, because that’s what they are. Good six-man to open things up. Boy? Yes! 

👍 LA Knight vs Montez Ford - Not squeaky clean and Knight will want to lay off the Lionsaults for a bit, but this was fun. Knight is going to be massively over in London. 

👍 Zelina Vega vs Lacey Evans - Not the most inspiring match ever but I like that they are still firmly behind Zelina. 

👎 Fuck me, what an eyesore that new title is. Hideous. 

👎 Theory’s beard annoys me. It doesn’t look very thick - I know he’s a young man but it looks rubbish, like a load of pubes meshed together. 

👎 Gallows/Anderson vs Hit Row - Awful standard. Also, the Magic Killer is a rubbish finisher. AJ is better than this.

[d-d-d-dAz]

I do not understand wrestlers use of social media. Isn’t she a face now? Whys she attacking ‘nerds’? How’s that helpful to her?

Why refer to someone else’s character in such terms? 
 

It’s just absolute shite. They’re all terrible at it (in WWE, certainly) and they should all be booted off social media immediately.

[DavidB6937]

5 minutes ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

I do not understand wrestlers use of social media. Isn’t she a face now? Whys she attacking ‘nerds’? How’s that helpful to her?

Why refer to someone else’s character in such terms? 
 

It’s just absolute shite. They’re all terrible at it (in WWE, certainly) and they should all be booted off social media immediately.

She's not attacking nerds at all?

[FUM]

On 6/5/2023 at 2:57 PM, theringmaster said:

THIS!!!!

The belt design doesn't bother me, the fact they call it 'Undisputed' when its clearly disputed by the other brand drives me nuts! I imagine Vince heard a UFC Champion called it and liked the sound of it without actually taking the time to think what it actually means. By calling it that they are completely sh!tting on the Heavyweight Belt: What's the point of being a World Champion if another guy is the 'undisputed' Champion?

There is definitely some weight to this UFC argument. Like how he started having “reigning, defending” into the ring announcement of the Champion when they weren’t defending the belt and just doing a promo.

[air_raid]

On 6/5/2023 at 2:57 PM, theringmaster said:

What's the point of being a World Champion if another guy is the 'undisputed' Champion?

This is something they’ve never spun right, all the way back to Hunter having Big Gold while SmackDown wrestlers competed for the oldest company title. One is “WWE Champion” e.g champion of the company, but Triple H is “World Heavyweight Champion” e.g champion of the entire world - even though the belt is never defended outside the company. Kind of terminology that only fit - sort of - when WCW used to have “WCW Heavyweight Champion” Vader etc, and someone else as “World Heavyweight Champion” because it was the NWA title which WCW was member of.

The only wording I ever saw thrown around that adequately summarised both as equally prestigious was “Raw World Heavyweight champion” and “SmackDown World Heavyweight Champion” - and by equally prestigious I mean equally crap.