The Smackers Thread

[Supremo]

In the midst of creative shakeups, it’s important to focus on protagonists. Characters the audience can see themselves in.

I am Wade Barrett. Wade Barrett is me.

 

[I Bent My Wookie]

I did like the camera angle for Vega handing Black the light paper. If commentary had noted it it would have made more sense but I guess they've a week to work around that when showing replays.

[Supremo]

It was a good show, with a great crowd. Easily one of the better episodes of Smackdown this year, but anyone can do a good, “creative shakeup,” debut show. Vince Russo made a career out of it. When things are shit and boring, all it takes is a couple of new ideas and fresh directions to make it feel like the most exciting thing in the world. Still, definitely an improvement.

This show and the positive reaction to it does nothing to disprove the idea that all Fed fans need is some jingling keys, either. That’s the perfect description for the majority of the improvements. Nakamura going back to his old music. The MFTs having new facepaint. Cool flashing lights as they teased the MFT vs. Wyatt feud. Fireball in the main event. Do they really think such cheap, shallow tactics will work on fans? (It does, delicious slop).

As an aside, I like to think they had a roster meeting earlier in the show talking about giving Smackdown, “a new lick of paint,” and Tango Loa is so thick that he took it literally and went out to buy the new facepaint. God bless that ridiculous, crap man.

Edited October 11, 2025 by Supremo

[RedTwoster]

I decided to watch Smackdown for the first time in a long while, and maybe it’s a case of absence making the heart grow fonder, but I thought that was a really good show.

Dragunov was quietly one of the best wrestlers on the planet before his injury, and he picked up where he left off with a sensational match against Sami. I’m really glad he won, it was the right decision.

Talking of being one of the best in the world, while I don’t think it’s quite true of Sol Ruca yet, I think there’s every chance she could be exactly that sooner rather than later. She’s amazing every time I see her, pulling out unique moves and counters and just generally lighting up every match she’s in. I really enjoyed the tag match, and while all four women played their part, she stood out. The ending was dumb though, losing because you’re distracted by your rival cheering you on? A very odd finish. 

The Jacob Fatu stuff was interesting, and if it’s not Cody turning heel - which I doubt - my guess is that Sami Zayn is the culprit, taking out his frustration after losing his title. Zayn could do with a heel turn if he’s to get back to feeling like a main event star.

Pairing Zelina Vega with Black seems like a good idea. She was about as cold as I’ve ever seen any wrestler be as a babyface, and in WWE at least she was at her best when effectively acting as Andrade’s manager. Doing similar for Black seems like it’s worth trying.

The Smackdown tag division…was OK on this show. I’ve long considered it one of the worst things in wrestling, but I didn’t mind the MCMG match or the Wyatt Sicks/MFT confrontation. That said, Bo Dallas morphing into a Bray Wyatt tribute act rather than the broken and distraught character he once was doesn’t really work for me. He’s better than someone who has to resort to that. 

It may be a case of WWE being a novelty since I’d ditched it from my viewing routine, but that was a fun watch for me.

[The King of Old School]

9 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

 

Dragunov was quietly one of the best wrestlers on the planet before his injury, and he picked up where he left off with a sensational match against Sami. I’m really glad he won, it was the right decision.

 

I think Dragunov is fantastic, I just hate the lazy trope of  a wrestler winning a title in his first match back.

Up ridiculously early so I have watched it too...

Have to feel for Blake Monroe, being shown in the crowd to zero reaction.

Women's tag match was good though, can do without the cringe "show of respect" afterwards though.

Fatu shaking hands with Cody too, get in the bin. I knew it was predictable his aura would soon be gone when he turned face but bloody hell this must be record time. Hopefully some time away and he can come back as a killer next year but I won't hold my breath.

I think I saw someone mention on here that Drew is this era's Kane these days, just throw him in a title programme to lose when there's no other obvious challenges knocking about. To have some shock factor into the show they really should have pulled the trigger and had him beat Cody for the belt here with Cody not being ready wresting in his suit. Could have kept it until the Rumble or something then drop it back.

MFT' vs The Wyatts in a proper Survior Series elimination match would be something I would like to see but know it won't happen.

First one watched in full for a while, and it was okay. Not desperate to watch next week though.

[TildeGuy~!]

Did Tama Tonga ever actually have a finisher in WWE?

I know his finish was the RKO in New Japan but since he returned this week he’s started doing Ospreays Hidden Blade.

[RedTwoster]

3 minutes ago, The King of Old School said:

I think Dragunov is fantastic, I just hate the lazy trope of  a wrestler winning a title in his first match back.

That’s not happened for a while, has it? I may be wrong, but I’m struggling to think of the last time that it did. Regardless though, it was the right decision if you want to establish the guy quickly. And given the nature of an open challenge, I think it’s better to see a title change hands like this rather than through a feud, as so often happens in challenge scenarios. The weekly matches often don’t matter much because of that.

[The King of Old School]

11 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

That’s not happened for a while, has it? I may be wrong, but I’m struggling to think of the last time that it did. Regardless though, it was the right decision if you want to establish the guy quickly. And given the nature of an open challenge, I think it’s better to see a title change hands like this rather than through a feud, as so often happens in challenge scenarios. The weekly matches often don’t matter much because of that.

Yeah fair point, maybe it hasn't, I'm not sure as I dip in and too to be honest. Just feels like something I have seen 100 times before.

Hopefully the US open challenge continues as Dragunov could have a great match with most of the roster.

[DavidB6937]

Definitely didnt strike me as lazy. The open challenge should be exactly that. Sami would've been prepared for the active roster. He wouldn't have been prepared for Dragunov. It's a very simple and logical story to tell. Plus if they want to strap a rocket to him then I'm all for it. He's one of the most exciting guys they've got to lead them into the future. So many good matches he could have.

[Lion_of_the_Midlands]

Lots of reports that Jacob Fatu is out for a while with an injury that's not wrestling related. Some time away is perhaps not a bad thing. 

[thatvinylgeek]

4 hours ago, The King of Old School said:

I think Dragunov is fantastic, I just hate the lazy trope of  a wrestler winning a title in his first match back.

Up ridiculously early so I have watched it too...

Have to feel for Blake Monroe, being shown in the crowd to zero reaction.

Women's tag match was good though, can do without the cringe "show of respect" afterwards though.

Fatu shaking hands with Cody too, get in the bin. I knew it was predictable his aura would soon be gone when he turned face but bloody hell this must be record time. Hopefully some time away and he can come back as a killer next year but I won't hold my breath.

I think I saw someone mention on here that Drew is this era's Kane these days, just throw him in a title programme to lose when there's no other obvious challenges knocking about. To have some shock factor into the show they really should have pulled the trigger and had him beat Cody for the belt here with Cody not being ready wresting in his suit. Could have kept it until the Rumble or something then drop it back.

MFT' vs The Wyatts in a proper Survior Series elimination match would be something I would like to see but know it won't happen.

First one watched in full for a while, and it was okay. Not desperate to watch next week though.

It was me who said Drew has turned into Kane, and it seems to be more and more apparent all the time, it's a shame because you once you get trapped in that role for too long it can be really hard to get out of it...if you ever can.

[HarmonicGenerator]

Has Dragunov calmed down at all yet? I remember him from NXT UK, and “calm down” was my main thought - he seemed to go at everything absolutely full pelt, and it was a bit like he hadn’t realised you don’t have to hit, and be hit, for real every single time. It might be he’s so incredibly good it just looks that way, but that style actually took me out of his matches most of the time.

Edited October 18, 2025 by HarmonicGenerator
Temuri Ketsbaia

[Supremo]

Draganov’s still not been clued in that it’s a work. Only difference is he’s now more jacked than ever. Definitely been - ahem - sharing training tips with Randy Orton and AJ Styles.

Wild fun to watch, but I’d be shocked if he goes six months without injuring himself again. Man seems to hate his own head.

New dream match unlocked, though. Would pay top dollar to watch Draganov vs. Darby Allin. Human conkers.

A mostly throwaway show, where my main takeaway was what a bunch of absolute losers the Smackdown Tag Division is. Most of these whoppers wouldn’t even make it into the bWo or Job Squad.

Cody completely overreacting and defending the Title in his dress clothes was at least fresh and different, and twelve months ago it would have been interesting that he hit Drew with the belt. You’d wonder if they were teasing a heel turn.

Now though, I just think ChatGPT failed to understand how getting intentionally DQ’d might undermine your top babyface.

Imagine feeding an AI the last twenty years of WWE television and then asking it to understand the basics in order to produce good, coherent television.

Edited October 19, 2025 by Supremo

[RedTwoster]

If WWE and AEW both confirmed they’d started using AI to write their shows this week, I wouldn’t be surprised. 

In AEW, you had Samoa Joe cutting a generic heel promo in which he insulted local women and the local sports team.

Over in WWE, you have Cody Rhodes viva Drew McIntyre, about as uninspiring, by-the-numbers feud as anyone could come up with. And I actually like McIntyre and Rhodes a lot, but this feud feels like Cody has got himself involved in it just to kill some time because he has fuck all else to keep him going. 

I mentioned Joe/Page for another reason -Stratton/Cargill. When they’re were pitching a Cargill heel turn and how to do it, did someone say ‘eh, let’s just do that’? It was similar to the point I thought they couldn’t possibly be doing it as it played out, but they did. Stratton is still a crappy babyface, though.

I wonder if Rey Fenix regrets jumping to WWE? I thought he was underutilised in AEW, but somehow he’s ended up even more underutilised here. Given that they spent years looking for the new Rey Mysterio, it’s mad that that the most obvious candidate for that in years has ended up in their company, yet they seem oblivious to that. 

I really like Dragunov, he might be the best wrestler they have from an in-ring perspective. If I were to fantasy book an AEW vs WWE supercard I’d struggle to know what to do with him, as there are so many matches I’d love to see involving the guy. Dragunov vs Ospreay? Dragunov vs Danielson? Dragunov vs Hangman? Dragunov vs Takeshita? Dragunov vs Bandido? I could go on. He actually feels like a better fit for AEW than WWE, and I hope they recognise what they have in him.

All in all, it was an adequate episode of Smackdown. WWE feels in a slightly better place creatively than AEW as we approach the end of the year, but this episode wasn’t much better than the most recent Dynamite. I’d like to see both companies firing on all cylinders, so here’s hoping they both pick up in the coming weeks. 

[Supremo]

It’s a good thing Rey Fenix wears a mask because his face must be neon red with embarrassment whenever he’s out there.

To spend ages posting memes about AEW keeping him, “trapped in jail,” only to get released, go to WWE, and become such a non-entity that it’d genuinely be an upgrade if they put him into the LWO.

I’ve mentioned it before, but he’s the character Brooks in, “Shawnshank Redemption.” Was, “released from prison,” only to discover the real world is horrible and he was better inside.

Get busy livin’ or get busy jobbin’.

At this point, I swear they’re trolling him. How low can you go?

Wrestling on Main Event?

Lower.

Jobbing clean on Main Event?

Lower.

Jobbing clean on Main Event, to The Overdrive, the shittest, most generic finisher of all time?

Lower.

Jobbing clean on Main Event to The Super Overdrive!

 

Edited October 25, 2025 by Supremo