In my feeble, futile attempt to put thoughts into words today - here's the freakin' Wrap Up!
Now, I know SmackDown doesn't actually exist as its own separate, competing entity like the storylines would have us believe, but I also know that there are some very noticeable differences between the two brands. Differences that would suggest a divide in creative (which we know was the case in the past when the brands were split). In the end, it's all the same WWE casserole, but I'm still going to type the phrase "Because of SmackDown, I'm now way more interested in Survivor Series." You know, pretending that it was that show's idea to add some spice to the previously bland pay-per-view stew. And everything's food now apparently.
No, I still don't care which brand wins. That's a broken aspect of this PPV that can't really be fixed. It bleeds into the Goldberg vs. Lesnar match too. I don't have a horse in that hunt, to maliciously mix metaphors. The addition of Shane to the elimination match, however, makes this a must-watch show for me now. Because now, perhaps foolishly, I'm expecting something to happen that feeds off the Shane/Lesnar arc that began at SummerSlam. As in, Shane either costs Brock his match (which would be awesome) or Lesnar somehow targets Shane during his match - or both.
I want something to happen here that feeds into WrestleMania. If Survivor Series is meant to be a give-a-damn show again, then it now needs to softly kick-off 'Mania season in a way that it never had before.
Yes, Shane being a part of the SmackDown team speaks to the brand's lack of big stars (while Cena's away anyhow), but the inclusion of Baron Corbin on the team already felt like a blight. However, everything's managed to smooth and balance itself out over the past week. Ziggler should have been on the team but he's actually defending his title at the PPV -- and it's a crossover match with Zayn, so that's awesome. Corbin shouldn't have been on the team in the first place, but he's out now -- and in a match that could get the Cruiserweights shifted over to SmackDown.
I know, how can the cruisers ever fit on SmackDown given that the show's only two hours? That's an issue for sure. But man, they just belong on SmackDown, so I'm willing to chance it. They're already fizzling on RAW, which is just the shame of all shames. I don't know what the missing ingredient was, but they were pretty much D.O.A. on the red brand. Maybe TJP wasn't the guy to topline the division. Maybe it was a disservice to try and introduce so many guys at once, Diva's Revolution-style. Either/or, I'm hoping they shift over to 'Down and someone's able to squeeze them in and treat them right, in between the usual avalanche of James Ellsworth segments.
SmackDown's not a perfect show, I know. Orton's still a part of the Wyatts and that makes no goddamn sense at all. No one's even mentioning that the one guy to join the Wyatts is the one guy Bray wasn't trying to recruit at all. I guess we're all just waiting for Randy to reveal that he'd been pretending the whole time, but when it happens we won't care because him joining never clicked in the first place.
Still, SmackDown does so much that IS right, you can overlook the weaker aspects. The Becky/Alexa match this week (which was the nominal "main event") was great (though it's distressing to hear the rumors that Becky doesn't get mic time anymore because Kevin Dunn is still a vile insect and not a human being), Styles called Ellsworth "a foot," Shane's a part of Team SmackDown, and it looks like WWE's course correcting and placing the cruiserweights where they belong.
Continue on for RAW, Jericho's fight with Sin Cara, and more...
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