The Best And Worst Of WWE Smackdown 2/4/16: The Middle


Smackdown 2:4:16

Hey, Blue Team. Sorry to start this week’s Best and Worst of Smackdown off on a sad note, but I have some somber news. There is no 8-man tag team match this week. It appears this week’s scheduled 8-man got bumped to Main Event; it’s The Usos and The Prime Time Players vs. Tyler Breeze, Stardust, and The Ascension. And let’s just assume I gave it a Best. In spite of there being no 8-man match, I still really enjoyed this week’s show.

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And now, enjoy The Best and Worst of WWE Smackdown for February 4, 2016.

Worst: Here’s That Thing We Always Do Again

Smackdown opens with Mauro Ranallo telling us that we are just over two weeks away from the penultimate Pay-Per-View event before the show of shows, WrestleMania. I guess this makes tonight’s show the Smackdown before the penultimate Smackdown before the penultimate Pay-Per-View event before the show of shows, WrestleMania. It’s a pretty important night, guys! Roman Reigns makes his way to the ring through the audience as usual. I used to think he enters through the audience because The Shield did the same thing, but lately I’ve been starting to believe that the Roman Reigns character is so stupid, he may just not know how entrances work. I’ll get back to how stupid Roman Reigns is later.

Like I said earlier, I really enjoyed this week’s Smackdown. It’s a great show, sandwiched between two Ambrose/Reigns/League of Nations segments that I could NOT stand. Actually, I shouldn’t even include League of Nations on that list. They were a complete afterthought. They were all about Roman and Ambrose replaying one of WWE’s most tired tropes, Miscommunication By Distrusting Friends. Much like so many other WWE teams before them, after years of successfully tagging together and being able to communicate just fine, now that they have a match against each other coming up they’ve forgotten how to function as a tag team and as friends. What is this phenomenon? Let’s say you work in an office, and you and your buddy who share a cubicle together at work are up for the same promotion. In the weeks leading up to the decision, do you suddenly forget how to hand him paper? Are you trying to staple together a couple of documents and accidentally staple him instead? What’s so crazy about the concept of having to wrestle someone you are friends with? Why does it make everyone become so stupid? Outside of Roman’s bad acting, I enjoyed the way him and Ambrose dealt with this topic on last week’s Highlight Reel. They’re going to continue being friends, but when it comes time to win the match, they’re not gonna let that hold each other back. That makes perfect sense. A lot more sense than the sudden miscommunication between the two that plays out throughout tonight’s show.


I almost gave this segment a Best just due to the fact that Smackdown opened with a wrestling match and not a twenty-two minute melodrama. The match is Roman Reigns vs. Rusev with Barrett and Del Rio at ringside. It’s the modern day version of Hulk Hogan vs. Big Boss Man with Akeem and Slick at ringside. It’s a good match, basically a truncated version of the other matches they’ve had here on Smackdown and over on RAW. They always put on a solid match together. Rusev is disqualified when the rest of The League of Nations interferes in the match on Rusev’s behalf. After a short beatdown on the outside by The League, Ambrose’ music hits and he’s down to make the save. And that’s when it happens. Ambrose comes off the ring apron with an elbow right at Roman Reigns, Del Rio and Barrett pretend to get away just in time, and Ambrose hits Reigns with the elbow. I’m living in WWE’s version of Groundhog’s Day. The LoN capitalizes on the situation, and throws Ambrose into the ring for an Accolade by Rusev. Reigns comes to and saves Ambrose with a steel chair, running off The LoN and setting up a tag team match for later (Ambrose and Reigns vs. Rusev and Del Rio) and the thrust of tonight’s show; Did Ambrose hit Reigns on purpose or by accident? That’s the question everyone keeps asking over and over again tonight. The announcers can’t stop talking about it and Renee Young asks Ambrose that very question in a backstage interview. You should all know the answer to this by now. This is about the thirtieth time they’ve done this storyline.

There was one thing in the opening match that I really loved. I mean, this is AMAZING. Roman Reigns seemed to be trying out some kind of precursor for the Superman Punch. His own version of Shawn Michaels’ “Tuning Up The Band” stomp he does in the corner before Sweet Chin Music. Rusev was down on the mat; Reigns goes into the corner and makes a fist with his right hand, but instead of getting ready for the Superman Punch, he just stands there looking at his fist. He then looks out at the crowd, then back at his fist, and then back out to the crowd, and back to his fist… and he does this over and over again. Now there’s nothing wrong with trying to get some crowd encouragement as you ramp up to your finishing move. It’s pretty average wrestling fare. But the way Roman does it involves so much overacting that it looks ridiculous. Roman never knows how to convey the emotion he’s trying to emote, so in this case it kind of just looks like Roman forgot what he should do with his fist. It’s like Reigns was replaced with Encino Man. It’s so bad that WWE cut it out of the version of the match they uploaded to YouTube. Roman Reigns, please leave the acting to Dean Ambrose for the rest of the Road to WrestleMania.

Best: Things That Make Sense

Kevin Owens vs. Kalisto with Dolph Ziggler on commentary is next, and I absolutely loved everything about this segment. First off, it’s a really good match between two guys who we’ve seen in the ring together before, but not a million times before. They both wrestle very smart, and it’s believable that either guy could win the match. There were some great moments in this match. Toward the end, both men are on the outside when Owens puts Kalisto in a Fireman’s Carry. He wants to throw Kalisto into the barricade but the camera crew are in the way. He looks down the barrel of the camera and screams at the cameraman to move. Owens then follows up with maybe my favorite thing that’s happened on Smackdown this year. Owens approaches the announce table and starts setting it up to put Kalisto through it. You know the drill: he discards the Smackdown sign and removes the monitors. Owens then lifts Kalisto up for a Powerbomb, but instead of powerbombing Kalisto through the table, he throws him into Ziggler. Owens follows up with a Superkick to Ziggler, then he and Kalisto make their way back into the ring. Ziggler then lunges toward the ring, distracting Kevin and allowing Kalisto the get the roll-up and the pin. This was all very well done.

I can’t say enough good things about Dolph Ziggler on commentary. When I saw Ziggler was there, I was worried that it was going to be one of those things where he was there to take his victory over Owens from RAW on Monday and throw it in Kevin’s face. WWE has done so much of that cocky face stuff these last couple of years that they’ve programmed me to assume that’s what’s going to happen. It’s so refreshing to hear a good guy actually talk like a good guy. He didn’t call Owens a fat loser; he put him over. At the same time, he put himself over for how hard-fought his victory was over Owens. He wasn’t there to distract Owens, either. He doesn’t go after Owens until Owens goes after him.

Best: Ryblack

Last week for the first time in a long time, history was made on Smackdown when AJ Styles hit his first ever Styles Clash in WWE. This week, history was made on Smackdown yet again. It’s the debut of Ryblack, the Black Trunks-Wearing Ryback. In case you haven’t seen it, Ryback appeared on Smackdown in black wrestling trunks. This is practically the Rybackian version of The Undertaker turning into The American Badass; 80% of Ryback’s character is in his singlet. This is either the beginning of a new, darker Ryback, a Ryback that takes himself, his opponent, and the game of wrestling much more serious, a Ryback that’s learned how to harness his full power and use it against his opponents, or it’s the same old Ryback. He couldn’t figure out how to open the trunk on his rental car and his duffel bag full of singlets is stuck back there, so he had to wrestle in the trunks he usually wears underneath them. I think I’m going with Option 2, because Ryback looked even more uncomfortable out there than usual. Is it just me, or do you look at Ryback and get vibes of major self-confidence issues? If this turns out to be by design and what he’s wearing from now on, it’s definitely a head scratcher of a choice. It’s just been in the last year that the Goldberg chants toward Ryback have started to settle down, and now he’s out there Goldberg cosplaying? He could have made literally any other fashion change than this and looked less like Goldberg. Unless the fake goatee Ryback had on fell off before he came through Gorilla. Literally anything. He could have kept his usual armband with the Ryback “R,” the trunks could be red… I mean, at least Skip Sheffield wore a cowboy hat.

After wearing black trunks, Ryback beat Erick Rowan with a Meathook Clothesline.

Best: AJ, You’ve Got To Come Back With Me

The novelty of AJ Styles in WWE has not worn off for me yet. It still feels pretty weird, and I love that. I hope for the time being, they keep putting him up against these WWE-grown guys, like The Miz, and keep him away from opponents he met on the indies. It’s more fun that way. It feels like fantasy bookings. Like AJ Styles is traveling back through time to wrestle the top heels he would have faced if he had been here all along. Jericho, The Miz… when is he going to wrestle Kane?

This was another good match. I enjoyed it more than Styles/Jericho. It was a faster paced, more hard-hitting match. I’ve been enjoying Miz’ in-ring work for a while now. He steps up to the plate here again and really hangs in there with Styles, including receiving a Spinning Backhand from AJ that looked like The Miz is probably still feeling it today. AJ sets up for the Styles Clash, but Miz reverses into a Back Body Drop, then sits on Styles for a near fall. AJ reverses into a roll-up for another near fall; after the Miz kicks out, both men end up back on their feet, when AJ rolls The Miz into the Calf Crusher. The Miz taps out and AJ looks better with every WWE appearance. I have a feeling the Calf Crusher will end up being his regular WWE finisher. And I’m fine with that; I like the Styles Clash, but it’s so awkward to set up. The Calf Crusher came out of nowhere, which is more exciting for WWE TV.

Rest in peace, Styles Clash. You made the same amount of WWE appearances as Kizarny.

Again this week, Jericho has become more tolerable. He was on commentary the entire match and managed to act at least half his age, if not 3/4s. I’m proud of you, Chris. After the match, Jericho grabs a mic and comes into the ring. He asks AJ if he has what it takes to beat him twice, and he challenges him to a rematch next week right here on Smackdown. AJ steps up to the challenge, so next week on Smackdown, we’ll finally find out if my dad can beat up your dad.

Best: Spoiling Me

WWE must be receiving my letters, because tonight we got a dream match that only became a dream of mine about two weeks ago. The New Day vs. The Social Outcasts. This is why I love Smackdown. The champs are out first, and they talk up the importance of being just that, the WWE Tag Team Champions. The Social Outcasts come out and the two teams engage in a debate over whether The Social Outcasts will touch The New Day’s waists. Curtis Axel breaks up the argument by pointing at New Day’s “rhinoceros horns” and not being able to pluralize “rhinoceros.” I want to hug all of them. The match that follows was almost as fun as the promo. New Day is as good as always. There’s a fire in Adam Rose that I haven’t seen in years, and a fire in Curtis Axel I’ve never seen. Axel rolls up Kofi into a Schoolboy and then hooks his feet on the ropes for leverage, but Xavier Woods is able to break up the count. Moments later, Kofi tries the same thing and successfully gets the three count. I want to see so much more of these two teams together. I want to see every combination of singles, tag team, and six man matches. I want to see an eight man tag with all four member of The Social Outcast against The New Day and Francesca 2, where Francesca gets the pinfall on Curtis Axel.

Best: I’m Still Enjoying The Show

Next up is another solid match, Charlotte vs. Alicia Fox. Much like Natalya last week, Alicia Fox is an excellent opponent for Charlotte. Here she gives Charlotte a competitive match, yet the champion still looks dominant. For the first time in a long time, Charlotte gets a victory with no help from her father. Not even a woo, let alone blatant sexual harassment. As much as I’ve enjoyed Ric’s antics this year, it’s nice to see Charlotte win on her own, especially after losing to a Bella on Monday. Fox taps to the Figure Eight. This segment would have been perfect if it ended right here, but unfortunately it continues on just a little too long. After the match, Alicia Fox has a very weird, oddly-acted freak out. She throws a little tantrum and pulls at her hair, spinning around and throwing her hands up on the side of her head like she was smacking herself, but she wasn’t. I don’t know, it was weird. Sort of like her character used to do years ago, but more freaky. They then cut to a shot of Ric, who is attempting to do some sort of dance. I don’t know which thing was more disturbing.

Speaking of disturbing…

Worst: Straight Man R-Truth

Last week, I skipped over the Goldust/R-Truth segment because I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. They aired another one this week and I still don’t know how I feel about these. I like both of these guys, and normally I’d be really into bits like these, but there’s something about them that aren’t clicking for me. They’ve managed to tone down the underlying homophobia from last week, but it still kind of lingers. One of my issues with these sketches as a whole is that R-Truth seems a little too sane. He feels like he had it a little more together than that guy who attempted to grab the Money in the Bank during The Royal Rumble. I’d much rather see the completely off the wall Little Jimmy version of R-Truth doing bits with Goldust than this version. The fun of putting Goldust and R-Truth together is that they’re your two craziest characters on the show. You want to see how those two characters are going to act together. If R-Truth is just going to be the straight man (no pun intended) to Goldust’s craziness, then you might as well put Goldust in segments with Mark Henry or even Big Show instead. Come on, WWE. I wanna see these guys get nuts.

Worst: Vaguely Familiar

Remember at the beginning of the show where they did that thing they always do again? Well, at the end of the show, they do it again. Your main event for the evening is Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose vs. Rusev and Alberto Del Rio. It’s chock full of everything we’ve seen before. It’s bad enough when WWE repeats matches and angles from RAW a few days later on Smackdown, but it’s even lazier when they repeat angles from Smackdown later on Smackdown. Ambrose misses Del Rio on a dive to the outside and lands face-to-face with Reigns, who once again questions Ambrose’ motives. This only helps to further Reigns’ primary character trait: stupidity.

There’s nothing less interesting happening in WWE right now than Roman Reigns vs. The League of Nations. These matches have no stakes. Two weeks ago, Roman came pretty close to beating all four members of The League of Nations by himself in a handicap match, so taking on two of the four and having a tag team partner to do it with doesn’t seem like much of a feat. These matches don’t get anyone anywhere. We complain a lot about 50/50 booking, but even worse can be 1000/0 booking. With the exception of a loss to Sheamus at TLC back in December, Reigns has just steamrolled through The League of Nations over and over again. At this point there’s nothing WWE could do to get me to want to watch Roman Reigns wrestle any of these guys again. So I’ve come up with an idea I’d like to pitch openly to WWE right now: don’t. You don’t need to have them wrestle each other anymore. In fact, you don’t need to book Roman Reigns on Smackdown. Give it a rest! I enjoyed the majority of this week’s Smackdown. The middle of the show was great, but it was like an ice cream cookie with stale cookies. We already know you have an appearance by Brock Lesnar and a rematch between AJ and Jericho booked for next week’s show. You’ll probably have another great segment with Owens and Ziggler, fun New Day stuff, a solid Divas segment, hopefully the return of the trademark Smackdown eight-man tag… that’s a great show. You don’t need to add Roman Reigns vs. Alberto Del Rio or some sort of beat-the-clock thing where Ambrose and Reigns sees who can beat The League of Nations faster. The road to WrestleMania is a long one. Pace yourselves.

Until next week, I’m Justin Donaldson and I hope it turns out Curtis Axel was the bunny all along.

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