WWE SmackDown Smacks and Downs: Bray Wyatt fiends with no crowd

After a tumultuous week outside of wrestling because of the coronavirus pandemic, WWE soldiered along with SmackDown emanating from the Performance Center.

Was WWE SmackDown able to give us two hours of entertainment? What storyline changes were caused by the ever evolving responses to COVID-19? Here are the smacks and downs for last night’s show.

What a week.

First, I hope everyone is safe, healthy, and calm. Remember, it’s not necessarily about contracting COVID-19 (coronavirus) at this point, particularly if you’re younger, but about unknowingly transmitting it to others.

With Wednesday’s NXT having already aired from the Performance Center (PC), WWE at least knew that the facility could serve as a last resort to hold their shows. That last resort happened, and now NXT, SmackDown, and RAW will be emanating from the PC for the foreseeable future.

The PC seems like a very prudent investment now, huh?

(AEW also shifted several upcoming shows, including their highly anticipated “Blood & Guts” event.)

The big questions surrounded how pro wrestling looks without fan involvement, especially considering “WWE style” both in wrestling and promos; what this means for WrestleMania (maybe we’ll have SummerMania or SummerSlamMania); what this means for the stories being built for WrestleMania; and if Vince McMahon will finally just stop being so stubborn and suspend all operations like pretty much every other sporting league in the country.

With all the changes, concerns, and questions surrounding WWE and sports as a whole, did I forget to mention that this was the first SmackDown since Elimination Chamber on Sunday?

Daniel Bryan and Drew Gulak did what we all expected (but stop risking those bumps please, Bryan!); The Miz and John Morrison are still Tag Team Champions; and maybe most importantly, we have a new Intercontinental Champion in “The Underdog from the Underground” and “The Great Liberator,” Sami Zayn!

With all that, and the added intrigue of SmackDown airing with no physical audience at the PC, how did it deliver? In such a setting, how were the advertised returns of Jeff Hardy and Paige (to confront Bayley), as well as another appearance by John Cena,

Well, as we’ll see, “card is subject to change” (Paige had “travel issues” according to Cole).

As a reminder of my criteria, I’m not going to run through each match/segment. Rather, I will identify a couple of segments that either worked (“smack”) or didn’t for whatever reason (“down”).

My criteria includes quality of match/segment and how it starts and/or builds stories. After all, we watch partly to be caught up in the stories. If a great work-rate match happens with no context or bearing on the stories, it’s going to be a miss.

Also, just because something is a hit/miss doesn’t mean it was an overwhelming choice. The selection could be 51 percent hit, 75 percent miss, and so on.

There are other subtleties to my criteria, but those are pretty much the parameters.

There was Bayley and Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross; a sit-down in-ring interview between Michael Cole and Roman Reigns; a replay of the Tag Team Championship match at Elimination Chamber (with commercials!); Daniel Bryan (with Drew Gulak) vs. Cesaro (with Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura); Jeff Hardy vs. Baron Corbin; and an in-ring interview between Cole and Cena to close the show.

Smack: both intriguing and understandable why there were no fans

Down: felt really, really, REALLY weird with no fan involvement

This show was originally scheduled for Detroit, but shifted to the PC after many states outlawed gatherings of over 250 or so.

This isn’t the first time WWE has had an empty arena segment (The Rock vs. Mankind at Halftime Heat in 1999 the notable one). However, I believe this is the first empty arena card in WWE history.

How did it go?

I admit, I was intrigued at what the show would look and feel like. The novelty wore off quick when Bayley and Sasha Banks (and later The Miz and John Morrison) gave promos as if there was still a crowd. Miz and Morrison even went for cheap heat making fun of Orlando. I mean, really?

It was also weird seeing wrestlers try to play to the crowd during matches. Triple H (who was on commentary most of the night) remarked that both Nikki Cross and Jeff Hardy were trying to fire up the crowd; “don’t think it’s working, though.”

Hardy and Cena, two wrestlers where crowd involvement is very important, seemed out of place in such a stagnant environment. Considering these two still receive two of the loudest reactions from fans, the looks of surprise on their faces were about as authentic as we may see from wrestlers.

Still, this is something we have to familiarize ourselves with as all foreseeable shows will take place just like tonight. Will WrestleMania still happen, and if so, will it be at the PC with no fans?

(Huge) Down: the promo of Roman Reigns

The promo delivered by Reigns last night was made even worse with the lack of a crowd reaction. It’s like he and WWE forgot the promos that made him fans (at least) tolerate him after his return from a second battle with leukemia.

There were just so many things about this promo that have me feeling like Reigns might be booed out of the building at WrestleMania…if there are any fans allowed.

Let’s start with him giving his justifications for being handed a title shot for simply walking out and telling Goldberg “I’m next.” As an aside, I still think he should have said “You’re next” to imply that he is going to be victorious against Goldberg.

Reigns, in response to Michael Cole asking about critics about Reigns putting himself in the main event, said:

"“Let me counter with a question. If I can main event Youngstown, Ohio, you know what I mean, in a small town in front of five thousand people, if I can do that every single night of the full year, why shouldn’t I main event the biggest show? Why shouldn’t I be able to capitalize on all that hard work I put in?…There’s nobody here that has the level of commitment that I have"

Cool. Where in there does he discuss his victories over the recent months to stake his claim? It’s cool that he can main event in Youngstown, OH, but what good is main eventing if you aren’t winning?

This isn’t to say Reigns is losing. He (finally) won his feud with King Corbin and probably is the best person to face Goldberg not named Daniel Bryan. All he had to do was say he’s had an amazing record the past few months (while showing some of those highlights) and boom, everything’s fine.

Then again, is Corbin enough on the “strength of schedule” to boast about?

It’s made more egregious by the fact that the biggest reason for rejecting Reigns as the fans have the last five years has been the sense that he has been gifted all the main events and championship matches that he has had without necessarily “earning” them in a pro wrestling context.

Being the handpicked “chosen one” doesn’t always work out as it’s intended (look at Drew McIntyre’s first run).

All he did was remind fans that, oh yeah, this is precisely the type of promo he would give where he justified his spot by touting his main events; it’s circular logic at best.

Another reason why it was so bad has to do with this last bit:

This is a man who very publicly admitted he only turned to wrestling after failing to make it as a pro football player and feeling unfulfilled working at a furniture store. Is this fact disqualifying? Of course not.

It is here though, precisely because Reigns told Cole, “I have dedicated my life to this craft, every single day, 24/7, 365, this is all I think of. I was bred for this, born from this…I’ve been groomed since I was a little boy.”

He may have dedicated his life to this, but not until his true passion fizzled. Again, that’s fine, but not when you’re trying to frame it like you’re a writer for the Ruthless Aggression documentary changing facts to make WWE (and Vince McMahon in particular) look good.

This is precisely the promo where a crowd reaction is needed to indicate whether or not this is the path that should be taken. I assume the reaction would be negative. He delivered the promo with enough conviction that viewers at home might have been swayed, but they may have been just as swayed with either a supportive or hostile crowd.

WWE and Reigns should also remember that people have longer memories than they care to admit. The story of Reigns going through the motions at the furniture store has almost become apocryphal at this point, but most fans (I think) remember pro wrestling was not “the boyhood dream” come true for Reigns.

I’m even less excited for his match with Goldberg than I was before tonight. I hope this isn’t the case come WrestleMania, whether it’s in a few weeks or over the summer…or later.

Smack: the promo of Bray Wyatt

Wyatt’s promo ability was never in doubt; the question was always if he could move beyond what sometimes became the rambly cult leader archetype.

His “Firefly Fun House” segments (particularly the early ones) have been revelations as he channeled his creativity into this dual identity Mr. Rogers/Jigsaw hybrid.

As Wyatt, his struggle has always been straddling the line between being the stereotypical child pandering kids TV show host and actually pandering to the audience. Well, without a physical audience to pander to, his promo last night felt even more effective.

He starts off praising Cena for his accomplishments in and out of WWE (“You got beautiful girlfriends on tap” made me laugh). He then moves into reverse psychology and hits Cena with the line of the night: “You don’t really think that we think that you care about the future, do you?”

Again, laughter.

Without the audience, though, everything Wyatt said (even in laughter) had an even more menacing feel to it; it’s like every line was delivered with a side of malice.

Wordplay is also fun, and discussing attention, Wyatt told Cena, “You fiend for it.” See what he did there?

How he turned The Fiend from what most of us see as a violent figure into his savior is perfect for a heel as it makes complete sense in how Wyatt’s explained The Fiend’s existence. It also helps that after last week’s character developing “Fun House,” Wyatt continued to tie the thread between losing to Cena six years ago and the emergence of The Fiend last summer.

By the way, did y’all notice when Wyatt wiped his forehead and he noticed how much he was sweating? I laughed again.

Smack: give me every variation of Bryan/Gulak vs. Artist Collective

-After a fantastic match at Elimination Chamber last Sunday, Bryan and Gulak appear to be a team, one I am excited about seeing for the next few months.

I love Zayn, Nakamura, and Cesaro both individually and as a group.

Build to Money in the Bank by having every variation of singles and tag matches between the two teams. Zayn could even have an Intercontinental Championship defense he retains through nefarious means, and then have Zayn-Bryan for the title at the PPV.

Whatever the case, these five can and will work magic together, so let’s hope they are given adequate time and a good story.

Down: Corbin, Corbin, Corbin

-I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: begone, Corbin! The gimmick needs to go, his acting needs help, and he gets “go away” heat rather than genuine heel heat (like MJF). Write him off and repackage him because he has skills in the ring.

Down: did we really need to see the ENTIRE EC match?

-Simply put, no. With the commercials added in, it just seemed like WWE wanted to drag out an hour. Maybe they didn’t have as many wrestlers on hand, but with NXT right there, why not have some matches with NXT wrestlers like in November? Wouldn’t it have been dope if Bianca Belair confronted Bayley to challenge her for the title at WrestleMania?

Before you scoff, remember that’s exactly what Reigns did to “earn” his shot.

Hit (mostly): Triple H on commentary

-While some moments made me cringe (he acted a little too much like it was 1998 again), Triple H brought a bit of much needed levity to the broadcast, often at the expense of Cole. He even poked fun at his reported demotion, grabbed a studio camera like The Rock once did, and also helped Cole with his makeup:

Triple H like this in doses is nice, though it does once again blur the line between corporate, heelish Triple H, NXT Godfather Triple H, and sophomoric DX Triple H.

It was a weird show, but also a harbinger of what’s to come for WWE. Let’s hope for next week’s show, they shore up the issues with Reigns and hopefully have more planned than a rerun of a PPV match. See you then!