WrestleTalk Roundtable – WWE SmackDown Live – November 20, 2018

How would you rate the show overall? (From best to worst: SmackDamn, SmackTastic, Smack Bang in the Middle, SmackDowner and A Smack in the Face)

Steven Lugo

Smackdowner. Just using logic here, but after the so-called ‘clean sweep’ of SmackDown by Raw at Survivor Series, and how few SmackDown wrestlers were protected in defeat, why would I want to tune in to see this group?

Oh, that’s right. Because even if Raw got all the wins, it’s still worse. They’re the program that’s boringly long and repetitive, and stooped to make light of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder and dismemberment, a man who has done more to promote freedom in the Middle East than WWE ever will.

Oh, but back to SmackDown. There just wasn’t much to write home about. I missed my favorites like Almas, Rusev, Becky, and AJ. Survivor Series was already such a downer, and SmackDown was forced to try to build upon what transpired on Sunday, while none of it was very flattering for the blue brand. Depressing!

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Jeffrey Bowie Jr. 

Smackdowner. I didn’t even talk about the never-ending feud between The New Day and The Bar. There’s been no development whatsoever. The New Day remains goofy, The Bar chastises them for their behavior but constantly loses non-title matches. I still don’t know why The Big Show is with The Bar.

I could care less about where Shane and The Miz are going. The company seems to be doing a slow burn turn for McMahon, but the problem is that he’s showing no signs of turning heel. Miz came across as a heel for forcing Shane to do a match that he was in no condition to compete in and his constant butt-kissing leads me to believe that he has an ulterior motive. Yet, he seemed to pull a classic WWE style turn and is now a face.

Perhaps I’m wrong and his true actions will be revealed soon, but with reports of The Miz turning face and the company usually having as much subtly in their storylines as a Tyler Perry film, something tells me I’m correct in my assessment.

The Asuka match only served to fuel the impending break-up between Sanya Deville and Mandy Rose, another ‘best friend stabs me in the back’ feud for the women’s division.

The Bellas turned on Ronda, Bayley and Sasha Banks turned on each other, Alexa Bliss turned on Nia Jax, Becky Lynch turned on Charlotte, and Nia Jax just turned on Ember Moon. For the love of god, is this really how the company thinks all women act towards one another? Shameful. A bad show saved by the Daniel Bryan promo and the Orton/Mysterio match.

A souvenir? #SDLive #MysteriovsOrton @RandyOrton pic.twitter.com/jrATUeTrn2

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) November 21, 2018

Brian Farrell

Low Smack Bang in the Middle. The opening segment with Charolette was solid, but I felt it ran too long. Miz and Shane’s tag match was a bit confusing, but not good or bad, just okay. Food fight was bad, Mandy and Deville vs Askua and Naomi was fine but pointless. Daniel’s turn was great, and I enjoyed the main event. A good last half hour saves an otherwise dreadful show.

Nate Craver

Smackdowner. After going 6 – 1 at Survivor Series, I was really hoping there would be some sort of fantastic show to redeem themselves. Last night was about the opposite. No Almas. No Joe. No AJ. No Rusev. We got the new Daniel Bryan and a main event from circa 2008. If Randy Orton wasn’t so good at being creepy, I’m not sure it wouldn’t have scored lower.

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What did you think of SmackDown Live? Share your views in the comments below. Reach out to WrestleTalk on Twitter, and join the conversation with the entire team on Discord.

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