Smackdown Live 1/8 - Lynch vs Flair vs Carmella

[smarkmouth]

Wait, I've missed a couple weeks, but is Carmella giving up her #30 spot? Is there a story there?

[Spidey]

Glad they're taking a break from the obligatory go-to-the-ring-and-talk opening.

[smarkmouth]

It's amazing how the littlest bit of creativity can change the whole complexion of a show.

[smarkmouth]

The more things change;
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DPZchmmVAAA_zEH.jpg

[Spidey]

Forgive them, Daniel Bryan, for they know not why they boo.

[smarkmouth]

They turned down people wearing AEW merchandise tonight but let that guy with the Cena vs Hogan at Mania sign in. Shame.

[smarkmouth]

Forgive them, Daniel Bryan, for they know not why they boo.

I tweeted this. We're even now.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

I tweeted this. We're even now.

Beat me to it!

[Spidey]

30 minutes in and no authority figures????

http://replygif.net/i/1463.gif

[smarkmouth]

I'm still reeling from seeing Rey hit a Canadian Destroyer.

[Skairipa]

I'm just waiting for Miz and Shane to stop being a thing.

[Spidey]

Oh thank god for a minute I thought it was anarchy

[TheManTheyCalledNorCal]

HAHAHAHAHA god that segment and attack was so awful

[smarkmouth]

HAHAHAHAHA god that segment and attack was so awful

Indeed. What happened to playing to a talent's strengths. I understand wanting a versatile performer but who thought soft vulnerability was in Rusev's wheelhouse?

[Spidey]

Jesus Christ they could be buck naked and I wouldn't be assed to care about these two teams fighting a thousandth time.

[Skairipa]

Shane McMahon is gonna fucking get a title match isn't he?

[Spidey]

At least try to care about the line you're given, Mandy.

[Skairipa]

fuck this company if they give Shane McMahon a title.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

Guys, I love Authority Figures! They add so much to the show!

[Spidey]

If this Smackdown was exclusively Daniel Bryan for two hours, I would leave the arena happy.

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Maybe it's just me, but not one wrestler tonight has came off as genuine during their promo. Everything feels fake. The best stories are the ones that feel real even though you know they're not, and I haven't come close to feeling that tonight.

Edit - Excluding Daniel Bryan

[Spidey]

Becky Lynch, but she's a given

[#AbsoluteUnit]

Becky Lynch should still be champion. Yes that's my story and I'm sticking with it.

[smarkmouth]

Charlotte. Let Becky focus on the Rumble and let Asuka rectify her Mania loss.

[Spidey]

Is Charlotte more ...buoyant than last week?

[smarkmouth]

Charlotte. Let Becky focus on the Rumble and let Asuka rectify her Mania loss.
Darn.

[Jack-Hammer]

Becky Lynch should still be champion. Yes that's my story and I'm sticking with it.

Then there'd be no reason for Becky to go after Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania. Of course, WWE could go the route of making one women's division and one tag team division, so Becky and Ronda could have a unification match at WrestleMania but Vince doesn't want to do that as he's got it in his head that more of everything always equals better.

Becky will face Asuka at the Rumble but she'll lose, almost certainly due to some sort of interference from Ronda Rousey. This potentially sets up Asuka vs. Charlotte for WrestleMania and Becky vs. Ronda which, let's be honest, are easily the two biggest money matches for the women's division right now.

[Jack-Hammer]

Maybe it's just me, but not one wrestler tonight has came off as genuine during their promo. Everything feels fake. The best stories are the ones that feel real even though you know they're not, and I haven't come close to feeling that tonight.

Edit - Excluding Daniel Bryan

It can be extremely hard to come off as genuine when you're not allowed to use your own words. Everything in WWE is simply too corporate, to restricted because Vince is so friggin' desperate to have a very particular image of WWE. He's the multi-billionaire, which means he thinks he knows better than everyone else and doesn't have to listen to anybody, which is a MASSIVE contributing factor, maybe the single biggest factor, for all of the problems in WWE that have been around for so long. The rest of the wrestling world is changing but, ironically, Vince isn't.

Unless you're a very, very, very select few wrestlers in WWE, you don't have a minute fraction of the creative input that stars of 15 to 20 years ago had. The only way that Bryan is able to do such great promo work now is because he actually had to have it in his contract to have "reasonable" creative input in whatever he does. Reasonable can be a very broad term but Bryan didn't want to have to worry about being put in embarrassing situations: allegedly, WWE's atrocious handling of Sami Zayn, especially the segment featuring Bobby Lashley's "sister" was one of the major reasons Bryan wanted some degree of creative control in his contract before he'd sign it. If Bryan sounds genuine, it's probably because he's using a lot of his own words and drawing from his own imagination. Bryan is a genuine envioronmentalist and, to some degree, probably believes in a lot of what he's been saying. One of the easiest people in the world to dislike is a self-righteous, douchebag environmentalist because their personality is so offensive and off putting that it completely overshadows their message or any good they try to accomplish. Bryan knows this, he probably even knows people who're exactly like that, and he's making it work to his advantage.

[klunderbunker]

Smackdown
Date: January 8, 2019
Location: Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

We’re getting closer to the Royal Rumble and that means a few more matches need to be announced. One of those is the Smackdown Women’s Title match, which will be set tonight. This week will see Charlotte, Carmella and Becky Lynch facing off in a triple threat match with the winner getting the shot at Asuka later this month. Let’s get to it.

Click on the link below for the full review.

They've Always Had It (http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/01/08/smackdown-january-8-2019-theyve-always-had-it/)