Match Ratings For WWE Smackdown Live, Podcast Notes From Sean Ross Sapp Of Fightful.com

Best in the World

• Shane McMahon comes to the ring to a chorus of boos, with the WWE World Cup trophy in the ring.
• He keeps bullying Greg Hamilton into announcing him better.
• Shane says winning a tournament didn’t make him best in the world, being born into it did. He says Miz’s dad has a baked potato face.
• Shane McMahon called the situation liberating and said that he was so happy to do it that he wants to do it some more. Shane challenges Miz to a one-on-one match at WrestleMania next month.
• I’m cool with seeing Shane McMahon as a heel. We haven’t in a decade.

Hardy Boyz, Ricochet & Aleister Black vs. The Bar, Rusev & Shinsuke Nakamura (w/ Lana)
5.5/10

• I really love the exchanges between Aleister Black and Shinsuke Nakamura.
• Matt Hardy hasn’t looked this fast in the ring in years. He has some real snap on his leg drop.
• Jeff Hardy ends up playing the babyface in peril until Ricochet makes the tag in.
• Ricochet is next to play babyface in peril before a Matt Hardy hot tag.
• Poetry in Motion leads to Matt Hardy getting hit with a Brogue Kick and all hell is unleashed.
• Jeff Hardy has a pin on Cesaro following a Swanton Bomb broken up by all the heels.
• Everyone starts brawling and old man Chioda can’t keeps control.
• New Day runs in and clears the ring.
• They’re standing tall to Kofi chants and “New Day Rocks” chants. This is a New Day we haven’t seen in a while.
• The Usos cut a promo backtage on the teams that were involved in the match. It’s good, as you would likely expect.

Selling me a ticket

• Randy Orton: “AJ Styles was getting a tan with Dixie Carter while I was wrestling The Undertaker at WrestleMania”
• Randy Orton cuts a great promo about how Smackdown was the house that he built way before AJ Styles ever said he did.
• AJ Styles comes out and says for someone who doesn’t like the indies, Orton followed his career. He says Orton couldn’t make it on the indies with a lame pose and a knockoff Diamond Cutter.
• Orton mentions Styles indie buddies stealing hand gestures. Styles says Orton is surrounded by his indie buddies, and they didn’t need help from their dad.
• Orton says rent is due in his house.
• This promo was one of the best Randy Orton has ever been involved in.

Asuka defeated Sonya Deville (w/ Mandy Rose)
5/10 (short)

• Sonya’s gear rules. This matchup is right up her alley.
• Sonya hits a nice spear, but ends up slugging it out with Asuka and being on the wrong end of things.
• Asuka accidentally hits Mandy, who gets mad and causes Sonya to slip.
• Asuka takes advantage and submits Mandy with the Asuka Lock.
• Sonya isn’t happy with Mandy, and Mandy walks off.
• This was really too short to do anything with.

Backstage Crappenings

• IIconics cut a promo on Boss N’ Hug Connection. It’s hilarious. This is one of the better promos of this kind in a while.

Becky and Charlotte

• Becky Lynch ditches her crutch and watches and promo video of what happened to lead to her WrestleMania match.
• She mentions suspensions, injuries, arrests and how she got back to her spot.
• Charlotte Flair interrupts and says when Becky has been on the shelf Charlotte has been working and Becky just got a handout. She said that everyone, including herself and Rousey, feel sorry for Becky.
• Becky Lynch calls Charlotte Flair a plastic faced dope and Charlotte didn’t do anything with the division for four years.
• Solid stuff. A good way to get to the next week.

Rey Mysterio & R-Truth (w/ Carmella) defeated Samoa Joe & Andrade (w/ Zelina)
5.75/10

• R-Truth has the only hip toss that actually look like the hiptosses from the PS1 Smackdown games.
• During the break, Joe powerbombs Mysterio, then goes into the Billy Goat’s Curse and Crossface, then the armbar.
• Mysterio gets a good sunset flip bomb on Andrade, but he’s still hurting.
• Carmella keeps Zelina from interfering.
• Joe sells a nice kick from Truth well and throws one of his own.
• Double 619 lands, but Mysterio eats a senton from Joe after a Frog Splash.
• Rey rolls up Joe for a win.
• Joe is livid and attacks Truth and Andrade both.

Rowan & Daniel Bryan defeated Mustafa Ali & Kevin Owens
5.75/10

• Daniel Bryan and Rowan emerge from Vince McMahon’s office and says he gave Vince his thoughts on Kofi, and got put into a match with Mustafa Ali & Kevin Owens.
• Owens and Rowan are not on the same page before the break.
• We come back from commercial do see a nice half hatch superplex from Bryan on Ali. Ali fights back with a backstabber.
• Kevin Owens gets taken out by Rowan, then Ali is victim to the Recycling Plant.

KOFIMANIA

• Vince McMahon is out to gloat.
• New Day come out and go off on Vince McMahon about what they do for him, and says Kofi deserves his shot.
• Vince says nobody “deserves” anything.
• Vince says Kofi will never go in the Hall of Fame by himself, he’ll only go in as a member of New Day.
• Vince says Big E and Xavier do all the work, but Kofi takes the glory at his age.
• Vince McMahon says that Daniel Bryan told him that Kofi was a good B+ player.
• Vince McMahon brings out The Bar, Samoa Joe, Randy Orton, Rowan and Bryan and says he has to beat them in a gauntlet match next week to get a shot.
• New Day beats them down, and stands tall.

Rating guide

10- Perfect, 9- MOTY Territory, 8- Excellent, 7- Great, 6- Good, 5- Average to above average, 4- Slightly below average, 3 or below: Poor

Each match starts at a 5 and slides up and down based on entertainment, execution, time, environment, reaction and stakes. The ratings are in no way an indication of a “star rating,” which is a completely different system. A standard, non-offensive “TV match” lands at a 5.The gap between 5.75-6 is generally the largest, with anything reaching 6 being recommended viewing.
These are opinions, and incredibly inconsistent ones. Don’t take them too seriously, and have (and share) your own!
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