In Episode 9 of The Daily Wrestling Podcast, Aatif and Armaan discuss the debut of Smackdown on it’s new night – Thursday. With a fully loaded line-up and strong segments throughout, the programme received rave reviews from fans – prompting the question – Is Smackdown now better than Raw? Also discussed in the podcast are the dearth of unimaginative finishing moves currently on display in the WWE.
Smackdown has always been considered WWE’s ‘B’ show, with Raw it’s undisputed flagship. However, with the slow and monotonous pace of monday’s three-hour broadcasts, Smackdown is certainly closing the gap in terms of quality. Refreshing promos and longer, more exciting matches with fewer replays and recaps to pad out a show have given Smackdown a more dynamic feel. Armaan points out that the only thing holding Smackdown back from potentially taking Raw over in terms of audience and significance is a regular live show.
Also on Smackdown, Bad News Barrett secured a victory over Sin Cara with his bull hammer finisher. With this, Roman Reigns’ Superman Punch and Big Show’s Knockout punch, there seems to be an indication of unimaginative finishing moves currently in WWE. Aatif noted that Seth Rollin’s Curb Stomp and Daniel Bryan’s Running Knee are currently the most dynamic finishers in the WWE and both were ‘borrowed’ from New Japan Pro Wrestling. If Hiroshi Tanahashi can make the ‘High Fly Flow’ look like a credible finisher, why is the once iconic super kick being used a transition move?
The duo also briefly discuss the Divas division, reserved specific praise from Paige and the re-emergence of Alicia Fox. The latter’s appearances on Total Divas have given audiences a glimpse into a hitherto unseen side of her character and made her infinitely more interesting.
As always, there’s also the Match of The Day and The Dean Douglas Award as well as fresh news on the development of the #SummerslamToWembley campaign.
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