5 awesome things which happened on SmackDown Live this week - 17 July 2018
Have you ever been promised a lively, action-packed three hour broadcast of WWE's flagship product, but only to find out that if anyone knows how to waste three hours of your day with storylines and matches that make no sense, it the Raw creative team. Then you are not alone, we have a simple solution for you - JUST WATCH SMACKDOWN LIVE!
If anyone still considers SmackDown Live inferior to Raw in 2018, that person probably stopped watching WWE a long time ago, as the blue brand offers something for everyone every single damn week.
And this week, SmackDown Live was a worthy broadcast that consisted of dream matches, well put together segments and a conclusion that had people saying; "where the hell was this Randy Orton for the last three freaking years?!".
And while the episode was not perfect, as nothing is in wrestling, after watching three hours of nothingness on Raw last night - SmackDown Live is that show people look forward to as it cleanses their minds of WWE's terrible booking. On SmackDown you can sit back, relax and watch Randy Orton try to rip another man's ear off, yeah you read that right.
#1 Another dream match was given away on TV
Andrade 'Cien' Almas is a future World Champion, and if WWE doesn't make him a World Champion, it's really their loss, as the man has all the potential in the world to be the face of the company.
And this week his crafty manager Zelina Vega approached AJ Styles backstage and challenged him to face Almas in a match later in the night, to which Styles said; "I do my talking in the ring" and Vega replied; "Almas does his talking in the ring too".
That segment only proves both men would be a perfect fit for Raw as Kurt Angle loves to "settle things in the ring".
Anyway, the fact that WWE gave away this match on SmackDown Live and not even in the main event of the night was kind of a shocker, as looking at the competitors involved in this match, it would have been perfect for SummerSlam, but hopefully WWE is slowly building Almas' rise to the top of the blue brand.
The match was what you would expect if you pitted these two men against each other in WWE 2k18, as there were heavy strikes, back-flips for days, and agility that would make you question whether AJ Styles is over 40, since the man is lightning fast.
The only real complaint is the booking of this match, as Styles locked in the calf crusher on Almas, and Almas tapped out faster than you could imagine.
Why would WWE sacrifice the credibility and momentum of Almas in such a cheap fashion? No one knows, but if that results in character development for El Idolo then do your best WWE.