5 things WWE got right on Smackdown Live this week
This week's episode of Smackdown Live was great, and that should come as no surprise to you as the blue brand's creative team manages to keep fans engaged for the entire runtime of the show. This week the entire blue brand felt important, as major revelations regarding the 2018 Summerslam match card were revealed, and boy those revelations made Smackdown's contribution to WWE's biggest show of the summer feel more significant than's Raw's effort on Monday night.
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So the question is, did Smackdown's episode this week contain flaws? That's entirely up to you and how you enjoyed the broadcast, but from a narrative standpoint, the creative team did make a few flaws here and there, but nothing truly terrible happened. Which now leaves the many things the blue brand's writing team got so right, and this resulted in an episode of wrestling where every wrestler was looking to impress.
#1 Randy Orton's justifications
Randy Orton's promo last night on Smackdown Live could be summed up in one word- exceptional. The 12-time World Champion cut one of his best promos in almost ten years, as every single word that came out of Orton's mouth felt genuinely true.
Moreover, kudos to the creative team for putting Orton's promo at the start of the show, as the promo felt more impactful as it was the first words Orton spoke after a long-awaited heel turn, and it needed that attention from a fresh audience to truly resonate.
And when you listen to each thing Orton said in his promo, it felt like he was speaking the truth, as he started off his promo by right away addressing his crazy beatdown of Jeff Hardy, and going through the 'speculation' concerning his actions. Decade-old heat with Jeff Hardy, being ninth on the Smackdown top ten list were being struck off the list by Orton, as his real reason for trying to rip off Hardy's ear was the lack of respect the WWE Universe affords him. Now while that may sound like a typical heel thing to say, it had meaning, as Orton went on to say he has busted his ass for 16 years for the fans but they don't respect him.
Randy further went on to question why fans don't respect him, and this was the part of his fantastic promo that really cemented him as the top heel in the entire WWE. From throwing shade at managements top stars such as John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and The Undertaker to insulting the independent scene in such a way, only Orton could've believably pulled it off.
Orton concluded his speech by revealing a revelation, that discovery saw Randy proclaim he started off his career as "the legend killer" but now he is a legend, and the real; legend killers are the fans.
That analogy is quite true as fans over the years have halted certain legends careers to be honest, as one such example is Batista, who was rejected by the fans, which resulted in his comeback being a flop.
Orton says he won't let the fans do that to him, as will now destroy all of their favourites, and people if this promo did not at least make you appreciate the complexity of Orton's heel character, why are you even watching wrestling? As so many superstars turn heel for absurd reasons these days, but Orton's turn came with a solid explanation, perfect writing booking and perfect execution by Orton.