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[Jam]

BTBer's Note: We're not done yet! Both Deco and I's go home shows have been finished for a bit now. We wanted some more time to write Summerslam, which we are determined to get to! If there are any errors on this show, be sure to point them out and I'll get to them eventually. In the meantime, thank you for your patience with all this. I hope you enjoy Raw's go home show!

<<< CLICK HERE FOR THE SHOW >>>

 

[Stojy]

I thought this was a solid go home show, it hyped everything it needed to. When you're posting shows once every six months, you need to be a little more descriptive with your writing. In the opening promo, when you say Sonya is standing with her team, how am I supposed to remember who is in her team lol? You need to tell me.

With that being said, Big E is a more than fine addition to Team Adam. The hype for this SS match throughout the night was fine. I think I most interested in what Kevins Owens does, and I have to say that Seth/Ricochet segment might be one of the most interesting things I've read from you in general. That moving in the shadows line from Seth was fire.

I'm not big on Shelton's position potentially being at risk. Piggybacking off what Shelton said, they've only just got together. This sort of thing doesn't work for me, unless they've had time as a group to build success, and then have some inner tensions. This just feels weird and out of place.

The Rhea/Charlotte feud was pretty good on this show for the most part. 2 out of 3 falls and Charlotte's reasoning works, and I absolutely loved the awesome dressing room that Flair had.

Dijakovic push is off to a really strong start. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with him.

I'm intrigued by the vignette here to. The guitar makes me think Elias, but I'm uncertain on the other two. Curious.

And Lashley beating down Keith Lee after his victory was a fine way to build more heat there. Weird there was no acknowledgement from any of the Shelton stuff earlier though.

I think this was a solid go home show. Booking wise for the most part things are heading in the right direction, just The Hurt Business stuff that felt a bit off here.

 

[Deco90]

WWE Smackdown - #Road2Summerslam
Episode - #1148
Footprint Center - Phoenix, Arizona
August 20, 2021

Ahead of the “hottest party of the summer” Smackdown rolls into Arizona 24 hours before SummerSlam!

Show to come:

- The debut of David Hart Smith as the ‘Stampede Bulldog’ goes one on one with Dolph Ziggler!

- The ‘HBIC’ Mia Yim looks to continue her winning ways as she faces the veteran and one half of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions; Natalya!

- John Cena has 24 hours to try and push through his challenge to WWE Universal Champion; Roman Reigns! Will John Cena resort to desperate measures or will the ‘Tribal Chiefs’ stance remain unmoved as he refuses to allow the 16x World Champion on his island of relevancy?!

- Ahead of SummerSlam where Team Pearce will face Team Sonya with the winning team’s GM remaining in charge of Monday Night Raw - and following on from Raw where Team Pearce struck the first blow as Otis lost to WWE Mr Money in the Bank Big E - Tonight's Main Event will have HUGE implications as two members of Team Sonya look for revenge against two members of Team Pearce ahead of the SummerSlam Co-Main Event!

All this and MORE!

>>>> SHOW BELOW <<<<
(CLICK TOP RIGHT "POP OUT" TO EXPLAND)

Spoiler: WWE Smackdown - #Road2Summerslam

 

[Stojy]

It's good to see a show from you again after so long. I enjoyed the last bit of Edge/Kross hype here. I like this feud because it ultimately feels really fresh. The swerve use of Corbin here, (set up brilliantly with last week's attack on Corbin) to open up Edge to the attack from Kross was really well done. Nice work.

DHS getting a win on his first night back in the WWE had to happen. I feel like Ziggler is a good choice as well, as he's not to high on the totem pole at the minute, but still a champion and a 'name'. I'm expecting big things from DHS in here if this is anything to go by.

The Deville/Pearce teams stuff was solid enough tonight, with Rollins/Owens somehow getting their shit together long enough to win. Mayhem afterwards was the sensible way to go for a go home show. My issue is more in the sense that in my opinion, this just feels so out of place on a Summerslam card, with Survivor Series not all that far away. This feels like the perfect match/feud for Survivor Series, whether it be War Games or traditional Survivor Series elimination match.

Shocked that Natalya beat Yim. Based on the dodgy ending, seems we'll get another match between these two which is fine for Yim.

The Roman/Cena stuff throughout the night was enjoyable. love Cena stealing the title to shoehorn himself into the picture at Summerslam. Whilst it's the same match as in real life, feel like you booked it different enough here to still make it fun.

Women's hype with Sasha's interview was fine, whilst Belair getting some ring time with Liv due to MITB I guess adds some suspense.

And Apollo/Nak is what it is. Two underwhelming guys at this point, and I don't feel I have a current reason to really care. Not necessarily your fault since the BTB hasn't been going long, but this feud is very meh.

A solid go home show. Looking forward to you and your partner FINALLY delivering Summerslam.

 

[Looking Glass]

RAW ​

◘ Bah gawd Jammy Khan, a $50,000 match to kick off the night! I do actually enjoy this set up for a lumberjack match (of sorts). I enjoy the internal politics of Rollins not putting himself forward. I like it when it's not a clear heel/face divide in a brand war storyline, as it makes it feel more dimensional. I do feel like there was a potential missed opportunity to keep Big E's reveal a secret until they announced him as Otis' opponent. I think it would have created a moment that would've encapsulated the segment nicely. Nonetheless, the set-up worked.

◘ I think I've said it before but I will say again - please bring back some form of match header. I think this show was clearer, but when you've got multiple people speaking into segments in red, then match summaries in red, it can all start to blend into one.

◘ Of course Mr MITB won the match. I like that there was some outside interference but nothing too chaotic that took away from the match. Also, a win for what is essentially the Raw team makes sense. I've also just realised I don't seem to have made a Pearce/Deville roster graphic?

◘ I have to agree with Shelton Benjamin! I think The Hurt Business felt really important when they were in action, but it was cut off far too soon. I like the mental powerplay of MVP here, trying to plant seeds of doubt for the main event. I also found it interesting how Benjamin appeared to submit to this, showing he wants to be part of THB.

◘ Interesting women's tag team match, not the result I was expecting but I'm certainly not disappointed. I hate, hate, HATE the Nikki A.S.H gimmick - it never felt like there was any reason for it, or any commitment to it when you look at The Hurricane's gimmick. I am a fan of the Nikki/Piper pairing and also felt like they could have done more with it in real life. Nia and Shayna, despite being former champions, just felt thrown together and I'd much rather see them in the singles division.

◘ I enjoyed the Dana/Rhea interview, it gave Brooke a much needed opportunity to show some personality and also react to Mandy's betrayal. I also really like the match stipulation hanging above Rhea's head, but her showing that she'll take on Flair in any stipulation.

◘ I love the rebuild of Dijakovic on the main roster. I continue to look forward to seeing where you go with this.

◘ I appreciate you giving Jinder's stable an opportunity to have a moment. RK-Bro racking up an expected win, adding fuel to their momentum for SummerSlam.

◘ Have Charlotte and Mandy poached Reggie the sommelier? I think it would have been cool to have a reference to Charlotte and Dana's early alliance when Mandy was justifying her reasons for turning on her. I missed the stipulation reveal initially, but also like the choice to go down this route - one, because it's not often used, and two, it's a nice way to up the ante without having to go hardcore or too gimmicky. BIG statement made in the actual match with Mandy pinning the champion (as opposed to Dana). I'm enjoying the partnership of Charlotte and Mandy, but I'm sensing it might not last long.

◘ I always enjoy an ominous vignette. I think Elias (I think we can safely assume that's who is it) could have done so much more outside of his comedy gimmick. I hope that you can atone him with this new stable.

◘ This next match is where I feel like the show would benefit from match headers. I couldn't work out whether it was six-man tag, or a tag match, and who was competing between Sheamus, Styles, and Omos. I assume based on the finish it was Sheamus and Styles against Hardy and Priest (who sound good as a team on paper). I'm intrigued to see how you handle Priest, given that this is pre-Judgement Day, which was a massive part of his career.

◘ Rollins trying to turn Ricochet into a saboteur was unique. Perhaps would've been best served without the live cameras.

◘ Given the build of non-Bearcat Ketih Lee in this project, I do think there was perhaps a missed opportunity to showcase him somehow before the match - especially because him beating Shelton would damage THB and potentially throw them off course ahead of the SummerSlam match. Separately, it makes complete sense for Lee to win, but I am gutted Shelton is out of the group....or is he given the post-match attack? I was half expecting one of the chairs to be used on him. Lashley reasserting his dominance in a big way. I would love Lee to get his moment, and I don't really see how it could go any other way, but you really sold that attack!

---

SMACKDOWN​

◘ I love the countdown feel to SummerSlam in the opening of the show.

◘ Also, I now feel like I didn't make roster images for Pearce/Deville because they're technically dual branded until the SummerSlam match decides who stays in power.

◘ It feels so bizarre to see VKM's name referenced.

◘ I really enjoyed the fake-out in the opening promo. Edge's aggression showing that Kross has unnerved him, Scarlett getting a moment to shine and then the Corbin reveal and attack from Kross. While I did exile him from NXT, I am a big Kross fan, and I love how you've presented his gimmick and made him feel big time from the start of his main roster run.

◘ David Hart Smith's return that never was will always be a point of intrigue for me. Just to echo Stojy's comments, I feel like Ziggler was the perfect opponent for him. I can only imagine Roode might be his next opponent as he cements his place on the roster.

◘ As I said in the Raw review, I like the tension amongst the teams. Given the loss, it makes sense for their to be trouble in Deville's camp. Following Sonya's deferral on Monday, I'm glad she took charge here and didn't cast Owens out the team. While that might have been interesting, I'm sure there's more fun to be had by having these two power kegs in the same match.

◘ I was also surprised to have Mia Yim lose so soon, but it wasn't a clean finish. I like the idea of Nattie using every trick in the book and matching Mia's energy to outsmart her, rather than a typical plucky babyface finish. I don't know if the HBIC is going to buddy up to take on the Fortunate Daughters but I'm all for new women's tag teams.

◘ I love The Bloodline interactions, Reigns just treating Jimmy and Jey as his underlings, and Heyman just reduced to a blithering butler. As I said before, this was such a blueprint of WWE's storytelling, so I'm interested to see what path you take with this. I also liked the commentary to put over what a big deal Cena's return is.

◘ Thanks for the High Stakes plug!

◘ I like that Liv is in action this week, and not in a speaking role. Bianca evening the odds against her own potential opponent, further pushes her as this super babyface. A nice little stare-down to bring things to a close. Sasha's interview felt like it reinforced the risk of the MITB briefcase come SummerSlam.

◘ Big challenge from Cena, although I think it would have been cool to have him appear in person with the championship, just because he's all about the fans. Massive match, which has me wondering whether you'll go down a different route and potentially give Cena the W (and the title)? This felt like a big segment, that I almost forgot about the main event itself.

◘ I can't remember how over (or not) Nakamura was at this time but I've always been a fan of him. Do I think he could do with some legitimising - aka, not being flanked by Boogz? Of course. I also think this period was the last time Apollo Crews was relevant. I will always champion bookers doing something different with underutilised talent, and I think despite a limited roster (which could be changed in the SSU), you've done well in carving out something for nearly everyone to be involved in.

◘ Small gripe from me, but given that we literally saw Rollins try and bribe Ricochet backstage on Raw, I would have liked to have some mystery added to it - whether that was Team Deville speculating on whether Ricochet would take the deal, McIntyre questioning his integrity as they head into the match, or even just some commentary as Ricochet and McIntyre arrived into the arena. Maybe the mystery is whether O'Shay will do anything at SummerSlam itself and I've just misinterpreted it for this match, but I would have liked some paranoia within Team Pearce.

◘ Echoing the home-team winning on their go-home show, this felt right, even with Owens and Rollins at loggerheads. I also like this big finale moment, with security having to intervene.