FEEDBACK for 4th of July Smackdown Live

[Braden Herrington]

Hey yo! Bartender Dave & myself will be doing Review-a-Smackdown on Weds! Post any comments or questions!

[demon88]

Mark from Vaughan

Loved the Rap Battle segment. Usually when WWE tries something new, it sucks but the performers clearly created the content themselves and 90% of it was solid except for Kofi knocking the Usos for dropping out of college when he incorrectly identified a stop sign as a hexagon when it's an octagon.

Question: There's been rumours that Nakamura vs Styles may be happening at SummerSlam. Even though Brooklyn is a great crowd, don't you think it's too soon to go to that one? I'd rather have all the pomp and circumstance around it at Mania for the title. Unfortunately, with 9 months until then, I doubt they can hold off for so long.

[USA all the way]

Happy they finally made the belt glow. The wait was worth it.

Question: Do you expect any physicality between Daniel Bryan and James Ellsworth? DB doesn't have to take a bump.

[pastordoug]

Doug - Chicago, IL
I really liked that AJ was able to give a rub to Gable and played the respect angle post-match. Gable could have a pretty good future if given the right opportunities and if he is able to work on his facials. He often looks like a scared and confused child with the faces he makes.

[jmtempleton]

Jesse from the 6

I was looking forward to both Cena and Rusev's respective returns, yet I was very disappointed with the opening segment.
The writing on SmackDown has been very uninspired pretty much all year. We now have three guys --Rusev, Owens, and Mahal-- doing essentially the same gimmick, and it's the lame "I hate America" gimmick. I can give them a pass on July 4, but going forward, I don't want to watch a show with one lame-ass 1980's foreign heel, let a lone three.

The Usos merked the New Day on the mic. Wale did them wrong.

Braden, I love and respect you, so please know I would never want to throw shade on you, but I have to ask, what do you think the word, "aloof" means?
I don't think it means what you think it means.
I would never describe you as aloof. I might say Wai (his on-air persona) is aloof, but certainly not you.

Take Care

[jeremyfromoz]

Jeremy

First off, sorry about my wholesale mistake from review a raw, saying that, they should sell all the 205live guys too ROH at a bulk discount price and just watch how they would get over in a matter of weeks. So much talent being wasted.

Was a good Smackdown, would actually like to see Cena go on a losing streak maybe for 3-4 months then build him up to beat flairs "record" at Mania, love the glowing belt, want to see a Naomi V Flair match at SummerSlam.

Can't wait to hear the review, big fan of Bartender Dave, Braden..... your ok.

Question: for Braden, what's it like living with Agnew? Is like living with a angery, older relative who just can't stand your hippity-hop music.

P.S Kota Ibushi is my pick to win the G1

[scal2626]

Paul from New Jersey

Oh Great it's the Fourth of July, America is going to blow itself more than usual. Speaking of blowing, I loved the rap battle especially the line about Xavier. The Usos clearly won. Decent show minus the constant American nut hugging, but that's to be expected on the fourth. The RAW Review was great. Keep up the good work gentlemen .

[Carl Bourque]

Carl from Surrey, BC:

A flag match makes sense on July 4, not as much sense on Battleground.

The Rap Battle highlighted the Usos strong mic work and they won this hands down. The New Day entourage was Adam Rose's old group. The New Day act is old at this point. I want the Usos to retain but feel the title change is coming.

Randy cannot lose a 3rd time clean to Jinder. Randy's promo work is simply better and shows how far Jinder needs to improve.

Mike and Maria Kanellis is not working at all. Terrible gimmick and no idea where it is going. The focus is on Maria, so what is Mike's role?

[Chris Thunder]

Chris from Melbourne, Australia.

Naomi has a custom championship that glows in the dark, but dear lord my eyes did it come across as cheap & tacky.

Question: On last night Wrestling Observer show it was said that Cedric-Foxx-Dar fude has been going for 7 months, including the few months of Swann. Given its about a year since the CWC, do you think guys like Zack Sabre Jr & Kota Ibushi were right in not signing for WWE.

[rememberezio]

Xavier from Cali

Straight up The New Day vs. Uso's battle rap was one of my favorite things. I had high hopes for it when I learned Wale was host. The second they opened it with Wale channeling Smack from the Ultimate Rap League I knew I was in for something dope. I loved all of the references to battle culture: Slow it down, He gon' get this work, hold it down, don demarco and even little things like the Usos tag team cadence that felt straight from a Guntitles round and the Usos having the first round rebuttal.

This battle was a big nerd out moment for me. Usos 3-0 no body.

Fun fact, brotha in the New Day's crew wearing the blue Booty O's shirt is Mega Ran, a rapper from Arizona.

[ThousandDollarManShawn]

Shawn H From Calgary

Dave seems to always get the decent shows to review. Breezedango was funny, and both Gable & Dillinger were looking impressive, which is why I like SD way more. Guys like that would never get a chance on Raw. Let's play another modified fuck kill marry. Push, demote, fire: Chad Gable, Tye Dillinger, Tyler Breeze.

*Braden how's your Tinder/Bumble game going? I think we need weekly updates now.

[Chawls]

Charles in Louisiana

Guys! It's been so long since I left feedback so Imma cut straight to the chase.

Wrestling is really viewed best when preparing yourself with low expectations. With the Rap Off, I was expecting maximum cringe. But as a hip-hop head, I thoroughly enjoyed myself! I literally YELLED at the top of my lungs when whichever Uso that was made that R-rated punchline about Xavier Woods.

Questions:
• With the success of New Japan's two-night G-1 Special in Long Beach, do you guys think WWE should seriously consider splitting WrestleMania into a two-night event, y'know, like a literal WrestleMania Weekend? With its huge roster, hours of air time, and apparently Stephanie to get everyone on the roster on the car, maybe, it will be easier for viewers to consume.

• Most of the guys at the LAW rave about how consistently great New Japan's product is. Is it really that much better than WWE's, or does it only seem better because WWE simply oversaturates us with its content? The limited exposure of New Japan's talent reminds me of all the superstars from NXT that we used to think were awesome, but were overexposed once they made it to the main roster.

(Dave, without getting too personal, I sincerely hope that everything is going well in your life. And Braden, don't forget what I told you about your beats!)

[iamaditya]

Aditya From India

Fans and media in India are buzzing for the Punjabi prison match, but India loves Randy Orton as well but now has turned on him. But the main thing is its very hard to get subscribers for the WWE network from India, Its par expensive for different class of people, plus the ppvs are available for free on Monday evening so no one subscribes for the network. I think the Jinder Mahal push is coming to an end in month or two.

[soysauce2008]

Michael from Orange County, CA

The rap battle was a lot better than expected. I was going into it with negative thinking because WWE and hip-hop do not mix. Of course, the Xavier line was the best of the battle. Also thought Wale did a good job as a special guest.

Rusev got a nice pop on his return, but I expect him to lose against Cena and he will end up in the same situation before his injury, which is unfortunate. His personality on twitter is very funny and entertaining, but too bad we won't get to see that.

Question: With Cena's return originally being promoted as as a free agent, and talks of him facing Reigns down the line, how do you think they get him to go to Raw? Just say he was a free agent or set some sort of angle up?

[Hermandad187]

How sick are you of hearing this phrases on WWE TV? "SmackDown is the land of opportunity" That line is getting more played out than "the ultimate thrill ride".

I couldn't focus during the rap battle due to the fact that I knew almost half of the extras on that segment. The guy in the purple outfit is the kind of guy who will steal your wallet but then help you look for it.

Now that Styles and Dillinger are both on SmackDown, I demand more extensive coverage over the usage of the Ushigoroshi. I also demand that name be used. The "Tye Breaker" is almost as ridiculous a name as "the Kitchen Sink" is for a running knee to the gut.

-Marco from Las Vegas