Posted in: Sports, TV, WWE | Tagged: recaps, Smackdown, wrestling, wwe

WWE Smackdown: Aleister Black Returns, Screws Over Big E

It's not as long as WWE Raw, but Smackdown can still be a chore to watch on TV every week. WWE programming is basically made to be watched in very small, digestible chunks on YouTube or Twitter. The rest of the show is just filler. So with that in mind, here's video highlights from last night's episode of WWE Smackdown, along with our advice on whether to watch 'em or skip 'em.

The traditional long-ass opening promo segment this week on WWE Smackdown was used for a "Champions Parade" and an advertisement for WWE's return to live touring. One champion didn't show up (Roman Reigns), and the whole thing led to a six-women tag team match, with Bayley, Shayna Baszler, and Nia Jax defeating Bianca Belair, Natalya, and Tamina. There are better things you can do with your time than watch any of this, especially when you'll get to see Jax and Baszler vs. Natalya and Tamina for the billionth time in a title rematch on Raw on Monday.

Aleister Black is still doing his spooky teaser videos. It's better than the dark room stuff from a few years back… but not by much. If you've seen one, you've seen 'em all. Skip this one, but there will be something for Black fans later.

Shinsuke Nakamura took on Baron Corbin in a match that also served as a WWE Smackdown introduction for Ric Boogs, a guitar-playing wrestler, who played Nakamura to the ring. It's a great gimmick… but if Boogs is gonna play along to pre-recorded music, someone tell WWE they need to make sure his guitar is in tune first. Nakamura won the match after. Boogs distracted Corbin with his guitar playing. If you value your ears, skip this one.

Sometimes you have to shake things up to keep WWE Smackdown interesting. For example, instead of having the overly-long Roman Reigns promo at the start of the show, you could have it in the middle of the show instead. That's the kind of variety viewers got on Smackdown this week. The promo ended with Seth Rollins attacking Cesaro and sending him back to the midcard on a stretcher. You know what? Skip this one too. You're saving a lot of time this week.

Dominic Mysterio beat Robert Roode in a one-on-one match. If this feud is going to drag out until the next PPV, you're going to have a lot more free time on your hands. Skip this one.

Jimmy Uso booked himself and his brother in a tag team match against the Street Profits next week… but Roman Reigns isn't happy about it. Reigns family drama is the best thing on Smackdown, so you can afford to watch this one.

Aleister Black returned during the Intercontinental Championship fatal-four-way match to screw over Big E and help Apollo Crews retain the title. It looks like Big E, at one time seemingly slated for a main event push, will be wallowing with Black in the mid-card for the foreseeable future. It was a decent match though, so give this one a watch.

Smackdown seemed more boring than usual this week, though I guess for people who are big Aleister Black fans his return was a big deal. At least you can watch all the important parts in less than five minutes though. Brevity has to count for something.

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