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WWE Smackdown Review 8/20/2021: A "Brood Bath?" Really?

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Over on TNT last night, AEW legitimately changed the landscape of wrestling with the debut of CM Punk at AEW Rampage: The First Dance. But over on WWE Smackdown, the go-home show for WWE SummerSlam, WWE put forth its best effort to show why the landscape needed to be changed in the first place.

WWE Smackdown Review 8/20/2021: "A Brood Bath? Really?"
On WWE Smackdown, Seth Rollins is covered in… poo? during a "brood bath."

WWE Smackdown Review for 8/20/2021

Edge opened Smackdown with a promo, claiming that Seth Rollins awakened a dark side of him that hasn't been seen in a long time, where "his blood runs black," which will be important to remember later.

Jey Uso beat Rey Mysterio in a singles match after Dominik failed to interfere properly and distracted his own dad. Thank goodness we haven't seen these guys fighting each other for what seems like every week the last three months so the tag team title match at SummerSlam will feel nice and fresh… oh wait.

Baron Corbin brought his stolen Money in the Bank briefcase to a match with Kevin Owens. Big E came out in the middle of the match to retrieve the briefcase, causing a DQ. Corbin shoved Big E into the ring post and escaped with the briefcase, the whole while Pat McAfee screaming about how Corbin is a scumbag because WWE hates poor people. I have enjoyed the down-on-his-luck Corbin storyline, but I'm not sure where this can go. If Corbin is allowed to cash in the contract, why wouldn't everyone try to steal the briefcase every year from now on? And if so, what's the point of competing in a ladder match for it?\\

Nox and Shotzi (ugh) once again beat tag champs Natalya and Tamina in a non-title match, earning a shot at the belts that no one will care about seeing because they've already seen the match multiple times.

Seth Rollins came out to cut a promo on Edge, but the lights dimmed and the Brood music played. Edge taunted Rollins on the Titantron and then dumped blood all over him in the ring… except it wasn't blood, because WWE loves to show people how it is a shell of its former self, and you can't show a "blood bath" on PG-13 WWE TV, so instead it was black slime (remember Edge's promo earlier?) and Pat McAfee called it a "Brood Bath." After a commercial break, Michael Cole put on the Owen just feel from the ceiling serious voice and acted like it was the most horrifying seen he'd ever seen, making the whole thing ten times worse.

Otis beat Montez Ford in a squash match. Guess it's no longer takeback season.

Rick Boogs and Shinsuke Nakamura beat Apollo Crews and Commander Azeez with Boogs pinned Crews, sending him fully back to jobberville. I know I sound like a broken record, but it drives me f***ing crazy that Boogs' stupid guitar is always slightly out of tune with Nakamura's theme song. Tune that f***king guitar, damn it!

Bianca Belair beat Zelina Vega in a squash match, then beat Carmella in a slightly longer squash match. Gotta make Belair look strong to… maybe not have a match at SummerSlam because no one knows where Sasha is.

Finally, Roman Reigns came out to end the show with a promo, only for John Cena to interrupt. They said the same things to each other they've been saying for weeks and then Roman upped the ante, saying if he can't beat Cena at SummerSlam, he'll leave WWE. Oh, good, this was the one match I was actually kind of excited for, so I'm glad they made sure there was no doubt about who will win. To drive the point home that Cena is losing, he got the upper hand to end the go-home show, rolling Reigns up to show he could pin him at any time.

WWE Smackdown didn't do much more to sell the PPV on Saturday than Raw did earlier in the week. Between exposing their own toothlessness with the "brood bath" to having opponents at SummerSlam face each other week after week before the show to adding a stipulation to the big main event that guarantees we all know the outcome, it seems like WWE was actively trying to dissuade people from watching SummerSlam. For this to be contrasted with the return of CM Punk on AEW Rampage in front of the hottest wrestling crowd in years just goes to show how badly WWE has lost its way. Maybe after Nick Khan succeeds in selling the company, the new owners will do a better job.

WWE Smackdown 8/20/2021
WWE Smackdown Review 8/20/2021: "A Brood Bath? Really?"
Review by Jude Terror
2/10
WWE Smackdown didn't do much more to sell the PPV on Saturday than Raw did earlier in the week. Between exposing their own toothlessness with the "brood bath" to having opponents at SummerSlam face each other week after week before the show to adding a stipulation to the big main event that guarantees we all know the outcome, it seems like WWE was actively trying to dissuade people from watching SummerSlam. For this to be contrasted with the return of CM Punk on AEW Rampage in front of the hottest wrestling crowd in years just goes to show how badly WWE has lost its way. Maybe after Nick Khan succeeds in selling the company, the new owners will do a better job.

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Jude TerrorAbout Jude Terror

A prophecy claims that in the comic book industry's darkest days, a hero would come to lead the people through a plague of overpriced floppies, incentive variant covers, #1 issue reboots, and super-mega-crossover events. Unfortunately, nobody can tell when the comics industry has reached its "darkest days" because it somehow keeps finding new lows to sink to. No matter! Jude Terror stands vigilant, bringing the snarkiest of comic book and pro wrestling clickbait to the undeserving readers of Bleeding Cool.
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