Outside of what is already being covered extensively by my colleagues, there was nothing truly alarmingly egregious about this week’s show. However, does that mean the show was good as a whole? Not by any stretch of the means. 

There comes a natural lull in the company that boasts there is no off-season at the end of the year, and it really does demonstrate the fact that maybe it could benefit from an off-season. Because at no point during this time do the ticket prices decrease or is there any form of candor in saying, “Hey guys, we’re a little short on content and creative at this time of year, we could use a break.” Rather, the company pushes through with sub-par episodes of “SmackDown” like this week’s with a pretense that it’s must-see TV and the hottest ticket in town. 

The main event ended in no-contest, not that the match itself was anything to write home about beforehand. There was a heavy reliance on vignettes, which wound up being some of the more compelling aspects of the show, and a very slow-burn that once again communicated a lack of ideas – even the ones that are there are stretched thin to try and fill the three hours of TV that they themselves opted to air. Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes’ feud has been going on for months and it’s getting hard to pretend that’s not because there literally is no one else left. 

Ilja Dragunov abandoned the weekly open challenge to wrestle in a tag match with Carmelo Hayes against #DIY, again, because they have run out of options. Nia Jax and Lash Legend beat the tag team champions in a non-title match only to then have a fight with Charlexa because… you’ll never guess why – there are no other options. Giulia defeated Alba Fyre in less than four minutes so she could earn a rematch for the title she lost in under two minutes to Chelsea Green. And since Green won that title, the women’s midcard title on “SmackDown,” she has defended it just once – on “WWE NXT” against Sol Ruca. 

What, pray tell, is the reasoning for Giulia to have to earn her rematch for a title being defended on the developmental brand? Could it be… bear with me, that THERE ARE NO OTHER OPTIONS. And why are there no other options? Could it be that they have released half of the talent and neglected to develop the other?

Written by Max Everett