For those of you that skip Smackdown each week, you might want to give the show another try. The show has gotten better since moving to USA with more quality wrestling. Mauro Ranallo is a major upgrade and it is great to have Jerry Lawler back as a heel. This week’s main event featured an awesome rematch between AJ Styles and Chris Jericho and the Dudley Boyz first promo since turning heel on Raw.
The company made the decision back in December to differentiate the show from Raw with less talking and more in-ring action and it’s paying off in the viewership numbers each week.
In December, Mauro Ranallo told Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Snowden that the show would be sort of like a hybrid between Raw and NXT. “I get the sense they want to make it kind of a hybrid between Raw, the flagship show with all the storylines and great performances from our Superstars in the ring, and what’s happening in NXT. That’s really been a phenomenon, and I’m a huge proponent of that style of storytelling.”
The next Smackdown tapings will take place in Ontario, California and will feature Brock Lesnar. Other names advertised for the show include Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Chris Jericho, Bray Wyatt and Kevin Owens.