Dolph Ziggler vs. Apollo Crews in a Chairs Match
More aggression and more emotion. That is exactly what we got here from Dolph Ziggler and Apollo Crews. Crews attacked early and hit a beautiful moonsault onto Ziggler and a chair. Crews hit a nice Angle Slam on the chairs that seemed to put Dolph out for the count. The former World Champion kicked out and then hit Crews with a drop toe hold right into the chair. He hit his throat and could not catch his breathe. It led to Ziggler hitting him between the legs with a chair and picking up the win.
It was two simple moves that brought out a very heel and intense Dolph Ziggler on Smackdown Live. One thing about Smackdown Live you get on a weekly basis is some sort of progression with the mid card guys. That does not happen much on WWE RAW and makes Smackdown easily fill two hours. If they had to fill three, then it would be an issue. The heel persona of Ziggler is working for me, but we still need a more suitable opponent, someone the fans care about.
A Fire Lit and a Feud Burning
Bray Wyatt is in the ring, begins to talk about AJ Styles and says that he is going to end up like all of the rest that he has faced. Bray talks about coming from a place that Randy Orton is in now. Orton appears on the TitanTron and says he is in Bray’s Kingdom. Bray gave him the keys to the kingdom and now he’s dead center in the middle of the kingdom. He calls it Bray’s world, but not his. It never was. He calls this area Bray’s place of worship and says Sister Abigail is below him in the compound. He says “how long has it been since Bray heard Sister Abigail scream? How long has it been that the maggots and worms have been eating her flesh and bones?” Randy talks about her spirit and sees Bray as helpless.
Orton will burn the spirit of Sister Abigail and said he will become the master and Wyatt will be his servant. Orton, holding an axe, tosses it away and grabs a can of gasoline. He pours it and says that he is coming for him and his title at WrestleMania. He also says Sister Abigail is about to scream and burns the compound down. Orton poses and Wyatt cries hysterically as Smackdown ends.
Dramatic. Story progression. Captivating and my attention was never taken away. Randy Orton did a fantastic job tonight and the emotions of Bray Wyatt is something we have never seen before. He showed vulnerability, tears of sadness and a really incredible connection as feeling sorry for him even though he is supposed to be the heel. I loved it and loved the cinematic feel of it. THIS is what I have been wanting for years in a Bray Wyatt feud. It worked and it connected with the crowd more than any promo he has done before. Some might question the timing, but let’s just forget about small details and focus on the bigger picture.
With AJ Styles rumored to be a number one contender, Smackdown Live has a full month to figure out what they want to do. We shall see what route they go, but tonight was one of the most successful Smackdown Live’s in quite some time.
@JoshIsenberg4 on Twitter. WWE Smackdown Live Rating:
