On Smackdown Live this week, the 10-man battle royal to determine Bray Wyatt’s Wrestlemania opponent ended in controversy. AJ Styles and Luke Harper went over the top rope at the same time, leading to General Manager Daniel Bryan calling it a draw and making a singles match for next week.
As many fans noticed, AJ Styles looked to have hit the floor first. WWE didn’t show any other replay footage before Daniel Bryan made his decision. On Talking Smack, Daniel said that WWE “didn’t get any good visuals of it” and therefore it was inconclusive.
Mick Foley had some criticism about the finish on Twitter after the show. He brings up a decent point, are fans going too easy on Smackdown when they make mistakes?
Isn’t that what instant replay is for? @StephMcMahon or I would have come to a different conclusion. #SDLive
— Mick Foley (@RealMickFoley) February 22, 2017
Mick, this is not the hill you want to be dying on, fam https://t.co/q9aovuOvBl
— Cageside Seats (@cagesideseats) February 22, 2017
Come on, if we did that on #Raw, we would be eviscerated for it by #Smackdown fans. https://t.co/YdzHNG8Umg
— Mick Foley (@RealMickFoley) February 22, 2017
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Are WWE fans going too easy on Smackdown? I actually think Foley brings up a good point that RAW would have been ripped to shreds if this happened. Is this because Smackdown has earned a better reputation in their storytelling over the past several months?
Let us know what you think of his comments below.
Smackdown gets a huge pass every week. They rarely get criticized for questionable booking or receptiveness. I’ll give some examples:
People criticized Raw for the length of the Charlotte/Sasha feud and wondered why none of the other women in their division were getting screen time or programs.
In truth, Charlotte and Sasha fought for 6 months over the title and during that time, Dana Brooke feuded with Bayley and Nia Jax feuded with Alicia Foxx.
On Smackdown, Becky and Alexa feuded over the title for 6 months while Carmella feuded with Nikki.
Raw was criticized for using different combinations of Jericho/Owens/Reigns/Rollins every week. People said it was repetitive.
On Smackdown, it was Styles, Cena, Miz, Ziggler and Ambrose every week moving from the WWE Title picture to the IC Title picture and back. Corbin didn’t become a player until December, right about the same time that Srowman became a player on Raw.
On Raw, The New Day had a lengthy feud with The Club, then followed that up with a lengthy feud with Sheamus and Cesaro while The Golden Truth had a short program with The Shining Stars. People claimed New Day were burying the entire division.
On Smackdown, Slater and Rhyno feuded with The Usos after winning the belts. Then they feuded with The Wyatt Family. Meanwhile, Breezango, The Ascension, The Vaudevillians and for a long period of time, The Hype Bros, literally couldn’t make it on tv.
All these shortcomings on Smackdown get ignored. Double standard. Both shows are doing a pretty good job, but Smackdown always gets a pass when it’s not good and Raw gets killed whether it’s good or not.