I can remember a time not really that long ago that it used to mean something when an episode of television was a go home show to a major pay-per-view event. Now they’re called “Premium Live Event” and aren’t treated remotely similar.
When actually trying to sell the PPV mattered, they would run big angles on TV to act as a hook for the ensuing match. We aren’t really getting that anymore.
On Friday Night SmackDown this week the closest we got was the War Games advantage match. Charlotte Flair defeated Asuka in a one-on-one battle that actually remained just that, with Flair winning clean after Natural Selection.
It was just a normal match, with a normal finish, and off we go to the much bigger match.
Oh, and AJ Lee promised her team backstage that she would make sure they win. She did so in a way that created a sense of wonder regarding exactly what she could have in store.
Granted, these War Games matches are going to stand strong on their own, and this was a taped show. Plus, the Raw angles headed into this were great.
I guess I just wanted something more here.
I will say, however, that I did appreciate the throwback and nod to Survivor Series history with a traditional 5-v-5 elimination match, even if I don’t think it should have been given the headlining spot. They made it a fun watch, with Sami Zayn leading a team of the Motor City Machine Guns, Rey Fenix, and Shinsuke Nakamura against Solo Sikoa and his MFTs.
It was set up like a traditional elimination match would be, with the babyfaces scoring an early elimination and gaining an edge before the heels started running them over en route to Zayn finding himself fighting a 1-v-3.
He fought hard, and came close to overcoming such a massive disadvantage, but in the end it was Sikoa who came out on top. He pretty much had to win, considering he’s in the semifinals of the Last Time is Now Tournament.
Despite that, he was laid out by The Wyatt Sicks to close the show.
Again, a weird way to send us off to Survivor Series but times are different now.
It felt like nothing really happened.
