It’s been just about two months since my last “Here Comes the Pain Countdown ,” and I think today is the day to resurrect an old favorite! I was on a podcast last night with the owner of Cheap-Heat.com, Cassidy Haynes. Cassidy took every opportunity available to tell me that I don’t write enough anymore. The truth is that I am writing on a daily basis—no pun intended—over at our sister-site Daily Wrestling News. But in the spirit of “giving the people what they want,” or in this case—just Cassidy—I’ve returned with “Here Comes the Pain: The Top 5 Videos from Smackdown.”
5. The Lucha Dragons & Neville versus The Cosmic Wasteland
I didn’t like this match whatsoever. The only reason it’s on this top five countdown is because it was a
hundred times
more enjoyable than Bray Wyatt’s speaking session. Say what you will about a lack of content, but I’ll take 5 or 6 segments—wherein most of the show is
wrestling—
versus three hours of Raw, with two hours of nonsense. Also – haven’t these teams been feuding for the better part of one year? Whether it be the
‘Dragons
and Ascension in NXT, or Neville and Stardust on the main roster?
4. Sasha Banks versus Naomi
The ongoing
“Diva’s Revolution
” has had a positive influence on female talents who were already on the main roster. Case in point is Sasha Banks’ former team mate
Naomi
, who has been steadily evolving since the bar was raised by the women in NXT. Naomi was always among the
“Crème de la Crème”
of main roster women’s wrestlers, but working opposite someone like Sasha Banks has brought Naomi to a new level.
3. The Dudley Boyz’ Declaration
This past week on Monday Night Raw, the Dudley Boyz shocked the
WWE Universe
when they turned on the Usos, and returned to their villainous roots. This subsequent episode of
Smackdown
featured Bubba Ray and D-Von’s explanation as to why they attacked Jimmy and Jey, why they’ve returned to the WWE, and why—as Mauro Ranallo said—“
Dudleyville is now a table-free zone.
”
2.AJ Styles & Chris Jericho versus The Social Outcasts
Smackdown opened with what was to be the
second
match between
The Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla
and the
Phenomenal One
. As AJ Styles and Chris Jericho prepared to steal the show, the
Social Outcasts
made their presence felt, leading to a match with opponents turned tag team partners. Styles and Jericho bested Curtis Axel and Adam Rose of course, but seeing is believing as is illustrated via this clip.
1. AJ Styles versus Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho and AJ Styles were most
certainly
the MVPs of this week’s Smackdown. They opened the show with the
number two
moment/video of the night, and top the list at number one with their main event singles’ bout. I happened to enjoy this match more than their previous encounter on
Monday Night Raw
. Both men seemed prepared for action, with AJ now better acclimated to the WWE ring and style, and Jericho had a better sense of who AJ was as a worker. It’s safe to say we’ll see a
rubber match
at
Fastlane
as Chris Jericho ties AJ with one-win-apiece.
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