4 Mistakes WWE made on SmackDown from St. Louis

”
], { type: “text/html” }
);
const iframe = document.createElement(“iframe”);
iframe.src = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
iframe.style.cssText = “width:100%;height:100%;border:0;”;
container.appendChild(iframe);
attachIframeMessageListener(iframe);
}
const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, obs) => {
const entry = entries[0];
if (entry.isIntersecting) {
obs.unobserve(entry.target);
requestIdleCallback(() => {
initWidget(entry.target);
}, {
timeout: 200
});
}
}, {
root: null,
rootMargin: “300px 0px”,
threshold: 0.01
});
requestIdleCallback(() => {
$all(“.nl-inline-form-container”).forEach((c) => {
observer.observe(c);
});
});
})();

Sami Zayn retained the United States Title in a rematch with Carmelo Hayes. It appears that WWE doesn’t have much in store at WrestleMania for IYO SKY other than being Rhea Ripley’s friend.

Uncle Howdy defeated Tama Tonga, and Tama gave the lantern back to the Wyatt Sicks. WWE made the next four mistakes on a strange episode of SmackDown from St. Louis.

#4. Enough already with the celebrities

Trick Williams already talks too much, so WWE decided to give him a hype man in the form of rapper Lil Nachty. Jelly Roll interjected himself into SmackDown over the last month, trying to play peacemaker with Orton and Rhodes.

He beat Kit Wilson in singles action before eating an RKO last week. iShowSpeed factored into the Usos losing the World Tag Team Titles on this week’s RAW.

One or two big names are fine, but when more and more feuds involve them, it feels like WWE cares more about random celebrity involvement than crafting its own great storylines.

#3. The United States Championship situation on SmackDown

Sami Zayn beat Carmelo Hayes with inadvertent help from Trick Williams on last week’s SmackDown. Instead of Nick Aldis realizing Williams’ interference, he did nothing, forcing Melo to confront Zayn just to get a rematch.

The situation has tried to paint Zayn, and not Trick, as the villain in the situation, which he isn’t. When other faces take advantage of outside help, like Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, and Jey Uso, they’re still cheered.

Zayn did finish Hayes off with a kick while the referee checked on him, but then Williams and his rapper friend attacked Zayn after the win. Their post-match words fell completely flat, even with the fans who were cheering for Trick over Zayn.

#2. A clean victory is only for some WWE competitors

The Bellas beat Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss a few weeks back after Lash Legend punched Alexa Bliss.

Lyra Valkria and Bayley faced Legend and Nia Jax for the titles on RAW, but lost via disqualification thanks to Flair, Bliss, and the Bellas.

The Queen and Little Miss Bliss battled Bayley and Valkyria on SmackDown. Not ending with the requisite outside interference from the champions was a surprise, but the finish didn’t do wonders for the title match.

Bliss simply pinned Valkyria cleanly, and the champs attacked immediately after. Each victory between the four teams needs to be clean, or none should be clean. It paints some teams as better than others, which isn’t the case in this feud.

#1. Not all surprises are good surprises

Triple H promised surprises on the Road to WrestleMania. That’s included a Randy Orton heel turn, a few title swaps, and the revelation that Pat McAfee was apparently on the other end of the phone with Orton.

It was a shocking moment, but of all the people who it could have been that made sense, McAfee wasn’t in the conversation. The Rock, Ric Flair, Triple H, Bob Orton, or another former WWE star would have made infinitely more sense.

The former NFL punter claimed he came back to help Randy Orton “save” the business, but isn’t that what the Vision was trying to do on RAW?

It could be a misdirect for a bigger reveal down the road, as McAfee isn’t part of any famous wrestling family. If not, it’s just another confounding decision made by Triple H ahead of WrestleMania 42.