And the Curtain Closes as SmackDown Heads to FOX...

How Goes It, Enthusiasts?

Well, I hope.  So, we gather tonight to witness the final Tuesday night SmackDown and not only that; it’s also the final time SmackDown will be on the USA Network.  I don’t know what the change to FOX will bring but I can only hope the fresh injection gets some fresh air circulating.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the WWE is suffering from a minor bout of complacency in some regards.  Having to work with a new network may get some intriguing juices flowing.  I don’t know if they’ll plan a sort of blow out or something but this marks the end of an old guard and the rising of the new.

Yet, before we get into that.  I’d like to touch on last night’s RAW just a bit.  As many of you probably saw, we got a good look at “The Fiend” and…a lot of the problems I was talking about arose.  Now, people still seem interested in this gimmick but for me, the cracks only widened.  Again, it’s just Bray Wyatt in a ghoulish mask.  I suppose it can work for Halloween but I don’t see too many of us actually getting the heebie-jeebies.  That’s where this may go south.  How do you sell the “spookiness” in real time?  I’m telling you, some guy’s hand over another guy’s face doesn’t do it for me.  In my opinion, they may just have to get back to basics here and have The Fiend ambush people backstage.  I believe that way more than a Mandible Claw and Wyatt can pull it off.  He's done it before.  Moreover, there can be believable consequences/repercussions as wrestlers who may have pending title or stipulation matches may get “injured” due to this rude sabotage.  Management may have to step in, beefs get started as this maniac wreaks havoc.  It may be old hat but it’s palatable.  I’m sorry but Wyatt slinking in from the darkness is just that.  They hit the lights and he slinks in.  Someone should just straight burst his bubble and blast him with a “steel chair”.  Tell him to get over himself.  Not that I think Wyatt’s actually full of himself but I think stuff like that makes “The Fiend” more real.  It should prompt Wyatt to somehow gain more street-cred so that people take him seriously and at the same time, it shows that he is human and can be beat.  I suppose what I’m getting at is that this sort of portrayal is less likely to insult We the Audience’s intelligence.  Not everyone out there is 7-years-old and even kids may not buy this.  All I’m saying is making this a little more relatable is more likely to give it a fighting chance as opposed to fizzling out and ending up in the “Failed” pile with all the other questionable gimmicks.  Instead of trying to “sell it”, they should demonstrate they are aware of the holes in this presentation and exploit them themselves.  They can stay ahead of the game and still believably say, “We meant to do that!”

Anyway, turning back to SmackDown, they have to keep us on track and say goodbye all at the same time.  To do that, it looks like Kevin Owens will press on with his litigation in this case of wrongful termination.  Roman Reigns may finally concede and offer Daniel Bryan that well overdue apology and Bayley may have to remember what she’s doing over at the Blue Brand besides just hanging onto the title and following Sasha Banks around.  As for all the filler, not sure what to expect but let’s drink it all in and appreciate what has been as we prepare for what is to come.   Funny tweets get retweeted and as for Likes/Favorites well, we can be lenient given the bittersweet time.  Let’s just see if they tie up the USA loose ends so we’re clear to hit the ground running with FOX next Friday.  Should be interesting.

See You in a Bit,

-Nicole Alexis (^_~)