We wrap another wrestling week with our usual SmackDown In A Nutshell…and this time around, the Beast hits Hollywood.
And the Beast hits Hollywood hard.
This is, of course, part of the Brock Lesnar return tour. The Beast is in Hollywood as he marches toward Day 1, and his clash with Roman Reigns.
We know that that is but one match in their series, likely to culminate at WrestleMania. Would you believe me if I said there are other things happening on this SmackDown In A Nutshell?
Of course you would…it’s SmackDown, not As The Beast’s World Turns…
Being that SmackDown is in Hollywood this week, it should be a bigger show, in theory.
For that reason, we can expect a few RAW related surprises…anything to boost the ratings, right Vince?
So, with that said, let us get things started…it is time for another…
SmackDown In A Nutshell: The Beast Hits Hollywood
source: custom, wwe twitter screenshot
Let’s crack open this Nutshell and see what happens!
Best Match of the night:
Going with the main event. We had a couple choices, but as much as I am fond of tag matches, tonight’s was a good one.
New Day, RKBro and The Usos are three of the best from this-or any-era.
OK, maybe not RKBro yet…but still.
Worst match of the night:
Nakamura and Boogs versus Los Lotharios.
Not necessarily a bad quality match…but way too short. Way too short, and not even a sneaky ending.
Star of the Night
Brock Lesnar, Sami Zayn and Paul Heyman can split this.
source: custom, wwe twitter screenshot
The show had some good stuff, but this segment was my favorite.
Spot of the Night:
The Beast, destroying Sami Zayn’s medical help…and then Zayn.
Jobber of the Night:
Those poor enhancement nurses that Zayn brought with him.
Upset of the Night:
Naomi might have been upset that her shot at Sonya Deville didn’t really happen.
But probably not as upset as Deville was that her plan was foiled by the debuting Xia Li.
source: custom, wwe twitter screenshot
Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:
I’d have to say having Heyman push The Beast’s buttons during that opening segment.
Heyman went off with the familiar Lesnar intro, and he went from a soft and cuddly Brock…to The Beast.
Planting seeds, no doubt.
Botch of the night:
Nothing major…but some here.
One, when they were panning the crowd, poor XPac did not even get a graphic.
Maria Menounous did. So did the Jackass movie guys.
XPac, WWE Hall of Famer? Nope.
Then, Brock tripped over a line or two as he talked to Adam Pearce. It worked out OK, but he definitely stumbled.
Commentary of the night:
Loved it when McAfee was like “get the Heisman back to Bush” as they panned to Reggie Bush in attendance.
Was also nice that he referred to Pac as the 1-2-3 Kid, too.
LOL Moment of the night:
Brock has a flip phone. Well, had a flip phone.
Also named his hunted moose Pearce, of course.
source: custom, wwe twitter screenshot
Noteworthy Moment:
Xia Li debuted.
Huge LA show…so big that Roman Reigns was not on TV.
I mean, I guess WWE wants to make fans wait for the next chance Lesnar and Reigns will share a ring…but…
Overall lowlights:
Now, I am sure they have reasons for it. We may even find them out.
However, making a snap reaction as this is? It feels weird to push this LA show as being such a big deal…and not have Reigns on it.
Yes, we see WWE hyping next week’s SmackDown with the idea that The Beast will be Roman’s welcoming committee…but…
Overall highlights:
The opening segment, and honestly all with Lesnar.
Yes, I mentioned Brock had a bit of a stumble, but overall, you wouldn’t think much of it.
He showed off a bunch of different looks, if you will. It was time for him and Heyman to carry things, and they did it well.
We can see things planted to make us feel that Heyman has some master control over Lesnar, where he can summon some extra gear for brutality.
All it took was a little reminder from @HeymanHustle…@BrockLesnar just destroyed @SamiZayn AGAIN. #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/7U7PwmKzvC
— WWE (@WWE) December 11, 2021
Beyond that, I’d say that the main event was as good as expected.
It’s funny, really…WWE (Vince) seems to despise tag wrestling. Maybe he doesn’t, but it always seems marginalized.
Yet WWE has a number of superb tag teams, and could give us a triple threat tag main event that was very good.
After the final bell:
Honestly, while it’s a bummer we had no Reigns…we got us a good show for the most part.
I can question some booking (like Los Lotharios, or Sheamus). But overall, forgetting the suggested magnitude of the show in LA…it was a strong show.
