Credit: WWE.com
SmackDown is looking to turn things around after what has been a disastrous stretch for the blue brand. The show's viewership plummeted for six straight weeks to begin 2018, and its quality has been so bad lately that even those within the company are aware of how lackluster its product has been, essentially since after WrestleMania 33 nearly a year ago. WWE is reverting back to dual-brand pay-per-views after WrestleMania to help solve that problem, but more must be done to ensure SmackDown gets back on track.
Ultimately, SmackDown's biggest issue is its poor booking, and the only thing that will change that is, well, better booking. Fastlane actually has a very solid lineup on paper, one that also features The Usos vs. The New Day (who, of course, have tremendous chemistry) and a match for the United States Championship that could be surprisingly good. But as the final PPV before WrestleMania 34, the quality of those matches isn't as important as the stories they tell.
Will WWE tell the right ones? Let's hope so. Here are five bad booking decisions WWE must avoid at Fastlane.
The Usos Drop The Tag Team Titles
Credit: WWE.com
Here's a mind-blowing stat that the Usos recently alluded to on SmackDown: The Usos have never had a match on the main card of WrestleMania. That needs to change.
The Usos, after all, have been the flag-bearers of WWE's tag team division over the last couple of years, standing out from the rest of the pack with consistently stellar matches and innovative promos. Fans have taken notice, too. The Usos recently established themselves as top merchandise sellers as fans have grown to appreciate their tremendous work as a duo, which has really set the standard for how tag team wrestling should be done.
We all know that The New Day have been strong merchandise movers for years as well, but the best story here is not about Xavier Woods, Big E and Kofi Kingston. It's about the Usos retaining the SmackDown Tag Team Championship at Fastlane, which gives them a much better chance of getting their much deserved main card match at WrestleMania, perhaps in some sort of encounter that also includes The New Day and the Bludgeon Brothers.
Those are three of the best teams in recent WWE history, and they could have a show-stealing bout at WrestleMania 34. Regardless of WWE's exact tag team title plans for WrestleMania, however, one thing should remain consistent: The Usos should enter the PPV as the champions because they're at their peak both in terms of performance and popularity, as evidenced by those elite merchandise sales.
Jinder Mahal Becomes United States Champion
Credit: WWE.com
WWE already conducted the Jinder Mahal experiment in 2017, and though it didn't completely fail, it didn't necessarily succeed either.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that even though Mahal's six-month WWE title reign last year didn't boost business in India last year, it did not have a positive or negative effect on WWE's business in the US. However, what's worth noting is that interest in SmackDown fell off considerably following Mahal's title win last May, while the average WWE fan will tell you that the quality of the show dropped with it.
Now, WWE is inexplicably reverting back to that pedestrian time for the blue brand by inserting Mahal into the United States title feud between Bobby Roode and Randy Orton. Though Mahal has yet to be officially added to this bout, he's widely expected to be after his win over Orton on this week's SmackDown. That sure seems like one step backward for SmackDown, which struggled with bad ticket sales the last time Orton and Mahal were involved in a marquee feud. Perhaps Mahal winning the US title at Fastlane would have been a bit more palatable had fans not sat through his dull WWE title reign, but that's caused many to sour on the prospects of him holding a title, even a midcard one, again.
When you consider the other options in this match, Orton and Roode, Mahal seems like the worst possible option to hold the US Championship. Orton is arguably the biggest star on the blue brand while Roode has shown tremendous potential to be a top guy if booked right, so if SmackDown wants to keep things interesting in its midcard, either of those stars should leave Fastlane as champion.
Because we just know that if Mahal wins the US title, it will result in the overbearing push of his character, which didn't work out all that well last year.
">WWE Fastlane 2018 is highlighted by AJ Styles defending his WWE Championship against Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler, John Cena and Baron Corbin at SmackDown's last stop on the road to WrestleMania 34.
Credit: WWE.com
SmackDown is looking to turn things around after what has been a disastrous stretch for the blue brand. The show's viewership plummeted for six straight weeks to begin 2018, and its quality has been so bad lately that even those within the company are aware of how lackluster its product has been, essentially since after WrestleMania 33 nearly a year ago. WWE is reverting back to dual-brand pay-per-views after WrestleMania to help solve that problem, but more must be done to ensure SmackDown gets back on track.
Ultimately, SmackDown's biggest issue is its poor booking, and the only thing that will change that is, well, better booking. Fastlane actually has a very solid lineup on paper, one that also features The Usos vs. The New Day (who, of course, have tremendous chemistry) and a match for the United States Championship that could be surprisingly good. But as the final PPV before WrestleMania 34, the quality of those matches isn't as important as the stories they tell.
Will WWE tell the right ones? Let's hope so. Here are five bad booking decisions WWE must avoid at Fastlane.
The Usos Drop The Tag Team Titles
Credit: WWE.com
Here's a mind-blowing stat that the Usos recently alluded to on SmackDown: The Usos have never had a match on the main card of WrestleMania. That needs to change.
The Usos, after all, have been the flag-bearers of WWE's tag team division over the last couple of years, standing out from the rest of the pack with consistently stellar matches and innovative promos. Fans have taken notice, too. The Usos recently established themselves as top merchandise sellers as fans have grown to appreciate their tremendous work as a duo, which has really set the standard for how tag team wrestling should be done.
We all know that The New Day have been strong merchandise movers for years as well, but the best story here is not about Xavier Woods, Big E and Kofi Kingston. It's about the Usos retaining the SmackDown Tag Team Championship at Fastlane, which gives them a much better chance of getting their much deserved main card match at WrestleMania, perhaps in some sort of encounter that also includes The New Day and the Bludgeon Brothers.
Those are three of the best teams in recent WWE history, and they could have a show-stealing bout at WrestleMania 34. Regardless of WWE's exact tag team title plans for WrestleMania, however, one thing should remain consistent: The Usos should enter the PPV as the champions because they're at their peak both in terms of performance and popularity, as evidenced by those elite merchandise sales.
Jinder Mahal Becomes United States Champion
Credit: WWE.com
WWE already conducted the Jinder Mahal experiment in 2017, and though it didn't completely fail, it didn't necessarily succeed either.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that even though Mahal's six-month WWE title reign last year didn't boost business in India last year, it did not have a positive or negative effect on WWE's business in the US. However, what's worth noting is that interest in SmackDown fell off considerably following Mahal's title win last May, while the average WWE fan will tell you that the quality of the show dropped with it.
Now, WWE is inexplicably reverting back to that pedestrian time for the blue brand by inserting Mahal into the United States title feud between Bobby Roode and Randy Orton. Though Mahal has yet to be officially added to this bout, he's widely expected to be after his win over Orton on this week's SmackDown. That sure seems like one step backward for SmackDown, which struggled with bad ticket sales the last time Orton and Mahal were involved in a marquee feud. Perhaps Mahal winning the US title at Fastlane would have been a bit more palatable had fans not sat through his dull WWE title reign, but that's caused many to sour on the prospects of him holding a title, even a midcard one, again.
When you consider the other options in this match, Orton and Roode, Mahal seems like the worst possible option to hold the US Championship. Orton is arguably the biggest star on the blue brand while Roode has shown tremendous potential to be a top guy if booked right, so if SmackDown wants to keep things interesting in its midcard, either of those stars should leave Fastlane as champion.
Because we just know that if Mahal wins the US title, it will result in the overbearing push of his character, which didn't work out all that well last year.
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