Day 13: SmackDown Live & 205Live

Day 13:

SmackDown Live

Fortunately, I had my ticket for SmackDown already. I purchased it last week at the box office, and I am happy that got one for the 100 section again. It would have been a shame if I had to sit in the 300 one more time.

The good thing is that there are always a few shows on one ticket. We got SmackDown itself, and afterward, 205Live as well. The show started with a Dark match of Becky Lynch vs. Ruby Riot.

At the beginning of the main show, we got our first surprise. Daniel Bryan retired as the General Manager, which was what I expected now that he back in the ring. But who will be the new one? It is Paige! Yesterday, she retired as an in-ring performer at Raw and today she got hired as the new General Manager of SmackDown Live. As Shane McMahon said, where one door closes, another one opens.

As I like her, I am pleased that WWE found a way to keep her present on TV. We will see how she will do at the General Manager.

Overall, I think SmackDown was a lot better than Raw yesterday. We got a lot of serious and excellent matches. New exciting storylines were introduced, as well as the new “Iconic”- Duo promoted from NXT. Billy Kae and Peyton Royce, the Iconics, who immediately made an impact by beating down Charlotte the reigning SmackDown Women´s Champion. That was used by Carmella, cashing in her “Money in the bank” contract for a Title match against Charlotte. Of course, Charlotte was not able to compete after the attack of the Iconics and Carmella could call herself the new Women´s Champion of SmackDown Live. Fresh blood and new competition for the Women´s Division.

So we had a few more excellent matches tonight and the crowd, although not as huge as WrestleMania or Raw, was on fire and celebrated the Wrestlers and themselves.

205Live

When SmackDown was over, the Crew changed the set and got ready for 205Live.

I have to admit that I do not follow the Cruiserweight Division regularly. I just have not enough time to watch three weekly shows and one or two PPVs per month plus probably the one or another NXT show. That is why my priorities are with the main shows Raw and SmackDown. Unfortunately, they are also not able to catch my attention, although they do a good show and the matches are usually pretty good. However, if it is one more show included in the ticket, of course, I will stay. It is a shame that so many people were leaving the arena anyways. The guys try so hard, and only a few people are interested in it. The fact that there is another dark match of Nakamura and Ziggler in the very end, does not help a lot.

Well, one more show tonight. We got a new Cruiserweight Champion in the pre-show of WrestleMania and with that potential for a few new storylines.

Fun fact: During the show, I am not sure, if it was visible on TV, a guy in the floor seatings was obviously that drunk and tired that he passed out during the cruiserweight show. Another guy even tested if he is still alive. From that point on the audience cheered the sleeping guy more than the Wrestlers itself. Chants like “He´s not dead” or “Please, don´t sleep” lasted for the rest of the night. People around him started taking pictures with. Just because he slept a few minutes, he became famous, at least for this one night.

Unfortunately, this is not very fair to the guys in the ring who do their best to entertain the crowd.

After the last match tonight, we headed to Bourbon Street one more time. Had one last beer and said goodbye, not only to each other but also to WrestleMania this year and to the city. New Orleans, I will miss you once again. I hope to see you again soon.

Do not forget signing in for next years WrestleMania experience!