Dolph vs Miz - Title vs Career Match

[DBSoT]

The segment that just happened between Miz and Dolph on Smackdown was gold. It set up a Title vs Career match at No Mercy. The segment had Miz being a GOAT level heel in his hometown and Dolph showing the most emotion I have seen in a promo in quite a while. They even brought in both their parents to really hit it home. Great Job!

Additionally, the WWE Champ, Tag title and Bray/Orton feuds have all been good tonight. I actually am looking forward to a PPV for the first time since Mania.

[SlightlyJames]

No Mercy looking good. This was a great segment, loved how Miz specified that he wasn't just gonna go to Raw or do a John Cena and come back a month later anyway

I can't actually tell how the match will go, could see it going either way. Naturally you assume the guy with his career up would get it done but I'd be very hesitant to slow down Miz right now, he's the best thing going on the show right now, and I am not forgetting about AJ Styles.

[The Legend]

Smackdown killed it last night and have been killing it for a while. They are really connecting with stories and emotions that are much more personal and relatable. Even the two women's stories going on right now with Nikki vs Carmella and Becky v Alexa.

[DBSoT]

Here is the segment:

[Hanley!]

This segment was fucking great.

Dolph's promo was really good. He was passionate and convincing and emotional. Sometimes when he fires up in promos it comes off a little phony but he was on point here.

Maryse adds so much to Miz's act by doing very little. She poses with him, laughs at his jokes, gets between him and his opponents and that's about it. But her body language and facial expressions always add to his segments. I loved her reaction when Miz listed "hot wife" in his list of accomplishments. Her expression was just "Hah, that's funny ... well, he's got a point though." It was great.

The Miz though was another level of good here though. Is he actually just the best promo in the company? Cos I'm pretty sure he is. Some people might say Heyman - and he is great - but being honest I don't think Heyman has cut a promo this good in years.

Also, I just like the story of this match. Miz is so hot as an act right now and seems like he should be holding the title for a few more months. But Ziggler's career is on the line. I kinda don't want either guy to lose. But it's really cool when these kinds of high stakes are on the line in a pay per view. Neither option would feel like a cop out. Makes me much more excited to see the show.

It's funny that Smackdown is doing so much more with much smaller resources than Raw. Looking at the card for the last two pay per views, Raw's looked like it should have been better. And in terms of match quality it was. But I wasn't interested in it. The build to Backlash made me want to watch that show. The build to No Mercy has been even better. Smackdown is doing a pretty damn great job right now.

Hopefully they can fix Orton/Wyatt though, which I feel compelled to skip past every week.

[Str8Shooter]

Miz is on fire right now, his promo about Cleveland not giving him the respect he deserves was great. Nobody heels like the Miz does! The dude flat out tore Ziggler to shreds. In front of his parents no less!

This is something Smackdown usually does a great job of now. Making the feuds seem based somewhat in reality, which when your audience is "smarter" than it's ever been is a wise idea. The casuals and kids can still get into it, because at it's base it works for everyone. But for the hardcore fans, Ziggler has been a big loser for years, losing matches and not getting the the level he probably should be at, so work it into the story.

I'm assuming Miz loses the title which kind of sucks for him. But truthfully he's been so good, he deserves to be in the main event scene to be honest. And with only one top heel in AJ, there's room for him, especially if none of Ambrose, Cena, or Orton are turning heel.

[DBSoT]

@Hanley!If you accept Orton vs Wyatt for what it is (Attitude Era fuckery) it actually makes it better. The backstage segments this week actually had some continuity. The final segment Orton and Bray should have been a simple beat down, but actually had some additional intrigue mixed in. Was the whole thing in Bray's head, was it in Orton's head or is this more mind games? I kind of hope that they go with the idea of Bray being schizophrenic, because it could actually help with grounding his character away from the magic stuff. Bray slowing losing his mind in backstage segments to the point where he either goes fully psycho or becomes a more grounded character. Either way, it would be a full reset for a guy who needs it.

[Str8Shooter]

The problem with Bray Wyatt is he's looked at like he's some sort of huge threat monster, yet he doesn't do shit. He hides in the back and cuts nonsensical promos that have a great delivery from him but don't inspire fear in anybody. He plays goofy mind games in the back with cardboard cutouts and sings, and disappears in the darkness. Not to mention he often loses his big matches in the ring.

He's a character that actually would have worked better in a different time where spooky stuff worked better and he could be more vicious and disturbed.

[Hanley!]

Bray's deliver is great, but the content is always shit.

He needs direction as a character. We need to understand what he wants. Insane as his motivations might be, we need to know that he at least has them. For years he's just been the random creepy guy, which lost its appeal rapidly without anything to ground the character.

To tie it back into the original topic, that Miz/Ziggler segment was great because it was grounded in reality and based around issues that we could easily understand. Wyatt desperately needs a little of that.

The worst thing is that I believe Wyatt could be a great main event heel with a few tweaks. But after years of him not getting over the way he should, they still haven't made those changes.

[DBSoT]

Bray's deliver is great, but the content is always shit.

He needs direction as a character. We need to understand what he wants. Insane as his motivations might be, we need to know that he at least has them. For years he's just been the random creepy guy, which lost its appeal rapidly without anything to ground the character.

To tie it back into the original topic, that Miz/Ziggler segment was great because it was grounded in reality and based around issues that we could easily understand. Wyatt desperately needs a little of that.

The worst thing is that I believe Wyatt could be a great main event heel with a few tweaks. But after years of him not getting over the way he should, they still haven't made those changes.

That is kind of my point though. If they go with the "it's all in his head" mental illness angle, than Bray becomes a much more grounded character. His ramblings are more from a man who sees things others don't or believes in them. Now, whether you believe WWE can write well enough to make that work is a whole other story.

[KaiserGlider]

I just saw the ZIggler/Miz segment. Dolph cut the best promo of his career. His acting and emotion were so believable.