Isenberg Reacts: WWE Smackdown Live “Cena and Styles Above The Rest”

July 13, 2017

The Power of Love

Sami Zayn is going to be the first opponent for Mike Bennett. Since their debut, they have been sparingly used on the show and especially inside of the ring. Come on, they have a catchy song with a great look and unique gimmick. I would love to see them more frequently and in front of the live crowd. With Maria and Mike, more is always better and their cheesy gimmick can be something that extends into other realms on Smackdown Live.

Give them a shot and give them a good guy to work with. Sami works for me and is exactly where Mike and Maria should be right now. Just give us more.

WZ 5.5

The Main Event Guys

wwe panama city — Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

To kick off Smackdown Live, AJ Styles wanted to bring back the United States Championship open. John Cena was going to answer the call, but the heels ended up getting involved. Rusev and Kevin Owens, two similar in style and strength, would attack and beat down the likable faces. It was great to see that Styles vs. Cena interaction once again. They are just magic together and now they are competing for the secondary championship on Smackdown Live a year later. I find that amazing and slightly confusing.

This beginning of Smackdown Live would make a tag team main event. Much as you would expect, the heel dominated the match until the closing minutes. AJ Styles would hit a beautiful Phenomenal Forearm to Rusev and then a Pele Kick to Kevin Owens. This allowed John Cena to plant The New Face of America with an Attitude Adjustment to pick up the victory for his team.

AJ and John raised each other’s hands at the end, to show commodore and respect. This ends Smackdown Live on a positive note. Smackdown Live is the land of AJ Styles and John Cena. Everyone else, even Rusev and Owens, are just slightly below a level of importance. Rusev should be booked as a monster, something different from what we previously saw. In this matter, however, he is relegated back to his old self. Also, do we really think he will be able to defeat John Cena at WWE Battleground? I sure as hell do not. As for Styles and Owens, this is continuing to be a strong feud that still has many layers to it. If Miz and Ambrose can feud for 6 months, so can these more talented and dynamic superstars.

WZ 7.5

@JoshIsenberg4 on Twitter. WWE Smackdown Rating:

Josh controls most of the creative writing and ideas for the show on a weekly basis, as well as an on-air talent.
Aside from working with WrestleZone, Isenberg began his career in Broadcast Journalism interning at ESPN and worked with CBS Radio for three years. He has also had the opportunity to interview some of the best athletes and performers alive, including Andrew McCutchen, Ben Roethlisberger, Chris Jericho, Billy Gunn, Karl Anderson, Matt Hardy, Steven Strasburg and others.
Currently, Josh Isenberg works for Major League Baseball in their Advanced Media Productions. He grew up in Pittsburgh and went to Point Park University, which is where Chair Shot Reality is filmed each week.
His life outside of his obsession with wrestling include being a savant for Seinfeld, NFL, NBA, MLB and many television shows. He also has an undying love for musicals, which includes many shows he was a part of in high school. Some of his favorite wrestling moments can be linked to such superstars as Edge, The Rock, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and The Great Khali.

Follow @JoshIsenberg4