Another week means more WWE Network additions are here! Like every week, we had several items added to the video on demand library, while we also had some original content. But was it enough?
It should be noted that there were a few more uploads aside from what you will see below. As always, we had both NXT and Superstars, which were reviewed elsewhere on the site. Additionally, we reviewed the latest Cruiserweight Classic. We had the Smackdown exclusive Backlash PPV, which was reviewed as well! Lastly, we saw a few episodes of ECW Hardcore TV come in. But what else was added? And how was it? Let’s take a look:
RAW Pre-Show
The RAW Pre-Show was all about covering the feud between Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and the Universal Champion Kevin Owens. Part of the fun of the pre-show is the panel breaking down issues and taking sides. And as usual, the panel consisted of Scott Stanford, Booker T, Lita, and Jerry Lawler. It was a fun enough episode, though I recognize it is a bit long with a three hour show to follow.
Smackdown Pre-Show
The Smackdown Pre-Show had guests again this week! And the guests this week were very relevant, as they were the Smackdown Tag Team Champions. Rhyno and Heath Slater’s dynamic was great once again, and any time we have interviews on the show, the Smackdown Pre-Show is better for it. Ideally we’d have them weekly.
The panel consisted of the usual suspects. Scott Stanford was the host with Booker T, Jerry Lawler, and Lita. The quartet discussed the fallout from Backlash, along with high praise of the event. We also had a brief segment with Charly Caruso, which was well done and felt a little different to what we usually see.
WWE Talking Smack
WWE Talking Smack delivers again. Some people won’t give the show a chance. I can’t imagine why. It fleshes out character development. It features off the cuff unscripted interviews. And perhaps most importantly, it gives Renee Young and Daniel Bryan a platform just to talk 30 minutes a week. Where can you go wrong?
This week’s episode featured two guests, as usual, and those two guests were Baron Corbin and Alexa Bliss. Both discussed what happened on Smackdown and played up their characters, with Bliss in particular doing excellently. Check this show out if you don’t already.
This Week in WWE
This Week in WWE is what it is. It recaps the events that have happened in the past week. This means the show likely will not interest many, however the show definitely serves a purpose. This week’s episode was the last before Backlash and had a lot of focus on the blue brand, Smackdown. Still, it covered RAW as well and felt fairly balanced. I can’t recommend this for everyone, but it is useful for what it is.
Main Event
This episode of Main Event took place on August 23rd of this year. It was the 204th episode of the series, and as usual, is a Smackdown presented program. In what makes no sense, however, is the episode features entirely RAW re-cap. What’s the deal with that? Shouldn’t Main Event cover Smackdown and Superstars cover RAW? Weird. That needs to be corrected. Anyway, I can’t say I recommend Main Event due to the delay, but the matches can be fun.
Match List
Erick Rowan vs. Rhyno
The Hype Bros (Mojo Rawley and Zack Ryder) vs. The Vaudevillains (Simon Gotch and Aiden English)
RAW
This edition of Monday Night RAW aired on August 8th of this year. It was the 1211th episode of the series, with RAW continuing on toward 1500 episodes. This was a weird show, and it featured Smackdown General Manager Daniel Bryan appearing. As always, the episode was added on a 30 day delay.
Match List
Enzo Amore (with Big Cass) vs. Chris Jericho (with Kevin Owens)
Braun Strowman vs. Jorel Nelson
Titus O’Neil vs. Darren Young (with Bob Backlund)
Sheamus vs. Cesaro
Neville and Sin Cara vs. The Dudleys (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley)
Sasha Banks vs. Dana Brooke
Kofi Kingston vs. Luke Gallows
United States Championship: Rusev (with Lana) vs. Cesaro
Smackdown
Lastly, we saw another Smackdown addition! This episode of Smackdown aired on August 9th of this year. It was the 886th episode of the series. Smackdown was building toward Summerslam, and this episode is notable for an Eva Marie wardrobe malfunction, along with being one of Alberto Del Rio’s final matches in the company before his recent release. As always, watch Smackdown if you haven’t already. The show delivers.
Match List
American Alpha (Jason Jordan and Chad Gable) vs. Mikey O’Shea and Mike Vega
Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss
Alberto Del Rio vs. Randy Orton
Natalya vs. Carmella
The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt and Erick Rowan) vs. Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose
Closing Thoughts
Well, what can you say? The slow weeks keep coming. Sure, we had Backlash, and it was excellent, but no original content whatsoever is rough. Hopefully with CWC sadly ending and Holy Foley’s final episode airing on the live stream, the service will start adding more. It desperately needs it.
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