As for SmackDown Live this week, the first thing I would like to mention is how excited I am that R-Truth is getting a sizable push compared to what he normally gets, as he got a notable victory against Shinsuke Nakamura. I am also happy that Nakamura and Rusev appeared to be forming a tag team, as I was not sure which direction either of their careers were headed. WWE just wasn’t sure what to do with Rusev after the whole Rusev day thing. And let’s be honest, Nakamura has been losing traction for a year and a half since he earned a WWE title opportunity against John Cena and dropped him awkwardly on his neck after attempting a reverse exploder suplex. I think that left a bad taste in the mouth of Vince McMahon since John is Vince’s Golden boy. I am not being judgmental, that’s just my opinion. Unfortunately, that’s just the way the cookie crumbled for Shinsuke (Thank you very much Bruce Almighty). Shinsuke will still need to drop the United States championship at some point here soon. It’s also extremely encouraging to see that the rivalry between Rey Mysterio and Andrade looks like it will continue well into 2019. There will no doubt be some jaw-dropping matches.
I would be a little remiss not to discuss the new title belt that Daniel Bryan unveiled. To me, it looks a little more consistent with the universal championship since it is red too. Some people complain about the look of the universal title, but there are always going to be critics that are just trying to nitpick and find something wrong with what the company is doing.
Shocking News: Dean Ambrose is unhappy with the creative direction of his character and is planning to leave the company when his contract expires after WrestleMania. This is very reminiscent of CM Punk’s circumstances surrounding his departure. I wonder if the next time WWE comes to Cincinnati if the crowd will chant Dean Ambrose’s name. it makes me kind of sad to see him go since he’s my hometown boy, but who knows—maybe he’ll get signed by AEW or something and become the champion.