I Miss 2016 Smackdown
Like most things, 2020 hasn’t been kind to us wrestling fans. Technically, being the modern-day carnie that it is, WWE and AEW were quick to adapt to the global pandemic. While both companies have been able to produce weekly shows, the lack of fans has taken its toll. Whether it was Drew McIntyre pinning Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 35 or the debuts of Matt Hardy and FTR in AEW, the lack of those epic pops from the fans deprived wrestling fans of those goosebump-inducing moments that they will remember for the rest of their life. You have to be a wrestling junkie to stick with the product right now and tune into every show. I have tuned out for the most part. I give these companies all the credit in the world for trying to make the best of these uncertain times, but I never realized how important the fan element was until now. These companies are trying to make the best of it, but WWE’s Thunderdome, Impact’s Wrestle House, and Billy Gunn’s kid cheering in AEW just don’t make up for it. I would even take a live Corpus Christi crowd at this point.
It’s this low point in my wrestling fandom that has me revisiting happier times. Those happier times consist of a lot of brutal Kawada kicks to the face and hellashish Morishima lariats, but I’ve also fallen in love with 2016 Smackdown all over again. I had forgotten how week-after-week, this era of Smackdown Live provided a much-needed breath of fresh air. It showcased new talent, took chances with established veterans, and added elements like Talking Smack that walked the thin line between reality and kayfabe, leading to some great stories. For those that haven’t thought back to this era of Smackdown lately, allow me to go over a few of the aspects of it that made it so memorable for me.
MAMA-MIA!
Right of the gate, Smackdown Live introduced us to the commentary team of Mauro Ranallo, JBL, and Byron Saxton. After nearly two decades of Michael Cole being the voice of WWE, Mauro’s commentary was an immediate eye-opener. Mauro came from the world of boxing and MMA, but unlike the other announcers that the WWE tried to groom over the years, Mauro wasn’t forced to spend years on the sideline learning the Vince-style of announcing. Mauro’s enthusiasm was contagious, and he made the product exciting. Little moments felt like big moments. Big moments felt epic. Mauro didn’t sound like a robot, and that was so invigorating. For the first time in a long time, the commentary was a strength for a wrestling show.
On top of that, you had JBL, whom I’ve always been a fan of in that color role. JBL’s strength was giving credibility to the performers. I think back to AJ Styles debut at the Royal Rumble. The crowd knew who AJ Styles was. The folks sitting at home knew who AJ Styles was. But if for some reason you hadn’t heard of him, JBL immediately wanted you to know that this was a former IWGP Champion— “just like Brock Lesnar.” That commentary team seemed to be firing on all cylinders on camera, but as it has been well documented, JBL can’t help but to be a piece of shit behind the scenes and it led to Mauro’s exit from the booth.
In 2020, it’s common to see people poke fun at Mauro for his forced references and his overexcitement, but in this Smackdown Live era, he was an important part in what made this show as fun and memorable as it was.
The Champ the Runs the Camp
He’s too small. He’s generic. He’s a spot monkey. He has an accent.
Everyone and their mother had a reason for why AJ Styles would never make it in the WWE. I was one of them. For me, even if you got past all of those “faults,” Vince McMahon has a well-documented history of misusing talents that have made a name for themselves elsewhere. There had to have been something to all those concerns. When Styles decided to leave TNA for good, WWE made him an offer, but it was a minimum deal. After turning down that deal, AJ would then go on to have one of the most successful runs in New Japan history. On the night after his Royal Rumble debut, I remember Stephanie McMahon and Vince being in the ring, and while I don’t remember what they were talking about, I do remember that the chants of “AJ STYLES” were so loud that Stephanie had to acknowledge them. Vince legitimately looked confused that people were chanting that. From there, things progressed quickly. If you had told me that AJ Styles would have one of the biggest WWE debuts of all-time and that he would go on to feud with Chris Jericho, Roman Reigns, John Cena, and Shane McMahon in his first year, I would have called you a fucking mark.
The WWE spent that summer flirting with making AJ Styles their WWE Champion, but it wasn’t until Smackdown Live that it finally happened. Whether he was fighting John Cena, Dean Ambrose, or James Ellsworth, AJ Styles had a run that was simply (sigh) phenomenal.
AWESOME
The Miz has quietly had one of the greatest WWE careers that anyone has ever had. There’s no doubt that we 100% take him for granted. Over the years, Miz has been one of the most consistent performers, but he waited until Smackdown Live in 2016 to bust out his best work yet. Miz and Dolph Ziggler would feud over the Intercontinental Championship for months. Here were two guys that had been around for over a decade, two guys that you feel like you have seen enough of, yet they had a great series of matches. Then it happened.
On one of the first episodes of Talking Smack, The Miz got into the standard rasslin’ argument with Smackdown Live General Manager, Daniel Bryan. Miz’s reputation for his entire career has been that he’s a great promo, a great face of the company, but work rate wise, he’s vanilla ice cream. When Daniel Bryan brings this up during that segment, Mike “The Miz” Mizanin seems to get legit pissed. Rather than shrugging off the criticism as he always had, Miz ignites and rips into Daniel Bryan. Miz mentions that he’s safe, that he’s never had to miss time due to an injury, and that people like Daniel Bryan are reckless. Shoot or not, he had a point. Daniel Bryan is one of the most aggressive and technically gifted performers of our generation. But Bryan is in that Smack Live GM role for a reason. Medically forced to retire due to the number of concussions that he had suffered, there wasn’t much that Daniel could counter with.
The encounter blew up on the internet immediately. Miz had an extra bounce in his step, and it made him become the best form of himself. Miz began to introduce a new catchphrase around this time: “When my hand goes up, your mouth goes shut.” The fans did not cooperate. In fact, he was by far the most hated performer on the show. Miz relished in it. He began to adopt Daniel Bryan’s signature moves into his nightly move set. Go back and watch Miz hit some yes kicks during this era. The heat is atomic. When The Miz is inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame one day, that highlight package of his is going to be filled with content from this era. He was truly awesome.
TALKING SMACK
In a matter of weeks, Talking Smack went from “Why is this a thing that exists?” to “I wish this stupid wrestling show would end so I can watch Talking Smack.” When Smackdown Live went off the air on the USA Network at 10 p.m., Talking Smack was a WWE Network exclusive post-show of sorts. It had a certain vibe to it. Like, “I just got the kids down to sleep so now I’m going to let my hair down and smoke a bowl on the back porch” vibe. It’s as if Vince McMahon, Kevin Dunn, and all of the adults had left after Smackdown already, so it allowed things to get fucking weird. Not everything was as tense as the aforementioned Miz and Daniel Bryan segment. You also had a drunk Rhyno dressed as Santa Claus making inappropriate comments to Renee Young; you had Daniel Bryan outing AJ Styles as a flat-earther; and lots of references to fisting.
The Man Comes Around
Who are the Four Horsewomen? Well duh, that would be Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Becky Lynch. That was always the order. It sounds absolutely crazy to say now but Becky Lynch was always the other one. She didn’t get a run with the NXT Women’s Championship like Charlotte, Sasha, and Bayley did. She wasn’t given the same “future of this business” treatment as the others. Despite being the first Smackdown Women’s Champion, it was obvious that Becky’s role in WWE was to be a good hand; someone that could make the less talented women look better. Becky did just that. Be it Carmella or Alexa Bliss, Becky Lynch was having some fun feuds…and always losing them.
Becky was Smackdown’s Rocky Balboa. The fans loved her, and she always took the pin. It was almost as if the fans were being punished for cheering her. But there’s one thing that Becky Lynch has that very few WWE Superstars—male or female–have ever had. You can’t learn it at the WWE Performance Center; you’re not going to gain it on those NXT Largo house shows, and you can’t have it cosmetically bolted onto you. Becky Lynch has a natural charisma. She’s the closest thing to The Rock that the WWE has had since. You can tell that she’s having the time of her life, and it makes you cheer for her, no matter how she’s booked. Eventually, that became Becky’s character. The loveable loser that didn’t have the killer instinct. Fans rallied behind her even more. At Summerslam, when WWE tried to do the unthinkable–make Becky Lynch a bad guy—fans rejected it. Becky Lynch is so likable that she could walk into Times Square and spike a baby on its head. Everybody would cheer. “Fuck that baby! That baby deserved it.”
Lynch went from being “the other” member of The Four Horsewomen to becoming the biggest star in all of professional wrestling. There’s no way that was the plan all along. One of the best parts of Smackdown 2016 was seeing that transition from quirky steampunk Becky to The Man.
