WWE SmackDown Live review (Dec. 26): 3 takeaways

Enough already

There’s lazy, and then there’s what SmackDown Live is doing with its women’s division.

There was almost nothing redeemable about what happened on Tuesday night. The only thing, and it’s a stretch, is that Naomi versus Ruby Riott was a fresh matchup. Even then, the match didn’t last very long. Naomi did not prevail against the 3-on-1 deficit she faced, and Ruby won emphatically following a kick to the head.

Conceptually, the whole numbers game thing is fine. It’s more fine when you consider there’s a missing piece (Becky Lynch) still in place. However … it’s been over a month now with this. The rest of the roster has gotten their licks in before, yes. But it’s not like anything has carried over. It’s not like the plot line is consistent. And it’s not like anyone is getting over, either.

Anywho, remember Natalya? Remember when Natalya claimed she was turning her back on the fans at Clash of Champions? Well, she’s back now, like nothing ever happened. No explanation, nothing. She returned on SmackDown Live after nine days away, leading a brigade of Carmella, Lana and Tamina (stop me if you’ve heard that one before) to chase off Ruby, Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan (stop me again if you’ve heard that one before). Ultimately, Logan, Riott and Morgan were gotten to, and they went running to the back.

Does that sound familiar? You know the answer to the question. Of course it does. It’s what SmackDown Live (and for the most part, Raw as well) has done on numerous occasions now throughout December.

With the Women’s Royal Rumble coming up, I understand that everything is in a bit of a holding pattern. With that said, does everything stop moving in the men’s division? No. There are multiple storylines within the men’s division that keep everyone invested. Does that happen in the women’s division? Of course it doesn’t. That would help everyone. And it’s clear that either no one in WWE wants to help any of the women out, or they’re too lazy to be bothered to realize that nothing about this is working at all.

If you want to be serious about these call-ups and these groups, on both Raw and SmackDown Live, then you have to do everything in your power to make things meaningful. And that doesn’t mean to constantly dole out the same thing, over and over again. Nobody benefits from that. The fans lose interest and the superstars gain absolutely nothing. They continue to have the same, vicious cycle repeat itself week to week, though. Nobody can understand why.

And furthermore, if you want interest in the Women’s Royal Rumble, you might not want to have fatigue set in for your women’s divisions. But that’s exactly what’s happening.

Everything can change here, but one month in, The Riott Squad looks like an absolute dud. And so does SmackDown Live‘s women’s division right now, which is unfortunate. At the top, there’s a lot of talent. But they’re still missing a marquee feud and a marquee match. That doesn’t look like it’s going to happen any time soon. Enough already with all of this. Hopefully, 2018 brings a fresh start to this women’s division. Because Lord knows they need it.