WWE SmackDown 6/14/2024: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "WWE SmackDown," the show that shines a spotlight on almost all the company's Scottish talent, you know, since the show is in Scotland (*cut to Nikki Cross growling sadly as she puts away her custom-made blue-and-white Sister Abigail costume*). Yes, it's the go-home show for WWE Clash at the Castle 2024, complete with last-minute PLE match build-up and at least one match that really should have been on the PLE, but whatever. As usual, we can't cover everything the blue brand had on offer this week in this column, because it's reserved for the things we felt strongest about in one direction or another, but if you need a comprehensive look at the events of the evening, you can always check out our "SmackDown" results page.

With that out of the way, let's get to it! Did Glasgow live up to the other international crowds that have been blowing the roofs off WWE stadiums since WrestleMania? How hard did the WINC staff pop for the return of Randy Orton? And most importantly, is Carmelo Hayes' fake laugh even more annoying than Chris Jericho's? Inquiring minds want to know, for some reason! Here are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 6/14/24 episode of "WWE SmackDown."

In life and in business, there are problems to have, and there are good problems to have. The fact that WWE, in its ongoing efforts to conquer the wrestling globe, continuing to spread its "second tier" premium live events into international territory, recognizes the fervor that the crowds in Puerto Rico, France, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere continue to project, is openly challenging each new city to top the previous stop on the worldwide tour, well ... That fits the latter of those two "problematic" situations.

Clash at the Castle Weekend kicked off this morning for us Eastern Time Zoners, and very quickly, it was apparent that Glasgow, Scotland was up for the challenge. Moreover, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque put said challenge right out there for the Scottish faithful, essentially daring them to top what Lyon, France did for Backlash just over a month ago and the crowd just ate it up, well ahead of Friday's "SmackDown" and a day in advance of Clash itself.

But the kickoff show is one thing. And with the centerpiece of the weekend still a day away, the "SmackDown" crowd brought it proper this week from start to finish. Carmelo Hayes caught strays in the form of "Shut the f*** up" chants from the locals, Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes was serenaded by his own song as well as a fresh little ditty featuring his name, Naomi heard "Glow!" on repeat, Bayley was asked to be everyone's girl, and "We want Roman!" got its turn in the rotation, along with so much more. AND THIS WAS "SMACKDOWN." Tomorrow is going to be wild, and at this rate, so will every PLE outside of the States forevermore.

Written by Jon Jordan

Where has Apollo Crews been? I understand he was on TV last week and got taken out by Legado del Fantasma, but ... why? The week before that, he was on TV and was defeated by Andrade. Before that, the last thing of note that Crews has done outside of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal was another loss to Andrade on "Raw" in April. He's been keeping the "Main Event" scene warm, and even worse, the "WWE Speed" scene. I know I should know better than to question WWE's booking decisions, even under Triple H, apparently, but still. It didn't make sense to me in the last two weeks and it certainly doesn't make sense to me this week with the addition of Baron Corbin.

Why bring Crews back in to the fold and have him eat losses, and then bring in Corbin and have him lose anyway, even with Corbin's help? Even worse, why bring the two of them across the pond to an entirely different country and have to suffer through that flight for this?! That's always my first line of thinking on these international shows. Unless that's what they want to do, of course, who am I to judge, but that just seems pretty brutal. Corbin has only had one match himself, a losing effort against Carmelo Hayes in the King of the Ring tournament, since getting called back up from "NXT." Why even call him up? Just because Bron Breakker is back up on the main roster? Now that I'm really thinking about it more, this match left me with a lot more questions than answers.

I think there's absolutely still a place on the "NXT" roster for Corbin with his experience. And if it sounds like I'm knocking on either man, I'm certainly not trying to. I think Crews also deserves better. Much better. That could also come on "NXT," or a much more fleshed out feud with Escobar and Legado del Fantasma not involving Corbin, or anyone else, frankly. I haven't seen enough of Crews lately, and I want to see what he can do on his own. He has an excellent look and seems pretty great in the ring, from what I've been able to see, so show me more. But without anyone interfering. Escobar is a great dance partner for him, so let them dance.

This felt stilted and odd, and I don't think there was a place for it on a go-home show to a premium live event.

Written by Daisy Ruth

I have to say, when AJ Styles first did his Mark Henry thing and faked his retirement in pursuit of a title match, I wasn't super into it. A rehashed feud from April, leading to another (likely successful) international Cody Rhodes Undisputed WWE title defense? Meh. It was fine, I didn't hate it, but I wasn't really that interested.

The "I Quit" stipulation changed all that. All of a sudden, Styles' fake retirement isn't just a reference to Something That Happened One Time In Wrestling. It plays into the stipulation. It represents Styles' refusal to go quietly into that good night, to do a typical happy retirement announcement where we drop kayfabe and everybody cries. To hell with that, he doesn't think he's done yet, and moreover, he thinks he can still be a world champion. It's hard to imagine someone in that position saying the words "I quit" — but it's also hard to imagine Cody Rhodes saying it.

This is Cody's first-ever "I quit" match, which is kind of crazy because they feel custom-made for his brand of wrestling storytelling. It's a match that was born in the South, on a night that saw Cody's father, Dusty Rhodes, main-event one half of Starrcade 1985 in Atlanta, Georgia (50 miles from Styles' hometown of Gainesville) shortly after Magnum T.A. made Tully Blanchard say "I quit" for the very first time in the Greensboro Coliseum. This is, in short, Cody's preferred genre of wrestling mythology, and it presents all kinds of dramatic opportunities. But just as Cody raised the stakes when he compared Styles' fake retirement to the way he's going to make Styles actually quit at Clash at the Castle, Styles raised the stakes on Friday's episode by going full meta — by which I mean, Styles brought up the number of wrestling promotions Cody has quit working for, including the one he helped found, AEW. Those remarks clearly touched Cody's pride and beefed up the feeling that "I quit" is something he'd rather die than say on Saturday.

My favorite part of Friday's promo segment, though, was the part where Styles said there were no limits to how far he would go to win the championship. I am literally the only person at WINC who picked Styles to win on Saturday, and I know it's probably an insane fantasy, but this promo made me feel like it might actually happen. Like I said, "I quit" matches lend themselves to a certain kind of storytelling — wrestlers often quit on a loved one's behalf, for example. And a certain someone did advertise that he's bringing his mom to Glasglow ...

No matter what happens in the actual match, the fact remains that I'm heavily invested in the outcome, which is not something I could say three weeks ago. All of a sudden, Rhodes vs. Styles has turned into an excellent wrestling story, and I can't wait to see what they actually do with it.

Written by Miles Schneiderman

I've hated on Austin Theory in this column for a solid year at this point. No one is listening, damn it. For as much as this kid chaps my ass, his tag team partner Grayson Waller makes me laugh it off. The latter does the heel thing the right way. The former is exactly what John Cena said he was a little over a year ago on "Raw." Unbelievable. Good, bad, somewhere in the middle, or otherwise, people, like Cena, don't believe what Theory does when he's out there. At least I don't, so that's me AND John Cena. (I just assume you all agree with me here as well.) But, if that is all indeed true, while we already screwed the pooch giving this guy one of the WWE Tag Team Championship titles back at WrestleMania, are we really going to make this worse by making him the good guy of this bunch? If what we saw on "SmackDown" from Scotland is to be believed, that's where we're headed.

In their interaction with #DIY, it was clearly pointed out to Theory that Waller hasn't exactly had his partner's well being at the forefront of his mind of late, increasing tension between the tag champs at least and setting the stage for a blowup at worst. Nobody wants to cheer this guy, okay? And as I said months ago, ad nauseum, to the point where my editors had to nudge me to say, "Jon, you've done the 'hate Theory' thing about 15 times now. Can we get something else?'" the kid doesn't just need a turn — he needs a reboot. Athletically talented and emotionally empty makes a superstar not.

And now, as I am surely relative moments away from being told that I cannot toss barbs in Theory's direction again anytime soon, I'll leave him (well, you folks anway) with this simple encouragement: The path to redemption is right in front of you. Take notes from Waller. He's as loveable-around-the-corner as he is hateable-in-the-current-moment as one can get. And you know where that comes from? A little town called Authenticity, bud. Cena was right. We ain't buyin' it — STILL!

Written by Jon Jordan

I'm ... starting to get a little worried about Carmelo Hayes. Back in April, he was the third overall draft pick, looking like he belonged with Cody Rhodes in the "SmackDown" main event. Since then, aside from a first round King of the Ring victory over Baron Corbin, he hasn't won a televised match. He's basically the third wheel in the US title feud between LA Knight and Logan Paul, not really seeming to add or detract from anything, just sort of being there. Until this week's episode, when he actively detracted from the experience of watching "SmackDown" with a bizarre promo from the crowd.

It's just weird because as a longtime "NXT" viewer, I've heard Carmelo Hayes cut promos. Like, a lot. I won't say he's the greatest promo in the world, but I know what a Carmelo Hayes promo sounds like, and this was not that. The man is out here roasting a video that played in the arena — a video Hayes isn't in, about a feud Hayes isn't really a part of — with this really strange line delivery that does not sound natural at all. On the contrary, it felt forced and rehearsed, very inauthentic, which I haven't felt about Hayes promos in the past. I thought his reactions to the crowd booing him were weird too, almost like he didn't expect it, and he was doing these awful fake laughs that sounded like a man in a hostage crisis pretending everything is fine. All in all, the overwhelming feeling was that he was nervous, and that's just not the vibe you want from a cocky heel like Hayes.

If it actually was an issue of nervousness, I'm sure he'll adjust sooner rather than later, but in the meantime, let this guy win Money in the Bank or the US title or something, because he deserves a stronger push and I'd love a break from Melo on the mic.

Written by. Miles Schneiderman

I thought everything about Frday's main event was great, from what led up to it, to the in-ring action, to the post-match angle. This is the second premium live event in a row that doesn't involve the Bloodline on the show after Roman Reigns lost the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, and that's odd, but I think this match made up for it. Before the main event, we saw Solo Sikoa and Paul Heyman talking backstage, and Heyman mentioned to Sikoa that if he lost, he'd lose his leadership hold over Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa, or something like that. Sikoa countered that if he lost, it would be Heyman he was coming after. Which kind of made no sense, but it was still ominous enough and Sikoa is so believable when he's scary, that I didn't mind, and Heyman was also right, from his side of things.

I really liked the match itself and it honestly probably could have been on the PLE, but I can respect WWE for wanting to keep the smaller shows to just five or so matches. Sikoa and Owens trading multiple big moves, from Frog Splashes, to Spinning Solos, to a Stunner, to Samoan Spikes kept me really entertained, especially knowing that Tonga and Loa were banned from ringside after a pre-match beatdown of the Street Profits backstage. It was just a good match, even with Heyman interference and distraction, but it worked, because Sikoa couldn't lose this match. Heyman was certainly right there.

Of course, after the bell rung on the match, Tonga and Loa were right there to beat down Owens. But, when "Voices" hit and Randy Orton ran down that ramp, I loved this entire thing even more. I didn't expected Orton to make the save here, and I absolutely love Orton and Owens together as a tag team, especially when they're taking on the Bloodline. Orton hit a signature DDT off the ropes and a RKO to save his friend. He hit the classics and the Bloodline retreated, but I'm sure the Scottish crowd loved seeing Orton, even if just for a few minutes. Even for those of us not in attendance, it's exciting, because it means we're going to get more of R-KO moving forward, and Orton, especially, works best when he's having a blast in the ring with someone else. I loved this match and its angles all around, and even though these guys don't have anything on the books for tomorrow, it makes me excited for what we're going to see next week on "SmackDown."

Written by Daisy Ruth