2 Ups And 4 Downs From Last Night's WWE Smackdown (Oct 25)
James Ellsworth: The Difference Maker.
Smackdown may typically be the stronger of WWE's two brands, but this week was just a bad one in general. Following a Raw full of insipid talk and ridiculous booking, Smackdown had the chance to deliver with one of its standard strong shows. Unfortunately, an uncharacteristically weak showing from the blue brand meant that Monday and Tuesday were both a wash.
Heading into Smackdown, a strong main event had been announced - AJ Styles would take on Dean Ambrose, and if Ambrose won, he would be named the number one contender to the WWE World Championship. It seemed like a given that "The Lunatic Fringe" would win - after all, he's already been feuding with Styles, so a match between the two men is inevitable. Unfortunately, WWE chose to swerve the crowd in the worst way possible.
Apart from the main event, Smackdown was filled with largely meaningless matches, some of which felt rushed and some of which dragged out. Even The Miz and Dolph Ziggler couldn't save the show this week - not when they're kept out of the ring but Kane, The Hype Bros, and The Ascension are all in action.
Here are 2 ups and 4 downs from October 25's episode of Smackdown: