3 Ups & 4 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (May 23)

Jinder's coronation is complete, but little else has changed in the land of opportunity.

Jinder Mahal
WWE.com

Backlash 2017 was a mediocre SmackDown-branded pay-per-view that produced one obvious talking point: Jinder Mahal's WWE Championship win. It was a huge surprise, but would it prove to be the shock that shuddered SD back to life after several weeks of disappointingly tame programming? Sadly not.

Last night's show was as middle of the road as it gets. More about building for Money In The Bank (June 18th) than telling individual stories, it struggled to get out of second gear throughout, and while nothing was objectively terrible, SmackDown produced little to excite the fans either.

Mahal's pre-advertised Punjabi Celebration wasn't as obnoxiously extravagant as expected, and his rival, Randy Orton, was nowhere to be seen. The women's division remains as crowded as ever, meanwhile, and a star-studded tag match couldn't meet the brand's high main event standards. There were bright spots in the tag scene, and it's good to get the MITB ball rolling, but this week's SmackDown was entirely skippable.

Who climbed the ladder, and who fell face-first on the canvas? Let's take a look...

Downs...

4. Nobody Gets Over

Natalya Becky Lynch
WWE.com

The Welcoming Committee's six-woman tag victory over Becky Lynch, Naomi, and Charlotteat Backlash should have put an end to the lazy cluster-booking that has plagued SmackDown's women's division for the past few months. It continued last night, however, and the writers are set on persisting with the dull "everyone on-screen at once" approach that has crippled the division since February.

Charlotte and Becky defeated Carmella and Natalya in a dull tag match, with Becky scoring the submission victory over Carmella. It was good to see Lynch taking a rare win, but the outcome ultimately does little to advance anyone's story, as it destroys the momentum Carmella had from her two recent wins over Naomi. Once again, 50-50 booking renders everything pointless.

Things got even more clustered later in the evening, when everybody not named Naomi accosted Shane McMahon, demanding a title shot. The Commissioner booked a five-way elimination match to solve the problem, but it was another frustrating segment with everybody shouting over each other, and nobody standing out. A lame night for the women's division, but here's hoping the number one contender's match actually produces a conclusive victor.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.