6 Ups & 2 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Jan 16)

Downs...

2. Slave To The Grind

Jinder Mahal Xavier Woods
WWE.com

While it'd have been foolish to expect a high workrate classic from Xavier Woods and Jinder Mahal, it should have at least been a smart, well-worked TV match. Woods was one of WWE's most improved wrestlers last year, and arguably The New Day's biggest standout, while Jinder, for all his flaws, at least understands his role. Their bout wasn't good, though, and made for a stodgy start to the night.

There were several problems. While technically sound for the most part, Mahal's complete inability to generate crowd heat through his grinding ring work remains a massive problem, particularly in contests as long as this. His control sequence was characteristically laborious. The crowd were so quiet, it was as if they were watching the bout in a library, and this killed all interest in Xavier's comebacks.

'The Maharaja' controlled the vast majority of the match's 18 minutes, generating no real drama throughout. Cut the runtime in half, focus more in Woods' fire than Mahal's dominance, and this contest may have succeeded. Instead, it went down like a turd in a punchbowl.

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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.