6 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Nov 28)
Downs...
3. Curbed Momentum
Having spent the past few weeks building up Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin as the SmackDown tag division's new alpha heels, WWE made the mistake of having the ascendent tandem eat a clean loss to The New Day last night, with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods putting the duo away in just over eight minutes.
This loss wouldn't be a problem if Benjamin and Gable weren't such a new unit, but it felt like a needless derailment. They don't have an impeccable win/loss record, but if they're going to mount a serious challenge for The Usos' titles, their momentum needs to be maintained. Otherwise, what's the point in elevating them in the first place?
The match itself was fine. All four participants are among the brand's strongest athletes, so they were never going to under-deliver between the ropes. Regardless, they were very much let down by the bookers last night, which marks this as a minor off-week for SmackDown's best division.