6 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Sept 11)

Key performances elevate an otherwise formulaic go-home show.

Brie Bellas The Miz Daniel Bryan
WWE.com

A typical modern WWE pay-per-view go-home show in many ways, last night's SmackDown was carried by several excellent performances from key players.

WWE Champion AJ Styles and Samoa Joe were kept apart, but still find time to shoot barbs at each, with both delivering on completely different levels. Their feud feels important. Built on an "I want to f*ck your wife" dynamic that would've fallen to pieces in the hands of lesser personalities, they continue to show why they've been positioned as the brand's top dogs.

There were further developments in the Miz vs. Daniel Bryan saga. Brie Bella met Maryse in the main event, but as expected, it was far from a straightforward wrestling match. Elsewhere, we got the conclusion of the Tag Team Title contendership tournament as Rusev Day faced The Bar, Jeff Hardy wrestling Shinsuke Nakamura for what felt like the 72nd time this year, and an overdue win for Andrade 'Cien' Almas. Oh, and Carmella is apparently still a babyface. Make sense of that one if you can.

Though not quite up to SmackDown's usual standards, this week was a net positive nonetheless. Let's see what Hell In A Cell brings, because it's shaping up to be a fun show on the blue side...

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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.