8 Ups & 6 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Aug 27)

Downs...

6. Oh, Good. It's Lacey Evans.

Bayley Lacey Evans
WWE

Bayley's facial expression above is a decent summation of how your writer felt while watching this segment.

Though too short to have major beef with, this thing wasn't any good. It began with Ember Moon asking the SmackDown Women's Champion if Charlotte Flair was in her head. 'The War Goddess' then put Bayley over for defeating her at SummerSlam, coming off respectful but disappointingly meek after blasting 'The Hugger' and Flair in the buildup, and in came Lacey Evans.

'The Sassy Southern Belle' carries herself well, and did so here, but remains utterly unconvincing when she talks about "raising standards," given her ropy big-match record. Her proclamation that she is the face of the division got the derisory laughter it deserved.

Flair and Bayley aside, this division isn't in great health at the moment. WWE failed to elevate Moon before and after SummerSlam and now, after struggling to get over in her feud with Becky Lynch, Evans is in the picture. The tiers beneath the mainline championship programme must be strengthened.

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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.