2 Ups & 7 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Jan 21)
Ups...
2. Xia Li Is Alive!
Finally, a bit of positivity.
Yours truly literally just popped Xia Li in an article about WWE stars who had gone AWOL, and...BANG! There she was on SmackDown to save Aliyah from an ass-kicking at the hands of Natalya. Li is still doing that whole 'Protector' thing too, which isn't the worst idea.
There is a touch of confusion about Aliyah's presentation, to be fair. This 'she's out of her depth' thing may not get her over the way WWE think it will, but yeah - at least Xia is back on TV for now. It sucked that she debuted then disappeared so quickly without even working a match on the brand.
Natalya should be a solid first rival for Li on Friday nights. Nattie is a veteran who excels when she has someone physically strong to work against, and Xia fits that bill. Fingers crossed these women have some cracking matches together so WWE see what Li is capable of.