4 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Feb 17)
Montreal blows Sami Zayn away; Bray Wyatt's WrestleMania challenge; WWE hypes Elimination Chamber.
It'd be impossible to give less of a toss about either cage bout heading into Elimination Chamber 2023.
WWE's focus has been elsewhere, and rightly so. Who cares about Austin Theory defending his United States Title or who Bianca Belair's WrestleMania challenger will be when Sami Zayn vs. Roman Reigns is on the card?! This pay-per-view is the prime example of a one match show, and everybody knows it.
Company creative knows it too, which is probs why they panic-booked some last-minute hype for one of Saturday's titular scraps on SmackDown. Did it work? Nah, not really, but WWE has bigger fish to fry anyway. Besides, Bray Wyatt just revealed his plans for 'Mania 39. Huh? Yep, that also happened on FOX.
This Roman Reigns-less episode lured fans in with the promise of a "banger" tag-team clash, another Intercontinental Title defence for GUNTHER, and a show-ending Sami love-in that almost reduced the man of the moment to tears.
It was a functional two hours of telly, but hardly a poor use of your time. Don't sleep on Smackers before watching Chamber, and here's why...