4 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Nov 10 - Results & Review)
1. SmackDown’s A Bit…Secondary?
Overall, SmackDown is coming across as background noise to WWE creative.
Both top male champions on the brand are part-timers who flit in and out of programming. Roman Reigns is absent just a little too often for some folks, but that'd be fine if the midcard stories carried things. Unfortunately, Logan Paul becoming United States Champ (whilst fab from a PR standpoint) means another title will be off TV regularly too.
Then, there's John Cena. The Hollywood strike lifting means 'Big Match John' putting over Solo Sikoa at Crown Jewel might be the last wrestling fans see of him for a while. The timing here sucks, because WWE could really use Cena to plug some holes for Roman and Paul.
How about the others? Jimmy Uso isn't strong enough to carry Bloodline business on his own, the women's scene is messier than it should be, and brand newbies like Kevin Owens are simply doing nothing of note. SmackDown is a bit too mediocre right now, and that's concerning.