4 Ups And Downs From Last Night's WWE Smackdown (Jan 9th)
Did WWE see Friday nights out with a bang or a whimper?
Before Smackdown marks its big return to Thursday nights with the in-ring return of Daniel Bryan, there was the business of plowing through the last Friday Night Smackdown for the blue brand. Nearly a decade of airing on Fridays has rendered Smackdown as the afterthought of WWE, Raws red- (blue?) headed stepchild. So as Smackdown winds down its time on Fridays, what was in store for fans? Were there any big surprises? Any big announcements? If Bad News Barrett and Bray Wyatt announcing that theyll be in the Royal Rumble match qualify as big announcements, then yes. Otherwise, we were treated to a breezy, low on substance episode that sends Smackdown off with more of a whimper than a bang. Its unclear if the move back to Thursdays will result in a change in philosophy with how the show is viewed. A while back, this author penned an article listing 10 ways to make Smackdown a must-see program again, and two of the suggestions involved moving back to Thursdays and having wrestler returns take place, so maybe this is a sign that the blue brand will become a little more important. But Fridays Smackdown was a mixed bag of a lot of nothing and a few rays of light nothing overly offensive, but certainly nothing to save on your DVR.