5 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown (28 Nov - Results & Review)
Uncle Howdy returns on a surprisingly fun 'go home' SmackDown before Survivor Series.
SmackDown has ranged between decent to downright poor in recent weeks, so Triple H would've been hoping that sprinkling some Survivor Series flavour over the show would help Friday's episode out. It did, and so did some of the matches in the ongoing John Cena tournament. If nothing else, they kept things ticking along nicely, and the tourney has thrown up some interesting combos here or there.
Of course, WWE taped a double helping of SmackDown last week, so it was important to keep that in mind when watching this particular episode. The live crowd seemed a little worn down by the time a traditional elimination bout hit the ring, but the action was zippy enough to get everyone back onside come the end.
There's no getting away from it: Both WarGames matches feels very forced this year. That's been especially evident on the women's side of the fence, and no amount of tension between members on the babyface squad or Becky Lynch trying to big league her unit can stop that from being true. Even so, chemistry counts, and the sole women's match on Friday's show proved it.
It's gonna get a bit hairy around these parts (ooer!) if Hunter thinks these episodes can be stretched from 2 to 3 hours again though. WWE would need to put a bit more emphasis on SmackDown and up the level of star power on offer to get through that. The good news is that Royal Rumble-WrestleMania season is right around the corner.
Here's all the good and bad from Friday's pre-taped edition.