5 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Aug 26)
Sami Zayn's Bloodline acceptance; Triple H's simple storytelling; WWE's women struggle.
Last week's SmackDown was a colossus in terms of exhibiting the benefits of simple storytelling.
Nobody watching the show could fail to learn motivations for key characters - Ronda Rousey is a rebellious badass, Shayna Baszler a vicious mauler, Drew McIntyre a courageous hero, Roman Reigns a callous manipulator, Sami Zayn a snivelling sneak etc etc. That simplicity is quickly becoming a hallmark of WWE's product under the watchful gaze of Triple H.
The good news? This week's Smackers served up more of the same, but...only for some. Sadly, women lost out in a big way on Friday night, and one of the best heel tag-teams on the entire roster looked like utter chumps as they fell for one of the oldest tricks in the book despite danger being so, so obvious.
Those negatives didn't kill the buzz though. SmackDown's opener was strong, the Intercontinental Title situation is heating up nicely, the ending was excellent and there's enough going on generally that makes perfect sense.
Here's all the good and bad from WWE's penultimate blue brand stop before next weekend's epic Clash At The Castle.