7 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown (June 18)
Hell In A Cell wins SmackDown; WWE crowns a new 'King'; Cesaro gets...polite?
The above screenshot perfectly encapsulates the story WWE wanted to tell on this week's episode of SmackDown.
Rey Mysterio's short feud with Roman Reigns hasn't been flawless, but world class quality was always going to offset creative indifference here. Rey's revenge bid (after Roman had powerbombed Dominik from the ring to the floor) meant WWE's rush to put this inside Hell In A Cell was excused.
Overall, Friday's show was a much better one than last week's effort. Rey and Roman smashed it inside the Cell despite a very-much last-minute feel to their program, Bayley finally got serious again opposite Bianca Belair, Otis and Chad Gable got more respect as a proper tag-team, and even Commander Azeez was presented well.
The only negatives coming out of SmackDown related to royalty. 'King' Corbin's future is now up in the air, and Cesaro (who is wrestling royalty) seemed to take an unnecessary backwards step in his issues with Seth Rollins. That, Reigns shenanigans aside, has been the case with blue brand business lately.
One minute, things look hot. The next? Not so much, but this was still a fun episode.