7 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown (May 7)
Jimmy Uso returns; Cesaro is booked as SmackDown's killer; WWE's retro set falls short.
WWE's latest SmackDown was a 'Throwback' episode, but the booking was progressive.
Cesaro was made to look like a million bucks in every segment he appeared in. Also (and this was smart), the writers made sure to keep his speaking parts to a minimum - everybody knows that's not Cesaro's main strength. He's a pro wrestling machine, and he's at his best when presented as a physical marvel who can do special things inside that ring.
SmackDown achieved that. Amazingly, it managed to make something of the lame duck Women's Tag-Team Title feud too, and both Bayley and Bianca Belair came out of their face-to-face with purpose. There are still some niggling issues that WWE need to sort out with that last one though.
Anyone worried that the 'Throwback' branding would lead to loads of unnecessary cameos had nothing to fear either. The show had room for one absent full-timer to return, and it somehow made the most of a potentially-boring Hall Of Fame walk-on too.
It wasn't without its problems, obviously, but no wrestling show is ever "perfect". Here's all the good and the bad from the penultimate SmackDown before WrestleMania Backlash...