7 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Sept 4)
5. The Intercontinental Title Business
What a segment that IC Title scrape was.
Sami Zayn speaking to the production truck and asking for clarification on why they hadn't put "Intercontinental Champion" on his name plate was gold, but that wasn't all the skit had to offer. Jeff Hardy shrewdly kept an eye on Sami when AJ Styles interrupted, which harked back to Zayn's blindside attack last week.
AJ taking a cheap shot at Hardy when he wasn't looking was also so in-character for him, and he took another swipe at Sami when his back was turned too. These guys all worked within the parameters of their individual personas, and that made their interactions feel real.
They deserve credit for that; WWE's usual approach is anything but realistic. Zayn, Hardy and Styles focused on some smaller things that made their performances true, and that's never a given in a company as regimented as this.