8 Ups & 2 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Sept 18)
All hail the new 'Queen.'
Hell In A Cell was hailed as one of WWE's best pay-per-views of the year as soon as the credits stopped rolling, and while many had the Raw Tag Title clash down as Match Of The Night, the event's success had much to do with the blue brand's offerings.
Orton vs. Hardy was a delightfully gory HIAC war that more than lived up to the structure's brutal reputation, while Styles vs. Joe was easily on par with their SummerSlam match, with even the sports entertainment finish delivering. Elsewhere, The New Day and Rusev Day worked a fun, fast-paced Kickoff Show scrap, and although Bryan & Bella vs. Miz & Maryse was no five-star classic, it was executed well until the finish.
But while Raw followed HIAC with mediocrity, SmackDown delivered the goods, with Becky Lynch's championship celebration, the second Andrade Almas vs. AJ Styles bout, and the sad, inevitable death of Rusev Day all ticking various boxes. It wasn't a perfect show, but when is it? WWE's product is designed to serve too many masters to appease every fan, every week, and that isn't changing anytime soon.
When was the last time SmackDown's writers served a legitimately bad episode? We've lost track...