8 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Dec 27)
A stirring conclusion? Yes! Yes! Yes! Dancing monsters? Oh no! No! No!
Stop the press! Hold the phone! Other assorted expressions of surprise!
SmackDown's final show of 2019 was one of the best since the brand moved to FOX in October, and it was helped by a popular victory for a reborn babyface who now rolls on into the Royal Rumble. In Daniel Bryan, WWE has the kind of baby who can ease Roman Reigns' passage back into the top title mix. He's a decoy challenger for Bray Wyatt, in other words, but that's fine.
The last Smackers of the year confirmed Bryan's status as #1 contender, protected 'King' Corbin in the process and hinted that another well-versed heel might be about to make a swift return to the dark side. All of it was great, and WWE even teased that Braun Strowman is next in line for a crack at Shinsuke Nakamura's Intercontinental Title too.
Then, they f*cked it. Well, sort of.
In between all that positivity raining down on the show, WWE couldn't resist throwing in some odd booking that soured two different acts. One of them was Braun and the other was "God's greatest creation" Mandy Rose. Ups and downs aplenty then...