8 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Aug 28)
Paul. Heyman. Guy.
The best moments on this week's episode of SmackDown happened outside the ring.
WWE booked another welcome return, solidified two major players as the brand's top heels, teased that a member of the women's division will finally go her own path and had staff member Adam Pearce dress up as a postman. It was a busy night then, one that didn't exactly do much for Payback but did a lot for Friday nights.
It feels like SmackDown has a wealth of star power for the first time in months. Roman Reigns is back with a twist, Braun Strowman has returned to old glories (or, at least, is on the road to doing so), and they're joined by Bray Wyatt, Bayley, Sasha Banks, a re-energised Alexa Bliss, AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy and more.
Even Vince McMahon stopped by for a quick cameo or two.
WWE get loads of sh*t for their booking these days, and some of it is deserved. However, SmackDown was a reminder of everything this company can do right. There were almost three times as many 'Ups' as there were 'Downs'. Sometimes, you have to call 'em like you see 'em - this was a fun episode...