4 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown (5 Dec - Results & Review)
Cody Rhodes takes matters into his own hands; Gunther gets John Cena's last match.
Gunther is vowing to make John Cena tap out next weekend during the legend's final match at Saturday Night's Main Event. The 'Ring General' won WWE's 'Last Time Is Now' tournament to secure his spot opposite JC on 13 December in Washington, and he did it in typically excellent fashion. Few are better at working the 'push/pull' dynamic Gunther does during matches.
One minute, he's dominant and physically overwhelming foes. The next, the Austrian is backpedaling like he's slipping on ice as babyfaces start to fire back against his attacks like they're Hulk Hogan in his prime. It's a nice mix, and combining that with LA Knight's willingness to sell then "Hulk up" when it counted made for a hot main event on Friday night.
It'd be easy to call SmackDown a one match show, but that'd be unfair. A United States Title 'Open Challenge' bout was bags of fun too, and there's more where that came from thanks to upcoming challenges from Tommaso Ciampa and (eventually) Tama Tonga.
Sadly, things aren't going so well in the women's division or on the undercard elsewhere. Jade Cargill badly needs something better to do, Giulia is totally lost in the shuffle, the duo of B-FAB and Michin are boring everyone to tears, and the ongoing MFT vs. Wyatt Sicks battle is flagging.
Fans should expect plenty more episodes like this one throughout December, especially once the Cena retirement stuff is all said and done. Thankfully, at least the roster depth means you're guaranteed some cracking matches for your time.
Here's all the yay and nay from SmackDown.