10 Ups & 0 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Jul 24)

5. Carmella's Bad Night

It was a night to forget for SmackDown Women's Champion Carmella, who may finally be edging towards her long-awaited comeuppance after months as a hard-trolling, avoidant title-holder.

Her evening started unravelling when top dips*** James Ellsworth managed to get himself fired after challenging AJ Styles for SummerSlam. The toe-rag trumpeted his previous victories over 'The Phenomenal One,' worked the audience (and this writer), and soon found himself interrupted by Paige, who'd had enough of his s**t, and quickly eliminated Carmella's only ally in her ongoing war against good taste.

Then, 'The Princess Of Staten Island' was made to face Becky Lynch under the stipulation that if she lost, Carmella would have to defend the gold against 'The Lass Kicker' at SummerSlam. And lose she did. 'Mella played an excellent mouse to Becky's cat, bailing on the action several times, and pulling out almost every dirty move in her playbook. The cheating wasn't enough, though, and without Ellsworth by her side, Carmella ended up tapping out.

It was the right outcome, a crowd-pleasing moment, and one that builds hope for the pay-per-view. Lynch is one of the few wrestlers immune to WWE's inconsistent booking. Her popularity endures despite several de-pushes over the past few years, and she's now the only logical choice to face (and likely dethrone) Carmella. Fingers crossed it happens.