10 Ups & 4 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Jan 29)

7. A Deepening Rivalry

Speaking of subverting expectations, kudos to WWE for adding a new wrinkle that doesn't involve hotel room thirst traps to this Mandy Rose/Naomi angle.

Last night saw Rose and Sonya Deville go deeper on their issues with the former Funkadactyl. After announcing their Women's Tag Team Title match participation, they took things back to the 2015 season of Tough Enough, on which both were competitors. Footage rolled showing Naomi and the rest of Team B.A.D. targeting Mandy during an in-ring session, with Sonya calling her "cruel, jealous, and angry," claiming she'd brought Rose to tears. Mandy went deeper, saying she developed a complex so deep that her boyfriend walked out on her, that her obsession with Noami is eternal, and that she and Sonya were focused on becoming Tag Team Champions.

While WWE probably should've gone with this approach from day one, it's great to see them doing something different with what was becoming their most maligned ongoing feud. It needed a moment like this if it was going to run beyond the Royal Rumble.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.