11 Times WWE Was Better Than Literally EVERYTHING

The summer of 2023 was a creative dreamscape for WWE fans, and never was this more apparent than an October 2023 edition of SmackDown that might mistakenly be remembered for setting up a WarGames for how it brought together so many stories into one epic brawl. 

Roman Reigns had tasked Paul Heyman with gaining back some control of WWE following the loss of Sami Zayn and Jey Uso the babyface ranks on Monday Night Raw, which resulted in the 'Wiseman' striking a deal with Rhea Ripley to form a heel team of problem-solvers with The Judgment Day. Outside of the fiction, this was yet more enormous and deserved elevation of the group, having become vital to the ecosystem on Raw while Cody Rhodes spent one full year out of the title picture. 

Ahead of a Fastlane B-show that was co-headlined by Rhodes and Jey working together to dethrone Finn Bálor and Damien Priest for the Tag Team Titles, the baddies rounded on brekaout babyface LA Knight and his one ally John Cena, thanks to them being bold enough to challenge Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa respectively for another upcoming Premium Live Event. five-on-two discounting Heyman and Ripley, the good guys were doomed until Rhodes and Uso emerged, separately and unannounced to help them. The pops got louder and louder, with audiences - for one of the first times - loudly singing Rhodes' theme as a show of endorsement that he was most definitely The Guy, and a white hot faction brawl closed the show.

The devil, as it so often was there, was in the detail. All the sides paired off but Heyman - already quietly reneging on the deal - held Solo back until the odds were back in his favour. In a one-on-one setting with Cena, Solo dominated, but it was newer project Knight that saved 'The Champ' rather than the other way around.

Cody and Jey briefly holding tag gold was its own euphoric payoff 48 hours later, but the joy was already assured by exceptional television running the hard yards.