11 Ups & 1 Down From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Oct 30)

Ups...

11. An Effective Crown Jewel Build

WWE Crown Jewel
WWE

We can't chastise SmackDown's writers for doing a poor job of building towards Evolution the previous week without dedicating an entry to the solid job they did with Crown Jewel last night. Say what you will about the pay-per-view, and WWE's decision to honour their legally-binding Saudi Arabian contract, but the Tuesday night show went home effectively.

The company addressed the Daniel Bryan situation with an exciting turn of events that sees the PPV lose a potentially world-class WWE Championship match, but boosted with the best possible compromise. The Bar and New Day's tag team rivalry was pushed forward via this year's wacky Halloween-themed gimmick match, and SD's World Cup participants were all over the show, cutting promos and engaging in the evening's main event.

Crown Jewel's political side is a minefield, but as far as SmackDown goes, the creative side has been fine. Let's just hope the PPV itself is high on fun action, and low on the rampant political propaganda that blighted the Greatest Royal Rumble.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. 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.