11 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (24 Sept)

2. A Fire Extinguished

Asuka Mandy Rose
WWE.com

It was great to see the Kabuki Warriors back on television last night. It looked like they'd been cast into oblivion following manager Paige's neck surgery, having not wrestled on SmackDown since 16 July, but they're too talented to be left sitting on the sidelines. Their re-emergence versus Fire and Desire was a welcome one.

It's unfortunate, then, that the match wasn't all that. This was a clunky, awkward affair that successfully put Mandy Rose's character over as she paraded around with her Maxim magazine cover, but accomplished very little else. Fire and Desire and the Kabukis had little demonstrable chemistry and there were moments when it felt like they were a split-second apart, resulting in an ineffective bout that totally failed to hook the crowd.

The Kabuki Warriors scored the victory following Kairi Sane's beautiful elbow drop. It looks like Fire and Desire are on the slide nine days after challenging for the Women's Tag Team Championships.

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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.