11 Ups & 4 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Dec 4)

3. Styles Overcomes Miz (And Bryan)

The Miz AJ Styles
WWE.com

A splendid match between two splendid competitors with splendid chemistry on a spendid episode of SmackDown? We'll take that any week of the year.

Set up through their segment earlier in the show, AJ Styles vs. The Miz felt fresh and exciting. They concocted an effective layout with Miz controlling most of the early stages but AJ battling back throughout, and as inevitable as Daniel Bryan's involvement was, they did a great job of incorporating him without detracting from the bout itself.

Daniel was tremendously entertaining on commentary and imposed himself on the action after offering AJ his hand, before 'The A-Lister' tossed him into the barricade. This led to an awesome nearfall on the Skull Crushing Finale. It looked like Miz had the match won, but AJ timed his kickout to perfection, and eventually overcame his villainous opponent after fending off another Bryan interference. The Calf Crusher left Miz with no choice but to tap, and that was that. 13 minutes of crisp, exciting action on a Tuesday night.

Splendid.

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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.