11 Ups & 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (July 30)

In which someone tries to murder Roman Reigns.

by Andy H Murray
Trish Stratus Charlotte Flair
WWE.com

This week will likely go down as one of 2019's strongest one-two punches with regards to Raw and SmackDown, as WWE followed up on an awesome episode of the Monday night flagship with this: another blue brand belter.

The same caveat from yesterday's Raw review applies here as well. Yes, this show brought a few Downs to the table, but most were a drop in the ocean. Only one could be seen as a major problem, and on a night when a pile of scaffolding collapsed on Roman Reigns, WWE creative held firm.

A reported last-minute rewrite saw the advertised New Day vs. OC scrapped in favour of AJ Styles vs. Kofi Kingston. Their non-title bout was one of three big singles matches, with Drew McIntyre set to face Kevin Owens without the aid of his big mate, Shane McMahon, and Dolph Ziggler wrestling Finn Balor. Elsewhere, Trish Stratus returned to SmackDown as Jerry Lawler's guest on the King's Court, Randy Orton addressed Kofi Kingston in an awesome pre-prepared promo, somebody new picked a fight-uh with Aleister Black, and Bayley tried to even the score with Ember Moon ahead of SummerSlam.

Another strong, strong show. Let's break it down.

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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.