12 Ups & 2 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (13 Aug)

3. Big Match, Big Fun

The Revival Randy Orton Big E
WWE.com

A trio of matches complete this week's SmackDown Ups and Downs. That was one of the show's greatest strengths: excellent in-ring action highlighting elite talents from an elite roster, with no doubt overstaying its welcome.

Randy Orton and The Revival versus The New Day was a breeze, and a near-perfect microcosm of the show as a whole. Fast, fun, and watchable, it accomplished everything you could possibly want from a bout of this nature in this position, and that it ran for just 12 minutes is another plus. Nobody needs to see these things spiral out of control when they're primarily designed to bridge two feuds.

The conclusion, as is often the case with WWE TV matches, was great. It saw Xavier Woods fighting valiantly against the heel force with just a single arm, having had the other limb destroyed throughout the match. He ultimately fell. The Revival took advantage of his weakened state, downed him with the Shatter Machine, and scored the three.

A post-match beatdown saw every babyface laid out on the canvas, as Orton rounded things off with an RKO buffet. He didn't score the pinfall but still looked like the man in the end. Great presentation.

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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.