12 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Feb 5)

1. Enemies One Week, Allies The Next

Shinsuke Nakamura Rusev Lana
WWE.com

While it was good to see Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows back in the ring last night, their tag match against Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura had its problems.

1. It wasn't very good.

2. The experienced, tenured team with five years of chemistry lost to the all-stars.

3. Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura were trying to kill each other 9 days ago. Now, they're pals.

4. Lana's attempt at lifting Nakamura back into the ring looked like a resthold.

5. A thrown-together tag team comprised of the least interesting heel versions of Ru-Ru and Nak doesn't exactly get the pulse racing.

At least Gallows and Nakamura looked good in the ring together, harking back to the many fun scraps they had in New Japan. Still, this bout gave more reasons to be concerned than excited. Let's hope they turn it around.

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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.