12 Ups & 4 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (May 28)
Kofi Kingston vs. Kevin Owens II highlights a busy night of action.
That All Elite Wrestling's Double Or Nothing pay-per-view was such a smash hit made this one of the year's most interesting weeks as far as WWE television goes, with many assuming the competition's critical acclaim would spur Vince McMahon to finally pull a rabbit from his hat to deliver five hours of can't-miss programming.
This wasn't the case. Neither Raw or SmackDown veered from their usual templates, with the flagship serving up a typically inconsistent slog, and Team Blue delivering this: a solid, watchable show reminiscent of the brand's pre-WrestleMania form. A three-pointer would've been nice, but we'll settle for a couple of successful free throws instead.
Kevin Owens' refusal to travel to Saudi Arabia led to him rematching with WWE Champion Kofi Kingston on weekly television, though there was no sign of new contender Dolph Ziggler. Elsewhere, Rowan and Daniel Bryan ethered the SmackDown tag division, then came face-to-face with their next challengers. Shane McMahon hosted his own appreciation night, Carmella and Mandy Rose renewed their rivalry after last week's no-contest, R-Truth's 24/7 Title shenanigans continued, and Bayley faced a new rival in Lacey Evans.
Not everything within these two hours hit the mark, but it looks like SmackDown has shed its post-'Mania malaise. For now...