2 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Dec 29 - Results & Review)

2. Missed Opportunities

The Rock Austin Theory Pat McAfee
WWE.com

WWE did briefly spotlight major SmackDown moments like The Rock surprisingly returning to help Pat McAfee take down Austin Theory, but surely the show should've been packed with recaps of similar stuff. Instead, there was a more general vibe to reflections on 2023, and that was certainly a choice.

The best play would've been celebrating what SmackDown exclusively had to shout about over the past 12 months. Y'know, leaning on things it did differently to Raw more than putting both top brands under the same umbrella with a ton of crossover. Why didn't that happen?

Baffling.

The production crew had loads of fab Bloodline content to plunder from various episodes. SmackDown's 2023 featured some of the best backstage vignettes and promos involving dudes like Sami Zayn, Roman Reigns and more, but they were all absent.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.