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

1. WWE’s Match Selection

Onto the matches themselves.

SmackDown had four recaps of various PLE bouts from 2023. John Cena vs. Solo Sikoa and Logan Paul vs. Rey Mysterio from Crown Jewel, The Usos vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn from WrestleMania 39 night one, and Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes from 'Mania 39's blow off.

All of them were good matches, but it would've made more sense for top brass to cherry pick specific TV scraps from the year that lit up SmackDown itself. Instead, WWE went the exact same route as Raw by showcasing various PLE matches in highlight form. It felt like another missed opportunity.

Two-three TV matches that actually happened on Friday nights would've been preferable. Granted, that's nitpicking (most of these 'Downs' are - it was a year end highlight show, after all), but true. WWE's TV output in-ring is fab these days, so there was plenty to dig up and show off here.