2 Ups & 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Dec 12)

4. Pure Filler

Ruby Riott vs. Charlotte Flair was a textbook TV match worked at a house show-esque clip. There wasn't much to it at all, with both performers playing it safe throughout, and struggling to generate any real heat. Two of the best workers in the division they may be, but they certainly didn't show it throughout the bout's five minutes.

They did, however, work to a logical conclusion. There's no point in giving one a clean victory over the other at the moment, so WWE had the Riott Squad interfere, with Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan making their presence felt. Natalya was on commentary, too. She inevitably became involved in the melee, and the contest was eventually ruled a disqualification in Charlotte's favour , which keeps everyone protected.

The aftermath was almost a direct repeat of the angle WWE ran with Absolution on Raw, with Paige & co. chased off by the rest of the division. Here, the Squad were dispatched by the returning Naomi, who was checking on Flair as the segment closed.

Much like the Riott Squad's debut, this would've been fine in isolation, but we'd already seen it on Raw. What was the point of this? Only Vince McMahon knows.