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

by Andy H Murray

1. A Fair Fight?

Occupy SmackDown
WWE.com

An ironic recreation of Daniel Bryan's now iconic March 2014 segment, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens' 'Occupy SmackDown,' was good, not great. Solid, but unspectacular. Sadly, this means it was enough to finish as the night's biggest highlight.

It was textbook stuff from the hard-trolling duo, who once again took it to Shane McMahon, saying the Commissioner had gone "one step too far" by having KO handcuffed to the ropes last week. Owens delivered the ultimate insult, claiming that Shane was "worse than Stephanie," then called for everyone in attendance to occupy ringside, though only Bryan emerged.

Kevin called their act a tribute. Daniel shot them down, but wasn't shy of throwing shade at McMahon either. He claimed that Shane would deliberately screw the duo out of their WWE careers if he didn't go unchecked at Clash Of Champions. Thus, Daniel inserted himself as a special guest referee. He has his partner's back, but he wants Zayn and Owens to at least get a fair share of the stick on Sunday, and promised to call it straight down the middle.

Elevated by the trio's shared chemistry, the segment offered few memorable hooks, but served its purpose of installing Bryan as a second official. Here's hoping the company don't just use this stipulation to make Clash all about the authority figures.

Advertisement
Channel Manager
Channel Manager

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.