2 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Aug 27)
WWE fails to deliver as advertised; Finn Bálor is backup; Baron Corbin is "Happy".
A muddled, obvious start and a house show finish.
That'd sum up this week's episode of SmackDown. Sadly, WWE totally squandered a golden opportunity by failing to follow up on hot returns at SummerSlam. Becky Lynch is already just another face on the roster again, and Brock Lesnar is nowhere to be found.
It was painfully clear from minute one that the company's material was stretched thin here. There were far too many still image recaps of the pay-per-view, and nothing matched the big time feel of Las Vegas last Sunday - there will be better weeks ahead before Extreme Rules rolls around, but damn...this was really lacklustre stuff.
On the bright side, Sami Zayn proved why he's one of the best utility men in pro wrestling yet again, and Baron Corbin's latest repackage job does have some potential. It would've been easy for fans to dump all over his very familiar "new" gimmick, but they didn't, and WWE should be pleased by that and their response to Big E's pandering.
Here are all the 'Ups' and the 'Downs' from one of the worst SmackDowns in a good while...