2 Ups And 4 Downs From Last Night's WWE Talking Smack (Jan 17)

5. Down - Return Of An Old Friend

Shane McMahon Bray Wyatt
WWE.com

Returning in the Steel Cage main event of Smackdown Live, Mickie James' surprising revelation as the woman behind 'La Luchadora' was the biggest talking point coming out of Tuesday's live broadcast.

However, without champion, challenger or James herself taking a guest spot on the show to further the angle, it was down to Renee and Shane to digest the bombshell without taking steam away from the three women themselves before they likely address it on next week's episode of the main show.

And though Talking Smack is credited for its nod to the 'real lives' of WWE performers, the decision to whoop and holler at an old colleague coming home was quite a disconnect from the presentation that concluded Smackdown Live.

Ignoring James' treachery with a broad smile, Renee inferred that she 'couldn't wait to see the effect Mickie has on the women's locker-room', sucking the wind out of James' surprise comeback and heel turn to focus on how ring-ready she was ahead of tackling the new crop of female talent in WWE.

Though Becky, Alexa and Mickie herself will likely take this mantle themselves, it was an underwhelming response to one of the first major WWE angles of 2017.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett