3 Ups & 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Aug 8)

by Andy H Murray

1. Kevin Owens Dips Into The Archives

AJ Styles Shane McMahon Kevin Owens
WWE.com

That the best thing on last night’s SmackDown was an in-ring talking segment featuring an occasionally overbearing authority figure speaks volumes of the show's problems, but the Shane McMahon/AJ Styles/Kevin Owens confrontation was extremely well done.

The Commissioner has been installed as the special guest referee for Styles and Owens’ forthcoming United States Title rematch, and KO wasn’t happy. He did all he could to undermine Shane’s power, bringing up his family’s shady history by referencing the Montreal Screwjob, before showing footage of him and AJ tussling prior to ‘Mania. Then, Owens went even further into the archives to show McMahon screwing Steve Austin in a match against Mankind from 1998.

The references were tremendous, while Shane acknowledged this his history as a guest official isn’t a particularly honest one, he vowed to call it right down the middle. A scuffle inevitably broke out, with AJ accidentally nailing McMahon with a Pele Kick in the confusion, and KO leaving with a big Cheshire Cat grin on his face.

Owens vs. Shane is the likely endgame, which does make the SummerSlam bout somewhat predictable, but WWE are at least doing a good job of building tension between the athletes. This was a great segment, and stood out particularly strongly thanks to the lack of quality elsewhere in the show.

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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.