3 Ups & 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Jan 9)

4. Counting Sheep

AJ Styles Kevin Owens Sami Zayn
WWE.com

There wasn't much wrong with the content in SmackDown's opening segment. Featuring Renee Young interviewing WWE Champion AJ Styles in the ring, it was a solid piece of writing delivered well by the performers, with 'The Phenomenal One' commenting on his upcoming title defence against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, while casting doubt on Daniel Bryan. Shane McMahon interrupted after the heels' arrival, because that's what he does, and wound up booking the night's main event (which we'll get to in a moment).

Regardless, while the performances were fine, the whole format is a giant bore. Such openers become tiresome when they don't bring any significant developments, and when the show starts in the exact same way every single week, it becomes difficult to see them as anything more than filler.

Kicking things off with a revolving door talking segment has been WWE's modus operandi for years. They're never going to change it, no matter how stale things get, but that doesn't make our complaints any less valid. People want dynamism and unpredictability from wrestling, not this rote A-to-B, B-to-C layout, but finding such qualities in WWE programming has never been so difficult, particularly on SmackDown, 'The Land Of Predictability.'

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. 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.