3 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (14 Nov - Results & Review)

Downs...

5. Rare Flop For Ilja’s Open Challenge

Axiom challenging Ilja Dragunov for the United States Title should’ve been a layup, but it didn’t click for some reason. Maybe it was the babyface vs. babyface dynamic, but that sounds like a cop out considering Axiom isn’t the first face Ilja has defended against. Fans in attendance for SmackDown just weren’t into this one for 90% of the runtime, and it didn’t feel on the level of Dragunov’s matches vs. Sami Zayn, Aleister Black, Nathan Frazer or Johnny Gargano.

Being fair, Axiom’s springboard DDT spot was “unreal” (as Corey Graves called it) and managed to wake the fans up, but it was a rare highlight in an oddly muted title challenge. WWE are still purring on Tommaso Ciampa's eventual tilt, and that'll surely play before better reactions because Ciampa can go full on devious heel by trying to cheat throughout.

Fingers crossed, eh?

Look, not every single one of these 'Open Challenge' matches will work. Some will be better than others. That's just the way it is. Dragunov deserves to be cut some slack considering the strength of his performances since returning from injury, and it's not like Triple H should burn the whole thing down due to one errant bout.

Perhaps this is a sign of where Axiom is more than anything. He's a flashy tag wrestler who works well within the context of the duo with Nathan Frazer, but there's next to no connection between he and fans when he flies solo. Oh well, WWE can't be blamed for scribbling this down on paper and thinking, 'Job's a good un!'.