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

1. What A Waste Of Time This Was

One of the most lifeless plot threads running throughout SmackDown for weeks has been Sami Zayn knocking the GM's door then looking all disappointed when Nick Aldis reminds him that he isn't medically cleared. That's it. That's all they've been doing. Send an email, FFS. This week, Sami called out Solo Sikoa, but the MFT leader guffawed when pointing out that Zayn still can't wrestle.

Solo then threatened to kick Sami's head in anyway, but said he'd rather wait until the babyface was cleared by doctors. Erm..why? You're a heel, mate, and you run a vicious faction. Why the sudden good nature? That's dignified babyface stuff. Firing back, Zayn revealed that he is cleared after all. The MFTs then went to attack him, then Shinsuke Nakamura, Rey Fenix and Motor City Machine Guns ran in for a brawl.

Wake yours truly up when this gets interesting.

No amount of ominous pointing can make this compelling. Why are WWE giving this so much time? It's a poor use of Sami, and everyone else on the babyface squad is just acting like hangers-on who have nothing better to do. Later, Aldis announced that he was putting everyone in the ring for a traditional 5v5 Survivor Series elimination match, but it'll happen in 2 weeks on SmackDown instead.

OK then. You literally have a PLE called Survivor Series, but are booking a Survivor Series match on TV the night before. Yeah, the formatting of this place is veering dangerously close to Vince McMahon in 2019 levels currently, and that's not meant as a compliment.