3 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (9 Oct - Results & Review)

4. Not Cody’s Best Work

Cody was all sorts of fired up when calling out Randy later, but there was no drama because we knew Randy was going to no-show. A pop-up RKO wouldn’t have really achieved much anyway, being honest. As the segment rolled on, it became clear that they were just chewing through time without anything new to say here. Aldis wanted to do business behind closed doors, whilst Cody fancied ranting about how Orton is a “tramp stamp, fragile bitch”.

OK then - that line didn't make Rhodes look like a clever babyface. Maybe they're trying to sell that Randy has managed to get right under his skin, but there was a subtle whiff of Roman Reigns and his "succotash, son" speech from yesteryear about all of this. It wasn't quite on that level of bad, but it got close!

Being real, this couldn’t hold a candle to some of the recent promo work both guys have put out there, and it’s something WWE asks Rhodes to do a lot. ‘Go out there yourself and talk, talk, talk without moving things forwards’. Personally, this writer always really appreciates Cody’s fire, but he needs inspired material to work with in skits like this one.

Do your thing, creative. Uphold your end of the bargain.

Let's just say that WWE's video team won't be spinning any highlights from this week's Smackers into the package for the inevitable rematch between Cody and Randy. Nothing to see here. We couldn't even get a decent set of insults out of things this time.