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

2. So Much For That Title Reign!

What a puzzling decision to have Charlotte Flair taken out of the Women’s Tag Title match then Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid lose anyway. That didn’t do much to make Fatal Influence look switched on or accomplished. In fact, with Jacy Jayne banned from ringside, the other pair looked out of their depth. Yeah, that was an interesting call to say the least.

Sure, the upside is that Alexa Bliss and Tatum Paxley could get something going with the titles, but it’d be nice if the creative team would properly develop title reigns before just switching the belts. The match felt a tad rushed too, almost like they were short on time and told to speed things up. Hmm. It smarts a little that Henley and Reid came across as cannon fodder for a babyface squad that should've been reeling post-Charlotte ambush.

Hopefully, this result doesn't lead to Jacy tearing her pals a new one before declaring that Fatal Influence is done. SmackDown's female ranks need them, because Jade Cargill and her 'Baddies' don't cut it. Plus, Lainey and Fallon are already more interesting to watch as a combo than Michin and B-FAB.

Henley and Reid won the titles in July, defended them once in August and then lost when attempting to retain the belts for a second time this past Friday night. That's not a well-thought out title reign. It's a pointless one. The only hope coming out of this is that Bliss and Paxley gel, or it leads to Flair getting jealous.