3 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Jan 15)

by Jamie Kennedy

1. KO’s Comeback

Kevin Owens Adam Pearce WWE SmackDown
WWE.com

Thank God for this.

Nothing against Adam Pearce, but nobody needed to see him challenge for the Universal Title on one of the biggest pay-per-views of the year. Booking him to pull a fast one on Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman by bringing back Kevin Owens was definitely the right call.

SmackDown's end sequence played out perfectly too. Reigns was smug right up until Pearce dropped his bombshell, and KO looked like he was raring to go and have one more brawl with Roman at the Rumble. He wore a smile, Pearce remained neutral, Reigns was incensed and Heyman was aghast.

WWE were always going to be able to squeeze one more gimmick match out of this feud, so it didn't make sense when it seemed Pearce was going to get the nod instead. Now, perhaps for the first time, Roman's unofficial dominion over SmackDown has been threatened.

Good, even the best heels need to show weakness occasionally.

What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more like this, check out 4 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Jan 8) and 10 Wrestlers Who Were Insulted By WWE Roles They Were Offered!

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Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.