3 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Jan 29)

Ups...

3. No More Obstacles

Bayley Bianca Belair
WWE.com

Last week, poor Bayley and Bianca Belair had to contend with some of the worst material in living memory. Their obstacle course challenge was rubbish, and it relied on the same rotten comedy that someone in WWE believes is hilarious; who wouldn't laugh at Bianca carrying Otis on her back?!

Probably Belair herself.

This week, WWE hit the upgrade button and actually booked both women to their strengths. They had a fine wrestling match, which was a vast improvement. Best of all, Bianca got a clean win and enough post-match promo time to put herself forward as a favourite for Sunday's Royal Rumble match.

Meanwhile, Bayley has to dig deep and find some lost pride before the pay-per-view. This was simple storytelling, and it was pretty effective. It was certainly more compelling than watching both ladies jump over hurdles or anything like that.

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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.