3 Ups And 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Jan 24)

Ups...

3. Favorite Son

The show opened up with the Randy Orton versus Luke Harper match, and it turned out to be a really good way to kick off the show. It's rare that a match between two major players (or a match so wild) opens up a broadcast, but starting with this bout gave the show a sense of urgency.

The match was a good brawl, if a bit slow moving (but after all, Randy Orton was in it). Wyatt was seated at ringside watching the match from his rocking chair, but remained neutral. In fact, he remained uninvolved, excepting one point where he threw both men back in the ring to beat a countdown.

In the end, Orton countered a discus lariat into the RKO for the pin, but after the bout, the family faltered. Bray came into the ring, helped Harper up, and hugged him, but then planted him with Sister Abigail. Announcers speculated about whether this was tough love or an excommunication, but either way, it was intriguing.