4 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Aug 22)
Debuts, returns, title defences: last night had them all.
With the dust from the second biggest show of the year still settling, WWE delivered a hectic episode of SmackDown last night. Only one match stretched longer than 8 minutes, almost all of the brand's major names featured, and the show bounced from one quickfire segment to another without ever coming up for air, but was it an effective SummerSlam follow-up?
Yes and no.
It wasn't a bad episode, and definitely a clear step forward from last week's shambles. The highs outnumbered the lows, but this certainly wasn't must-see television, though there were plenty of talking points.
Former NXT Champion Bobby Roode finally showed up on SmackDown, while Shelton Benjamin returned and seemingly formed a new tag team. Shinsuke Nakamura's feud with Jinder Mahal continued, as did Natalya's with Carmella, and, disappointingly, Kevin Owens' with Shane McMahon. Elsewhere, The Usos stamped their authority on the tag division, Lana vowed to make Tamina a champion, and some guy named Dolph Ziggler showed up.
A routine episode of SmackDown, but we'll take that any day of the week, given the brand's recent struggles. Lets look at what drove it forward, and what dragged it down...