4 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Aug 22)

Downs…

3. Inglorious Booking

Bobby Roode Aiden English
WWE.com

As good as it was to see Bobby Roode finally appear on the main roster, WWE totally botched his debut match with Aiden English. The former NXT got a great reception, and the fans were hyped up throughout, but he needlessly went 50/50 with one of the most useless performers on the roster, and that’s an issue.

English is an enhancement guy, while Roode is somebody who WWE presumably see as a future main eventer. Logic dictates that ‘The Glorious One’ should crush his opponent in such a scenario, but no. He was made to absorb an unnecessary amount of offence from the lowly 'Drama King,' whose pointless heat segment ultimately harmed Roode, made him feel like less of a star, and diminished would should've been his big moment.

The producers also went for the screen-in-screen approach, relegating the match to the bottom corner while the footage headed elsewhere, which further harmed the power of Roode’s debut. He won, which is the main thing, and he got a shred of microphone time afterwards, but one of modern day WWE’s biggest failings has been their inability to effectively debut new wrestlers, and it continued with Bobby last night.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.