4 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Nov 15)

2. 12 Pointless Minutes

SmackDown Tag Teams
WWE.com

Survivor Series' 10-on-10 tag team elimination contest felt like the PPV's least important match from the moment it was announced, and recent weeks have done little to change that. It was the same situation again last night, and while SmackDown's tag teams were given ample time to impress, they did absolutely nothing with it.

King Booker returned for a quick backstage segment as Heath Slater & Rhyno attempted to rally the troops for Sunday, and the bulk of SD's teams came together for a big 8-on-8 match later on. It screamed of the producers struggling to fill airtime, and after 12 relatively pointless minutes, American Alpha hit Grand Amplitude on a nondescript Headbanger to take the win.

Perhaps it's unfair to criticise the Survivor Series competitors too strongly - they were competing against one of the most unimpressive 8-man groups (the Headbangers, Vaudevillains, Spirit Squad, and Ascension) ever assembled, after all. Still, the tag teams are heading into the PPV with next to no heat. They'll likely put on a decent show in the end, but SD's 10-man team had a great opportunity to warm-up an incredibly cold PPV match last night, and they blew it.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. 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.