4 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (20 Dec - Results & Review)

1. He Won (But At What Cost?)

Last week's squash match loss to the returning Braun Strowman typified Carmelo Hayes' luck, or lack thereof. The ex-NXT dynamo has all the tools to succeed, but it's pretty clear WWE doesn't have much of clue what to do with him. They're making this up as they go along - they must be. If they weren't, then WWE would've had a plan for Melo coming out of his well-received series vs. Andrade.

Instead, he's going down the 'in over his head but still crafty' route with Strowman. Here, Carmelo won via countout after taking a bit of a beating from big Braun. Y'know when you can just tell instantly that a combo/story/feud has nothing to offer? Yeah, this is one of those situations. It'd be a minor miracle if tangling with Strowman helped Hayes in the long run. Content like this is the living definition of treading water creatively.

Granted, at least Carmelo is still on TV every week, but trying to get positive about this is pushing it. It'd be an outright lie to say the mini-feud has been entertaining so far. Braun's soft reset button has been pressed, so he's a gentler version of the wrecking machine fans watched on Raw back in 2016. Meanwhile, the "resourceful" Hayes is struggling not to look like a heel Crash Holly.

Technically, Melo won this match and has a victory over Braun. That ties them at one win apiece, which means a rematch is incoming soon. At this rate, it'd be a shocker if Triple H resisted the urge to go full blown Vince and stick them in a Christmas-themed brawl on the 27 December episode.

Hands up who wants to see it? Thought so!