4 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Feb 17)

Ups...

4. Way Better Than Expected

Ronda Rousey Natalya
WWE.com

Some might be shocked to see this get an 'Up'.

Everyone worked hard to make the opening women's tag better than it perhaps had any right to be though, and there's genuine chemistry between Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler that WWE better not spoil. Sure, it might've been better had they ripped through a random team like Natalya and Shotzi, but...yeah, about that.

It'd be silly to complain that women don't get enough time on these shows, then blast WWE higher-ups for giving a match like this some minutes to kick off SmackDown. Also, for what it's worth, the heels beating Shotzi rather than Nattie was the right call considering the veteran's involvement at Chamber.

Yours truly is willing to overlook some of the sloppier moments (they all came during the first half) and shower this match with some praise. It was a fairly solid start on the road towards surefire Women's Tag Title success for Ronda and Shayna.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.