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

Downs...

3. A Rematch Nobody Asked For

Really, we're doing this sh*t again?

Literally nobody clamoured for 'King' Nakamura vs. Apollo Crews again. Nobody. Somehow, WWE took such silence as a vote of confidence in the restarted feud and decided that Crews should challenge for the Intercontinental Title on next week's episode. They're even hyping Apollo as a huge threat to the champion.

Here's the flaw: Crews was booked so poorly when he was champ that no-one actually believes he has a hope in hell of beating Naka. Thus, this beatdown bit with Commander Azeez felt more desperate (from the creative team) than ominous (for Shin's title reign). It's too little, too late - Apollo looked like a chump as champ.

Big E, the man he toppled for the IC belt in the first place, is now WWE Champion. Where is Apollo? Fighting for house room on the undercard and being presented as a big time player after months of mediocrity. Christ knows why WWE can't book workers like Crews with some consistency.