4 Ups & 4 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Oct 31)

by Michael Hamflett

1. Better Off Alone

Kevin Owens Sami Zayn
WWE.com

Thank god Kevin Owens lost to Shinsuke Nakamura in this week's main event.

'KO' not only took move-of-the-night honours with his frightening top rope death valley driver (suitably celebrated by Sami Zayn stationed at ringside), but dodged the biggest bullet of all in avoiding a billion awkward conversations as to why on earth he would want to fight for Shane McMahon and SmackDown Live! at the Survivor Series.

Zayn and Owens are heels, but as with so many of WWE's twisted morality tales in 2017, they are the only two employing even a loose thread of logic. Neither joined their blue-shirted bretheren in the Raw attack, and now neither will be on the Survivor Series team. The 'Land Of Opportunity' has been anything but for both of them, and having only just migrated from Raw earlier this year as it is, know all to well how fickle the WWE rosters can be anyway.

Regardless of what the pair end up doing at the pay-per-view, it was smart booking to ensure that with this defeat, it's clear what they won't be up to. The involvement of Randy Orton suggests their immediate time will be filled battling Randy and his unlikely bro Shinsuke, but could the devilish duo can potentially now sink Shane McMahon and save Kurt Angle's job on November 19th. As right-minded individuals in their own heads, they shouldn't want it any other way.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett