4 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (13 Dec - Results & Review)
Downs...
4. Pick Your Priorities
It's pretty clear that Triple H wanted to protect both Solo Sikoa and LA Knight on this week's episode. Hmm, no. This is a fragile period in Solo's career. His team lost at WarGames, and he's the one WWE should be rebuilding right now. Sikoa has 'Tribal Combat' incoming vs. Roman Reigns on a souped up Netflix debut, after all. Knight could've stared at the lights without fuss here.
Just saying.
'The Game' had to prioritise one man over the other. Michael Cole and Corey Graves acknowledged (ha) that Solo's crew need some juice again coming out of Survivor Series, so a decisive win over a star like LA would’ve gone a long way. Was it really worth sacrificing that just so we get this six-man tag with Andrade and Apollo Crews backing up Knight? That's hardly a top match.
The better play would've been Sikoa beating LA due to distractions from Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga around ringside, then a gang-style beating from The Bloodline on Knight. That's when Andrade and Crews (who were also ambushed by Sikoa and pals previously) could've raced in to even the odds and lead to the six-man tag later on.
The puzzling "Transfer Window" stuff has some fans wondering who's going to be a focal point on the upper midcard heading through WrestleMania season. If Sikoa vs. Reigns is going to work and lead to the next chapter of Bloodline business, then it's pretty vital that Solo goes into it with some steam behind him.
Sometimes, DQ finishes that protect both wrestlers are fine. This wasn't one of those occasions, sadly.