4 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (23 May - Results & Review)
Downs...
4. Functional, But More Is Needed
It isn't unkind to say that LA Knight feels like he needs a fresh wrinkle as a character. He’s kinda directionless despite just qualifying for Money In The Bank. Meanwhile, Aleister Black’s WWE return hasn’t hit the heights expected thus far, and Shinsuke Nakamura is in a ‘jobber to the stars’ spot nowadays. Nah, not the most exciting three-way here then.
It certainly couldn't come close to the women’s one earlier on. Admittedly, all three got in and got out whilst getting the job done with Knight qualifying, but yeah - more is needed for LA and Black in particular. They're just sort of there on the WWE roster at the moment, which is a pity considering both are incredibly talented. It's also fair to say that not every single wrestler can be Triple H's focus at the same time.
'The Game' is spinning his wheels a little more than beforehand though. That's also fair to point out.
Knight going into the men's ladder match is far from a bad idea, but neither he nor Solo Sikoa were the most exciting picks in their respective three-ways. Last week, Rey Fenix was right there for WWE, but they decided to go with the ex-New Bloodline leader instead. Here, when Black arguably needed a win to jolt his second run with the company, the writers backed LA instead.
Minor grumbles, sure, because the most important thing is that WWE has a long-term plan for these dudes, but it'd be false to say this particular Triple Threat was must see.