4 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Aug 20)
Sasha Banks no-shows; John Cena pins Roman Reigns; SmackDown gets messy.
Roman Reigns and John Cena are gold on the mic together.
This week's SmackDown was all about chemistry generally. Rey Mysterio and Jey Uso showed off their own harmony in-ring, Edge and Seth Rollins did the same with duelling promos (and a little more), then the Universal Title combo clashed to great effect in WWE's last-ditch 'go home' for SummerSlam.
Cena and Reigns are unafraid to go places most wrestlers wouldn't. There's a confidence to both - key word there, because this is no longer a case of Roman striving to keep up with JC on the mic. He matched Hollywood's finest on Friday night, and that somehow elevated the build towards their match to greater heights.
What about the sh*tty things though? SmackDown had a few of those. WWE completely ignored some of their own booking from just last month, for example, and the women's scene is quickly turning into an outright disgrace that badly needs fixed before it's too late. Bianca Belair's exploits here prove it.
Those glaring negatives dragged the show down a bit. Here are all the 'Ups' and the 'Downs'...