4 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Oct 28)

1. An AEW-Style Segment

Ronda Rousey Emma Tenille Dashwood
WWE.com

Technically, a re-debut, but the point still stands.

WWE's booking here smacked of Tony Khan, and not the good side of TK. Emma answering Ronda Rousey's open challenge was the kind of thing you'd expect to see from a Jade Cargill title defence on Dynamite or Rampage, being honest. It was totally 'one and done' in terms of style.

Tenille Dashwood's first company match in over five years was a six-minute loss to Ronda before everyone moved on. Worse, fans barely stirred for it. Could Emma be a credit to the women's division in a veteran role? Absolutely, but this wasn't the hot start some probably hoped it'd be.

Where does Emma even go from here? She was brought back to lose a quick fire SmackDown Title match, and wasn't even mentioned after the fact. In other words, she made zero impact on the division during her first night back.

Eek.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.