4 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (19 Dec - Results & Review)

4. The Problem With WarGames Exposed

Both Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett noted that Asuka, Kairi Sane, Lash Legend and Nia Jax had been teammates during Survivor Series: WarGames. The announcers had to bring that up, but it laid bare just how flimsy their union was before WWE's November PLE. After all, the Kabuki Warriors and the fresher duo of Jax and Legend haven't really interacted since WarGames to explain why they were on the same page at all.

WWE just sort of moved on, then dropped it in here. That exposes how unnecessary the women’s WarGames match truly was. Triple H has to do something about this next year, because it might rank as the worst WarGames bout ever and he cannot let that happen again. Clearly, there was no need for these workers to team up at all. It’s absolutely worth bringing up, because WWE wants to hype these things up and make them seem important at the time.

Then, what happens next makes it all ring hollow anyway.

That's bad booking, in this fan's opinion. WarGames should only happen when there's a good reason for it to happen. For example, prior Bloodline business demanded some sort of blow off, and the moving parts involved fit the double cage gimmick. Lash, Nia, Asuka and Kairi joining hands on 29 November did not, and now WWE's 'oh well never mind' approach in the aftermath will make it even tougher for anyone to give a toss about future bouts.

All of this was 100% avoidable. Just...stop booking around the calendar unless you're motoring towards the Rumble, Elimination Chamber or Money In The Bank. It's lazy.