4 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Oct 22)

Downs...

5. Missed Opportunity?

First, a lil' missed opportunity.

The coronation skit for Xavier Woods was functional at best, but maybe could've done with some heel interference - a villainous ambush would've gone some way to showing where WWE want to go with 'King' Woods in the short-term. Instead, Kofi Kingston just kinda showered him with praise.

That was, without doubt, the most boring direction SmackDown's creative team could've taken. Why not launch Xavier into a full-blown singles feud, or use this as an excuse to get someone like Ridge Holland over as an emerging threat? This whole segment achieved next-to-nothing.

One must question the boldness of presenting Xavier as SmackDown's third 'King' in 2021 too. He follows Baron Corbin and Shinsuke Nakamura in that role, and that could be a step too far for the gimmick. WWE need to come up with better things than this if he's going to thrive.