4 Ups And 4 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Feb 21)

Downs...

4. Alexa vs. Becky Falls Flat

As solid as the set-up segment was, there was nothing special about Alexa Bliss vs. Becky Lynch. Running less than 10 minutes, their SmackDown Women's Title match was incredibly underwhelming given the stakes, and nowhere near close to the standards we've come to expect from Lynch in particular.

The match was cannibalised by an ill-timed commercial break, but that doesn't excuse the lack of excitement throughout. Bliss eventually won with a shot to the throat and a roll-up with a handful of tights, but the finish came with little build and caught the audience off-guard.

For all her strengths as a character, it is increasingly clear that Bliss still has a lot of work to do in the ring. Her main roster transition has been seamless in a lot of ways, but she's still struggling to put on good matches, even with Becky - the division's best wrestler. Their rivalry just hasn't produced the goods between the ropes, and Alexa is far from the finished article.

Bliss has only been wrestling for just over three years, so her deficiencies are understandable. Still, her and Becky were put in a great spot to shine on SmackDown, but set the night off to a disappointing start.