5 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown (27 Dec - Results & Review)

Downs...

2. What Changed?

Previously, this writer gave WWE a lot of praise for maintaining Bianca Belair's warranted frost towards Bayley. The 'EST' wasn't willing to go along with Naomi/others and play pals with the ex-Damage CTRL leader because she'd been punted from the group. That rocked, because it portrayed Bianca as a real human being who needed more than just, 'Bayley is a babyface now' to get onboard.

What changed, and why?

Belair suddenly trusts Bayley. That's one of Triple H's near misses, creatively speaking. Bianca started accepting Bayley shortly before WarGames without any real context as to why, and now says "we're good" like beef has been squashed. No, un-squash that beef! There's plenty to unpack. It's a minor grumble for sure, but WWE definitely could've handled this plot point with way more finesse than they have; Bianca went from hating Bayley’s guts to being totally cool with having her around, and there wasn’t enough of an explanation as to why.

Worse, they’re not even frosty in the slightest. The pair are like great pals all of a sudden. Did Belair have a change of heart because Naomi helped her hold onto the Women's Tag-Team Titles? Or, did the company simply view the aggro between old rivals as boring and want to move on from it ASAP? People need answers, Hunter. Right now, quietly shelving this plot point is making Belair look a little foolish.

If she must team with Bayley, fine, but it isn't much to ask that she's chippy about it. After all, Bayley hasn't actually done anything to change that other than stepping into the breach for a one-off match at Survivor Series.