5 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown (28 Nov - Results & Review)

2. Opener Sets A Good Pace

Jey Uso vs. Rusev was a fine 10-minute opener. Again, if the crowd sounded just a tad muted, then that probably had something to do with this being a double taping for SmackDown. They had a lot of matches thrown at them last Friday. Credit to Jey and Rusev though, 'cause they managed to have everyone eating from the palms of their hands during the final few minutes here.

Bizarrely, some on social media are criticising Jey for being sloppy in this one, but yours truly didn’t really see that. Some of the more cutting comments just come across as attention seeking, almost like 'Uso can't work anymore' is a trendy phrase people need to repeat for likes. There was next to no evidence of him being off the pace vs. Rusev. None at all.

One of the best things about the musclebound Bulgarian's bouts is that you always get the impression he’s going for the Accolade and trying to win. That’s refreshing in an age of sizzle over substance spot hopping. His usual focus played into the story of the match too - the thing that ultimately cost Rusev was going away from his game plan and trying to mock John Cena by hitting an Attitude Adjustment.

Jey then splashed him for the popular win and rolled on to the semi final stage of the tournament. Later, it was revealed that he'll be working LA Knight on Raw. He can be proud of his work on this occasion. It was rock solid, and this fan honestly doesn't know what people are talking about with the sloppy stuff.