5 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown (29 Nov - Results & Review)
1. “None Of That Matters”
That's literally what Rhea Ripley said during SmackDown's opening revolving door promo designed to put some sizzle on the women's WarGames match. 'Mami' acknowledged that hardly anybody in her team gets along, then added: "...but none of that matters". Sure, what Rhea said about each of them having beef with members of the heel side individually is true, but this is all so flimsy and haphazardly thrown together.
WWE shouldn’t have booked this match at all without a better story that justified it. Further, it also makes zero sense that Bianca Belair is suddenly content to team with Bayley or IYO SKY after hating on Damage CTRL being her entire identity for the longest time. You can’t just flip away from that when it’s convenient without giving some sort of explanation. There's no time for that now either - the match is imminent.
A lot of folks seem confused by the Jade Cargill situation online, but something else is even more concerning: Triple H has fallen into the Vince McMahon trap of booking matches to fit the calendar. WarGames is too important to waste on substandard scenarios like this one. They haven't even explained why Bayley and IYO are suddenly back on the same page after splitting earlier in the year and literally feuding at WrestleMania.
Unfortunately, this is straight out of the latter day Vince playbook. These women don't have enough going on to merit a WarGames match. That should've been kept exclusively for the OG Bloodline vs. New Bloodline match in the main event. Seeing the double cage twice on the same show = nah.