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

Ups...

5. Black Mass Wrecks Damian Priest

This just in: Not every match needs to be a dizzying cavalcade of spots and big moves. Sometimes, it's better to have a bout that fits the narrative being told and aims to slow things right down here or there. Aleister Black vs. Damian Priest was SmackDown's slow burn effort, and it was better for that pacing. Besides, it wouldn't have made sense to go hell for leather considering how things kicked off.

Black attacked in the aisle before the bell, and that meant Priest was fighting form underneath for the entire thing. Some may argue that this slowed the pace just a little bit too much, but it’s clear these guys will have a barn burner on WWE PLE at some point when the time is right. They were telling a story here, and that should be applauded not derided. There was a generous helping of high spots elsewhere on the card anyway.

Black scoring the win with his Black Mass kick after taking a South Of Heaven on the announce desk is rather promising for his prospects. He’d have had nowhere to go had he lost here. This fan still says the duo will need some sort of gimmick to make their blow off feel special, because the crowd got a little quiet during Aleister’s heat sections, but that's surely the plan.

Some sort of 'No DQ' stipulation would do the trick, or maybe sticking them in a trusty steel cage would get some folks giddy. If nothing else, at least Priest is doing his utmost to help make Black look like a true threat when he lands that finishing kick. The strength of anything finisher comes via success.