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

1. The Setup & Execution Of AJ Lee’s Return

You knew this would take home the prize for best 'Up'.

Firstly, it's only right to give Becky Lynch some props for her part in proceedings. 'The Man' was excellent in her role as somebody who badly needed put in her place. She slapped CM Punk some more and goaded him perfectly. Then, Punk said he wouldn’t hit a lady but knew somebody who would. Lee’s music cued, and she hit the ring to take Becky down.

It was a killer moment that’ll feed into the proposed mixed tag match at Wrestlepalooza nicely. Just really good content that ticked a lot of boxes for WWE; they were able to drag things out with Seth Rollins, Becky and Punk, then a major comeback popped the live crowd. They teased fans with AJ ahead of time, then delivered. Nobody can be down on that.

At least there was one awesome women’s division moment on this show!

Of course, the real tester for AJ will come when she's in a full-on match. It's hard to know whether or not she'll have any ring rust (could be unavoidable) in a mixed tag setting, 'cause that tends to protect people, but Lee did look in phenomenal shape out there. She's kept herself fit, and is clearly chuffed to bits to grace the WWE stage again with her husband.

This is already one of the biggest mixed tags in company history, and it hasn't even happened yet. That speaks to the star power on offer, and to how vociferous WWE fans were about AJ returning someday.

What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more wrestling, check out 12 WWE Failures Who Became World Champion and 8 New Directions For WWE After Clash In Paris 2025!