5 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Jan 26 - Results & Review)

Ups...

5. At Least They Had Something To Say

AJ Styles Randy Orton LA Knight
WWE.com

Onto the plus side. In short, the hard work Roman's challengers put in.

SmackDown opened with a standard revolving door promo involving Randy Orton, AJ Styles and LA Knight. It was an uninspired decision, being perfectly honest, but the performances of all three men on the mic stopped the segment from being a 'Down'. That speaks to the talent Randy, AJ and LA have.

Each man had something meaningful to say, and they all delivered their points with gusto. Better yet, Styles attacked Orton once the talking was done, which only opened up even more heat amongst challengers and keeps things simmering pre-Rumble. That was a smart decision.

Knight made a nice point about being the only one of the trio booked to work a match on Friday too. Meanwhile, AJ bitched about that by saying LA keeps stealing his spots. This is the kind of skit that would've tanked with less-skilled guys, but these three made it work.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.