5 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Sept 15)

Ups...

5. Two For One Setup

Onto the good, and there was a lot of it.

Asuka beating a tentative Bayley prepped her for a title crack at IYO SKY next week (which should be a fab match), but Shotzi also got involved to keep her story with Damage CTRL going too. No, Asuka vs. Bayley wasn't an essential match wrestling-wise, but it did serve multiple masters from a storytelling perspective.

You can't really argue with that sort of booking. Some might be wondering why this bout gets a pass when AJ vs. Finn sits in the 'Downs' section. It's simple: Yours truly had higher expectations for Styles vs. Bálor, but WWE never gave those lads much of a chance. Things were different on the women's side of things.

Asuka gets a win to build momentum for IYO, Shotzi is getting some solid reactions from live crowds and coming across as an unpredictable threat, and Bayley's head was all over the place. Credit must go to the writers for how slick everything came out here.