5 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Feb 28)

1. Crews & Ziggler Expose A Paper-Thin Midcard

Dolph Ziggler vs. Apollo Crews was comfortably the worst segment on a strong episode of SmackDown. Chairs matches rarely come-off well, and while Baron Corbin and Kalisto made great use of the stipulation at TLC 2016, Ziggler and Crews laid an egg last night. It was a slow, plodding and needlessly long match with little in the way of creativity, and no real crowd heat.

The stipulation wasn't the only thing that didn't work, however. Crews, the apparent babyface, jumped Ziggler from behind as he was making his ring entrance, which effectively makes him impossible to root for. WWE's issues with building compelling, believable babyfaces are chronic, and moves like this are a death sentence for Crews, who has struggled to get over since debuting on the main roster. The feud isn't working, and SmackDown's writers would do well to nip it in the bud.

Unfortunately, that might not even be an option. SmackDown's lack of midcard depth is really starting to show, and the blue brand is in desperate need of a few new faces. They've no choice but to feature directionless athletes with little-to-no crowd support, and if rumours of post-WrestleMania roster shake-ups are true, that day can't come soon enough for SmackDown. The show regularly outshines Raw every week, but the roster's middle tiers look skeletal at the moment.