5 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Nov 7)
1. Tag Out
WWE.com
Chad Gable's unsurprisingly managed far better than his American Alpha counterpart since Jason Jordan 's unveiling as Kurt Angle's progeny over the summer, but it doesn't look like he'll share a Survivor Series spotlight with him after a disappointing placeholder match replaced what should have been a rewarding overseas effort from the talented quartet.
The scant minutes of action were hugely enjoyable, presumably thanks to the four men knowing their time would be severely cut to allow for the blockbuster main event. However, what the contest had in spirit, it completely lacked in stakes.
Benjamin and Gable were only too happy to take the count-out win, despite knowing that another chance at the straps could disappear into the ether until at least after the Survivor Series. Furthermore, The Usos' babyface turn had been confirmed without the need to make them sympathetic figures ahead of the Sheamus/Cesaro supercard showdown.
The company had no problem shuffling the deck to accommodate other needs on this edition of the show - this dynamic doubles duel should perhaps have been left on pause too.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
