5 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Nov 7)
Ups...
5. All's Well That Ends Ell
WWE
James Ellsworth and Becky Lynch's rivalry was smartly promoted as a surprisingly longstanding feud. The two had engaged in physicalities several times since the chinless wonder sidled up to Carmella earlier this year.
A rare case of man-on-woman violence in 2017 WWE was largely avoided when little James failed to nail much in the way of offence. Save for two shoves to create even the tiniest air of suspense, Ellsworth was dominated, decimated and eventually ditched via superkick by his former squeeze Carmella.
The comedy outing was hardly the most rewarding thing on the show, but it was an oddly satisfying use of the women's Survivor Series team in comparison to the chaos overseen by Alicia Fox on Monday Night Raw. A post-match tête-à-tête between Charlotte and Natalya threatened to rock the Thanksgiving tradition yet again, but the significance Ellsworth's eradication from the scene wasn't lost.
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
