5 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Oct 10)
2. Boring Old Baron
Tye Dillinger's insertion into Hell in a Cell's United States Title match reeked of WWE wanting to crown Baron Corbin as champion without AJ Styles having to take a pinfall. It made sense at the time, and Tye's involvement certainly enhanced the excitement, but what was the point if WWE were going to do this two nights later?
'The Lone Wolf' bested 'The Phenomenal One' in SmackDown's main event, pinning him cleanly in just under 12 minutes. A curious booking decision, but not an entirely awful one, as it will at least allow WWE to draw a line under this dull feud and send Styles back towards the main event, where he'll be tasked with saving Jinder Mahal's toxic WWE Title reign.
The match's quality is the real reason it finds itself on the negative side of the equation. Flat, limp, and unexciting, it felt at least five minutes longer than its actual runtime, and became particularly torturous whenever Corbin was in control. There was nothing to elevate it beyond Baron's usual standard, and the company have now booked themselves into a corner, forced to push a bland, character-less heel who can't even have a good match with the best wrestler in the company. RIP the United States Title division.