5 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE Smackdown Live (Aug 23)
5. Down - Broken Promises
Out next was AJ Styles, who was coming off arguably the biggest win of his career (though personally, I'd still go with those IWGP Heavyweight Title victories). AJ was in a weird position, as he was supposed to be cutting a heel promo on the fans, but most of them were cheering him. Nevertheless, Styles was able to brush them off and deliver his lines well.
Styles was eventually interrupted by Dolph Ziggler, with whom he had brawled earlier on the show. Security guards held Dolph back, prompting Daniel Bryan to book a match between the two - Styles, at his behest, would be challenging Dean Ambrose for the WWE Title at Backlash, but if Dolph won, he'd be added to the bout and it would be a triple threat.
The problem with the segment was that there was no John Cena. While having Cena off TV to sell his crushing defeat is fine, the faceoff between Styles and Cena last week was excellent, and it came with a guarantee. After losing, Cena would have to admit AJ was better than him - if he didn't he was a liar, and if he did, he was a loser. That plot point was totally forgotten, which was a shame - it could have been worked to put Styles over even further.