5 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE Smackdown Live (Aug 23)
4. Up - The Double Turn
Sunday evening at SummerSlam, Nikki Bella made her WWE return after nearly 10 months on the shelf. She joined the heel Smackdown women's team - substituting for the suspended Eva Marie - leading them to victory over the babyfaces when she pinned Carmella after a TKO.
On Smackdown, Bella would be back in singles action, taking on Carmella in a chance to go two for two. The match never got started, as it happened. Renee Young tried to conduct a pre-match interview, asking Bella what it meant to return from her injury, but as she answered, Carmella attacked her from behind. She beat Bella brutally, eventually leaving the ring, but then coming back to continue the assault.
Double turns can be hard to pull off, but this one was simple and effective. The crowd pretty much turned Bella face all by themselves at SummerSlam, and nobody at Smackdown wanted to boo her after her comeback. Having Carmella - who needs a strong character to make up for her ring work - lay Bella out with a cowardly attack was a smart way to give her new purpose.