5 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (22 Aug - Results & Review)

Ups...

5. RKO Out Of Nowhere

Behold one of 2 short but sweet segments that arguably pads out the 'Ups' section. Padding wouldn't tell the full story though - segments don't need to be super long to be effective, and this was proof of that. Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton were in and out of there within just a few short minutes, but their actions resonated and teased even better things to come.

That's a win, people.

Drew was ripping on the kayfabe injured Cody Rhodes and saying he’s coming for the WWE Title when Randy crashed the scene to hit an RKO from behind. That was a crowd-popping moment, and it makes sense to have McIntyre burn through Orton whilst Cody recovers. Then, when Rhodes does roar back into view and seek revenge, the hot Scot can get his crack at the belt and all will be right with the world.

Randy's RKO wasn't as random as it might seem to some either. He's fresh off teaming with singer Jelly Roll in a losing effort to Drew and Logan Paul at SummerSlam, and there was plenty of history between both men long before that too. They were once WWE Title rivals themselves, and they're about to put on another clinic soon.

McIntyre vs. Orton headlining a coming episode of SmackDown for 15-20 minutes, followed by Cody's return to set up a match with Drew for Wrestlepalooza, sounds tasty. Ideally, it's the heel who'll win that match with Randy so he's ripe for Rhodes. Unless, of course, Hunter fancies going Triple Threat daft on the men's side too.