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

4. Ye Olde Simple Pull Apart Brawl

Last week, comedic R-Truth gave way to the more serious Ron Killings during a fun confrontation with Aleister Black behind the scenes. The way Truth went from jovial to dangerous was deft, and it bodes well. On Friday, he hammed it up as the silliest version of himself by appearing on the tron to tell fans that he'd he’d accidentally hopped a flight to Dublin, Georgia instead of Ireland.

"My bad".

So, in short, Truth wouldn’t be in the house for his scheduled match vs. Aleister;. Damian Priest came out instead for a pull apart brawl with Black. Aleister laid him out 3 weeks ago, so this made sense. Their rivalry has yet to really hit the heights, but they’ll have a cracking match at Wrestlepalooza if Triple H sticks them on the card, and this was simple and to the point.

It's tough to complain about this sort of booking, because it's exactly what the weekly TV shows are for. Truth was spared having to take a beating from Aleister, then Priest made his return to get right up in the sneaky heel's face as various WWE referees, agents and security guards tried to keep them apart.

This is one of the oldest tricks in the book, but it's effective when you've got guys who could believably beat the snot out of one another. Here's hoping we get to see more serious Killings than joke Truth in the future, but his hijinks fed into Damian's comeback well on Friday night.

Also, more of those 'switches just like that' promos from Truth would be lovely. Thanks in advance, WWE.