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

3. Melo Don’t Miz Is Working

It's puzzling that WWE pressed pause on Melo Don't Miz for so long, to be honest, but the past 2 matches The Miz and Carmelo Hayes have worked have…worked. There's a really good dynamic between the pair, and it’s the best use of both right now. Again, as repeated elsewhere in other articles, this guy would much prefer them to be tag champs than The Wyatt Sicks.

Miz and Melo have clicked with every team they've worked with thus far. Meanwhile, other than the car crash TLC bout at SummerSlam, the pairing of Dexter Lumis and Joe Gacy have been working some of the worst matches SmackDown's tag division has seen for a while. That may seem far too harsh, but The Sicks have been a downer as champs compared to others.

This Melo Don't Miz thing is heading in the right direction, at least, and it’s cool to see Hayes actually do something constructive weekly. The story on hand is that Miz is using him. He’s supposed to get heel heat for that, but Dublin cheered for the veteran; the duo did a neat job of rolling with that and still making their match vs. Motor City Machine Guns fly.

Nobody panicked when Ireland chanted for The Miz instead of Carmelo. Instead, like a savvy ring general, Miz leaned into his role by flashing cheeky smiles and treating Hayes like somebody who's only there to share some of his spotlight. On the whole, this match was a smart bit of business.

Bring on Miz and Melo vs. The Street Profits next week before Clash In Paris.