5 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Dec 17)

2. Acknowledging Defeat

...this!

Before laying into Paul Heyman for last week's Brock Lesnar banter, Roman acknowledged that Jimmy and Jey had literally just lost to New Day. This was nifty - Reigns' disappointment when The Usos screw up has been a constant thread running through The Bloodline's business, so it was awesome that he mentioned it here.

Deftly, Roman used that annoyance to point fingers at Heyman too. He said he can forgive his cousins because they're "blood". Cue one of the best facial expressions of the year from Paul, and one hell of a reaction from the audience, when Reigns said Heyman isn't.

Roman managed to recognise that The Usos had lost and put that in its proper place with one short line. That's how good this guy has become on the mic. In storyline, Jimmy and Jey dropping a non-title bout isn't as important as Heyman scurrying around with Brock behind Roman's back.

That came across loud and clear.