5 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Jan 6)

Roman Reigns snaps at Sami Zayn; Charlotte Flair struggles; WWE sets up Royal Rumble.

Charlotte Flair 2023
WWE.com

Attention, Triple H: You're making the same mistakes the soon-to-return Vince McMahon once did with Charlotte Flair. She is not a good babyface, has made it clear she doesn't want to be one and is horribly miscast during her own WWE comeback.

Sort it out.

The good news is that there was a lot to like about this week's SmackDown elsewhere. No, it wasn't quite the show last week's John Cena-boosted broadcast was, but it was still a fun two hours and Smackers continues to trump Raw in terms of being easy to digest.

WWE's main goal on Friday night was to announce some names for both Royal Rumble matches and setup the big title bout for Roman Reigns on that pay-per-view. Creative achieved that, and they're still managing to squeeze more juice from the Sami Zayn story too. That remains pro wrestling's absolute best narrative, which won't change unless Vinnie Mac's comeback deems Sami expendable.

It's unrealistic to expect any show to be flawless from beginning to end, but SmackDown often comes close. Sadly, there are often just a few little things that let it down. Here's all the good and bad from the blue brand's latest!

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.