5 Ups & 4 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Aug 21)
3. SummerSlam Was Pointless
If WWE wanted to give Rusev and Lana a victory via Aiden English interference, why not get it done at SummerSlam instead of going through the 50/50 rigmarole? This turnaround essentially renders Andrade Almas and Zelina Vega's pay-per-view win pointless. There's no value in a win that's reversed two nights later, and with Rusev Day seemingly back on the same page, Vega and 'Cien' look like goobers.
The bout itself was fine. They worked a layout similar to SummerSlam, but their cheating efforts were stifled. Almas grabbed a steel chair towards the end. This prompted English' intervention, which allowed Rusev to boot Andrade's head off, score the victory, and celebrate with Lana.
Building a bridge between Rusev and Aiden was the goal, and WWE accomplished that. Still, habits like this are why the company can't build new stars. They give somebody a win, then immediately snatch it away, forever proving the oft-trumpeted "momentum" concept a fallacy, and it happens almost every single week.