5 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (7 Feb - Results & Review)

3. ‘You’re Wrestling A Raw Guy’

Carmelo Hayes Akira Tozawa
WWE.com

Look, it feels a bit rubbish to chastise WWE for putting a bow on any story (no matter how low key it is), but nobody would've missed this Carmelo Hayes vs. Akira Tozawa match had it been absent. There was some context, admittedly: Hayes cost Tozawa a spot in the Royal Rumble, which then led to iShowSpeed taking a Bron Breakker spear for the ages.

Hunter really needed to think twice about this one though. Honestly, there's no way a lower tier star like Akira should've been thumbing his nose at the Transfer Window stuff just for a one off bout vs. Melo. What is the point in wrestlers being locked to certain shows if they end up drifting and appearing elsewhere anyway? It’s poor planning, and it makes a mockery of any Draft or Draft-like offshoot.

The action itself was decent and all, but Hayes beating Akira does little for him, and the match was never important enough to spit directly in the face of WWE's recent Transfer stuff. Being a bit brutal about it, this is latter day Vince McMahon style booking, and that's far from a compliment. One would think protecting the Window's credibility takes priority over Tozawa's bungled revenge tale.

Nick Aldis chirpily telling Hayes he's letting Adam Pearce send Raw guys to SmackDown just to mess with him doesn't add up either. If anything, Aldis should be telling Pearce to do one and looking after his assets. None of this was necessary. It got Carmelo a routine win, sure, but it wasn't needed on the show and torched the Transfer Window chat.

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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.