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

Ups...

5. Well, They Needed A Way To Set This Up!

WWE should've known better than to format two almost identical Royal Rumble segments onto the same show. Jey Uso's was better than Charlotte Flair's, if only 'cause Jey has some history with Cody Rhodes. That gave these guys something to work with. They could be title rivals someday, but they're still friends for now, so the skit played out organically before Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga interrupted it.

This fan can't be mad at a match like Cody and Jey vs. Fatu and Tama. Sure, the opening promo to set that up was fairly basic, but it did fulfil the promise of Uso heading to SmackDown for a word with Rhodes before making his mind up about who to challenge at WrestleMania. It is slightly annoying that WWE made a lot of noise about their Transfer Window slamming shut after Rumble week, then tacked on one more big jump (Drew McIntyre) and had a Raw guy (Jey) show up on SmackDown immediately, but nobody’s shocked by that.

Expect more of it going forwards. Then, expect the usual hype about the next Draft.

The definite upside was that Cody and Jey got to have their moment, then WWE lined up a tasty tag main event for later on. In that sense, Uso confronting Rhodes was worth it. Seeing the pair team up before Jey theoretically beats GUNTHER to become new World Champ and stands shoulder to shoulder with Cody as a championship equal was perfectly fine.

Finally, anything involving Fatu is watchable right now. He's about to blow up and become an even bigger deal in 2025.