5 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Oct 8)

WWE kicks off two tournaments; Edge demands Hell In A Cell; SmackDown's women get overlooked.

by Jamie Kennedy
Sami Zayn King Of The Ring
WWE.com

Something about that image above just looks right, doesn't it?

WWE kicked off both the King Of The Ring and Queen's Crown tournaments on this week's SmackDown. The men's side had a pair of belters in the form of Sami Zayn vs. Rey Mysterio and Cesaro vs. Finn Bálor, but the women...the women didn't get a ton of love from those timing out the show.

This is becoming a recurring theme outside the top title picture on Friday nights, sadly. Everyone else on the female roster just sort of scrambles around feeding on scraps, and that's not good enough when WWE themselves are crowing about the importance of "first time ever" tourneys.

SmackDown was a bit so-so, being honest. It was functional, which isn't always the worst, but most fans seem to find it difficult to get truly turned on by Crown Jewel. In fairness, WWE are really trying to convince people that the next Saudi show is worth checking out, and the card does look like it's shaping up nicely.

So, is middle of the road awful? Nah, nowhere near it (great talent can offset that). This week's SmackDown could've done with a little more care in some places though.

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Contributor

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.