5 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Jan 7)

1. Roman’s Blindside Superman Punch

Giving Reigns a little bit of revenge on Brock after all the trouble Lesnar has caused him felt right. Also, Roman delivered that Superman Punch like a sneaky, sneaky son of a bitch, and it made him look rather cowardly. That was smart, because WWE certainly don't want fans to hop on the Reigns bandwagon and end up booing Lesnar come 'Mania.

You just know Brock will have a receipt waiting for that sucker punch too, which keeps the story purring in the background whilst both do other things in the short-term. On that, whilst it not great that another Raw star (which Lesnar is now since becoming WWE Champion) is kicking around on SmackDown, WWE's hands are tied.

They have to keep this rivalry going somehow, and that means occasional moments like this.

SmackDown's entire opening segment is worth going out of your way to see. The interaction between Roman and Paul Heyman was superb, and Lesnar taking his eye off the ball for a second was the skit's lasting image. That, rather conveniently, also sells the importance of Heyman to both wrestlers.

What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more wrestling, check out WWE Day 1: Every Match Ranked From Worst To Best and 10 Released Wrestlers Who Will Still Be In WWE 2K22!