5 Ups And 1 Down From Last Night's WWE Talking Smack (Jan 24)
4. Up - Remember The Rumble
By virtue of it's cute placement on the weekly schedule, Talking Smack is the true last go-home show for Sunday Pay-Per-Views, and with the Royal Rumble encompassing both brands, Renee and Shane took their responsibility to promote the show without compromising the integrity of the talk show format or the Brand Extension.
With every guest on the show having a key role at the Alamodome, the interviews salvaged a slightly embarrassing opening monologue from Shane McMahon, where he rattled off the Raw megastars (included the burgled Undertaker) and was left with the Wyatt Family and a mumble when considering any possible Smackdown winners.
Whilst the Rumble does indeed have a stacked field, it rather awkwardly highlighted how that field has been given lock-stock to the 'A Show'.
Despite this, each time a Rumble match graphic appeared, both presenters were keen to highlight the positives (great line-up) and hide the negatives (that the Smackdown Live guys are the also-rans).
Of course what can't be discussed by either brand is the element of surprise. Could a Samoa Joe or Kurt Angle or be the out-there candidate to scoop the lot? And if they do, there's always a chance Smackdown could draft the winner to add 'Royal Rumble winner' to their trophy cabinet.