5 Ups And 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Feb 18)

2. Freshly Turned Dudley Boyz Were Protected

Smackdown ended with an all-too-familiar disqualification finish, but it was necessary on this occasion. After all, The Dudley Boyz have just turned heel, so it wouldn't make sense to have them lose outright at this early juncture. Naturally, they will at some point, but Smackdown was not the right time for it. Facing Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose, Bubba Ray and D-Von matched up well with the main event level players. They were certainly made to look more competitive than the League Of Nations previously had for months, and it thankfully seems like the long-running series of matches involving them, Reigns and Ambrose has come to an end. The Dudleyz as villains is a good change of pace. The match perhaps wasn't as good as it should have been, but The Dudleyz are trying out a different dynamic to their act at the moment. Let's not forget that they haven't been heels together in WWE for over a decade, so it's all about easing them back into that role. For what it was, Smackdown's main event fulfilled that purpose and, crucially, didn't end in meaningless defeat for the heel duo.