5 Ups And 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Oct 22)

2. Overall Match Quality Was Extremely High

Across the board, Smackdown was a very well-paced broadcast. It's been said before, but the 2-hour format really seems more comfortable for the writing team than Monday Night Raw's 3-hour length. Matches are given room to breathe, and there seems to be a much better flow about the telecast overall. Even if storyline development is lacking in the promo department, the matches more than make up for it. That was certainly the case on this episode. At least 3 of the bouts on the program were highly fulfilling, and the remaining 2 served their purpose. Ryback vs. Bo Dallas may have been a repeat, but it achieved exactly what WWE wanted it to. The same thing can be said of Sheamus and 'King' Barrett vs. The Lucha Dragons. All of the other bouts were very entertaining. As aforementioned, Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro was worthwhile. Paige vs. Nikki Bella may have had a poor result, but the actual action during the match was satisfying. Better yet, the main event pitting Kofi Kingston and Big E vs. Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose was well-received by the live crowd. Smackdown has quickly become the place to go in WWE if fans want to see good matches.