6 Ups & 1 Down From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (June 27)

Ups....

6. Bryan Boots Ellsworth

This week’s textbook WWE opening segment was brought to us by Daniel Bryan, who came out to a tremendous reception. The General Manager tried to hype the night’s women’s matches, but he was soon interrupted by Carmella, who, after cutting the best promo of her career last week, is finally drawing legitimate heat.

Carmella waxed lyrical about winning Money In The Bank fairly, and how Bryan stripping her of the briefcase was a gross act of injustice. Her delivery was fine, but the spiel was almost identical to last week’s, so we’ll throw a supplemental ‘Down’ at the creative team’s repetition.

Bryan defended his decision to book a rematch, and the crowd had his back. James Ellsworth appeared, ripping into the fans, then calling Bryan a “spineless coward.” He was laughed off, and after briefly considering firing Ellsworth, the GM instead decided to ban him from the arena, calling for the security team to forcibly remove him.

These segments are often formulaic, but this was the best in-ring opener that SmackDown has produced in months. They kept it to just three participants, allowing each to get their individual point across, and the crowd were engaged throughout. What more could you ask for?