6 Ups & 1 Down From WWE SmackDown (30 Aug - Results & Review)

5. Ludwig Kaiser Answers The Call

LA Knight kicked off SmackDown by cutting a fan service-ish, catchphrase-laden promo and firing out his United States Title open challenge. In a refreshing turn of events, it was Ludwig Kaiser who answered it. The Hamburg native played Berlin's favourite son for a night, and was booked to push Knight all the way.

That's promising for his future.

Interestingly, LA leaned into a subtle heel role for one night only. He kinda had to, because Ludwig was always going to be the babyface by default in his homeland. Knight didn't swim against the tide there - he gave Kaiser a lot throughout the match, then fought back to retain his belt.

Trips will have to come up with a proper rival for Knight post-Logan Paul soon, but this match vs. Kaiser was a fine enough stopgap spot for the champ. Creative is probably waiting on a winner to emerge from Andrade's series with Carmelo Hayes before deciding on direction. More on that later.