6 Ups & 2 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Jan 16)

2. Bryan's Big Swerve

Daniel Bryan
WWE.com

Big swerves are part of what make wrestling such a compelling storytelling medium. A promotion should be judged by their ability to keep the audience guessing, and while there's always a danger of going too far with it (see: Russo, Vince), WWE, in particular, could definitely do with inserting more surprises into their programming. The product is often cripplingly predictable. You know exactly what you're going to get from an episode of Raw or SmackDown, and that's why every swerve, no matter how small, always feels like a big deal.

This was the case last night, when Daniel Bryan announced that the United States Title tournament wouldn't be concluded at the Royal Rumble, but later in the show. It was Bobby Roode's suggestion, though. 'The Glorious One' was jumped by The Singh Brothers after defeating Mojo Rawley, and while Jinder Mahal tried to back out of his challenge, the General Manager flexed his managerial muscle.

Full credit to the writers for delivering this show-making surprise. Mahal vs. Roode wasn't exactly a hotly-anticipated clash, and would've likely had a detrimental effect on the Rumble card, but hot-shotting the booking made it feel fresh and exciting. A complete success, and a great decision.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.