6 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown (17 Jan - Results & Review)

1. Just A Magic Match Worth Seeing

Fellow older fans will agree it's a real treat to see Rey Mysterio wrestle in matches just like this one nowadays. Who knows how many excellent showcases the masked legend has left in him, y'know? Rey was in fine fettle as a hometown babyface hero for San Diego, and KO is riding high as a vile piece of crap who mixes claims of respect with clear evidence to the contrary.

He went to hit a package piledriver on Mysterio post-match before Cody Rhodes sprinted in to make the save. That was logical, because Cody had apologised for not having Rey's back earlier in the night. The champ was going through a medical to make sure he's 100% cleared for Royal Rumble. This was all elegant build towards a one-off match (KO vs. Mysterio) and the Rumble ladder war Cody and Kev have next.

Trolling dirtbag Owens is on top of his game, people. He's absolutely nailing everything about this heel run on the mic, and he's having some wonderful matches into the bargain as well. KO even "accidentally" shoved the referee into the ropes to stop Rey from winning after a 619, then tried to injure another hero afterwards. That would've been payback for Mysterio having the cheek to point out that Kevin isn't actually WWE Champ during the opening face to face.

You may never get the chance to see Owens vs. Rey again, so drink it in and savour this. The way they eased in some storytelling for the Rumble with Rhodes was genius too.

What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more wrestling, check out 20 Most RANDOM WWE Royal Rumble Entrants and 10 Most ANNOYING Wrestlers Ever!