6 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown (18 July - Results & Review)

This just in: Friday's episode of SmackDown was 100x the show last week's episode was. Indeed, had it not been for Jelly Roll (of all people) saving the day with Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton and Logan Paul, then the 11 July edition of blue brand action might've gone down as one of the worst in history. That's a grand, sweeping statement, but it really was lifeless.

Splashes of this episode had a humdrum air too, but WWE generally focused on building towards spirited SummerSlam bouts aplenty whilst letting their roster breathe in some tidy matches that you should go out of your way to see. Powerhouse women's match? Check. All-action tag-team effort with minimal room for selling and bags of it for bodies flying everywhere? Check. Squash that made somebody look like a total badass? Check. Yes, there was a lot to like about this 2-hour show.

A pair of tightly-produced segments announced huge matches for the next WWE PLE too. WWE ran a show-opening angle that set the scene for what was coming next involving Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu, and there was a neat twist to John Cena's usual crowd-bashing heel mic work to close things out. On that, it's legit cool to see Cody Rhodes learn his lesson and stop being so nicey-nice for the sake of it.

Cody's subtle little villainous streak is a joy to witness.

SummerSlam is shaping up nicely, and SmackDown is certainly holding up its end of the bargain next to Raw. Here's all the good and bad from a vast improvement on 'Jelly Roll Saves Triple H's Bacon'.