6 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Mar 17)

2. The Tease!

Time for a one-two punch of storytelling excellence.

Cody Rhodes trying to rally the troops and play peacemaker between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn makes a lot of sense. Not only is he thanking KO for introducing him to wrestling pals like The Young Bucks (without really naming names), but Cody is also f*cking with Roman Reigns' family by lining up a tag-team threat.

What a terrific opening segment, one made even better by KO refusing to commit straight away. WWE teased fans tuning in big time with all of this, and rightly so - they couldn't exactly deliver the payoff minutes into the show, could they? Nah, the tease was king here.

Special word must go to Owens' facial expressions backstage when Sami tried to stop him from leaving the arena. The way Zayn's pleas seemed to resonate with Kev would explain his actions later in the show, and it's always nice to have that narrative context.