6 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Sept 22 - Results & Review)

AJ Styles gets hospitalised; John Cena gets taken out; WWE titles are..cursed?!

AJ Styles Michin Mia Yim Hospital
WWE.com

WWE creative must've sighed when hearing that LA Knight would have to skip SmackDown due to COVID. Naturally, everyone's first thought would've been the man's wellbeing, but Knight was scheduled for a big spot on Friday's show - he was going to run in and save John Cena from a Bloodline beatdown.

The company can still get where they want to go in time for Fastlane though, and everyone deserves credit for pivoting last-minute to produce the goods. Honestly, this was one of the slickest editions of blue brand fare this year, and that's saying something considering the highs Roman Reigns, The Usos and more have enjoyed.

Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa came away looking like wrecking machines, IYO SKY vs. Asuka was very good in-ring, and other combos proved their worth to help deepen the undercard mix. Sadly, WWE appears to be wobbling a little when it comes to The Street Profits (already!), and one major story beat still needs settled.

Or, maybe the writers plan to bench that and hope nobody notices.

Here's all the good and bad from a night that didn't exactly reveal Fastlane's hand, but did take one giant step towards cementing a killer match for it.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.