6 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Sept 11)

3. Sonya Shines In Charlotte's Showcase

Sonya Deville Charlotte Flair
WWE.com

Though likely intended as a way of building Charlotte Flair's momentum ahead of Hell In A Cell, the singles clash between 'The Queen' and Sonya Deville ended up handing a bigger rub to the SmackDown Women's Champion's young opponent.

Deville looked solid here. In fairness, she usually does, and has long since surpassed Mandy Rose as an in-ring prospect, but the difference between her and Charlotte was noticeable. Flair should be the more polished performer, but she was off last night. Her chops look limp and half-arsed, her Moonsault wasn't as precise as it needed to be, and her transitions were sloppy. Sonya, meanwhile, was on-point, though her late-match Spinebuster almost went awry.

An effective little midcard bout, and the post-match was great too. This was largely down to Becky Lynch. 'The Lass Kicker' disguising herself as a fan did make Charlotte look like a goober, but Lynch comes off as such a badass that this doesn't even matter. She beat her former friend down on the ramp, locked on the Disarmher, then stomped away, full of bile and venom, now firmly established as SD's foremost anti-hero.

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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.