6 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (29 May - Results & Review)

5. Barcelona Elevates Opening

Jade Cargill Alexa Bliss
WWE.com

It's amazing what a live crowd can compensate for though.

The opening promo segment involving Jade Cargill and chums, Rhea Ripley, then the team of Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss was all fairly routine stuff, but the rowdy fans in Spain really heightened things; Jade and Rhea got to talk about their match at Clash In Italy, then that led to a bout pitting Cargill vs. Bliss. The match itself was a solid watch.

Alexa let Jade run through her usual power spots, including a sweet-looking powerbomb onto the security barrier, then Cargill got a momentum-boosting win heading into the PLE. A post-match Jaded on the steel chair was a nice touch before Ripley and Flair ran back out (they'd brawled through the curtain with Michin and B-FAB) to stop Jade's bid to put Bliss on the injured list.

Look, Rhea's feud with Cargill has been a creative noose since before WrestleMania 42, but this was a well-orchestrated promo into match segment from start to finish. Jade has a bit of dominance heading into Turin's PLE, which was unexpected considering how tepid her union with Michin and FAB has been since it started, and we got a tidy match out of it on Friday.

Alexa is like a women's division version of The Miz. She can take defeats on the chin and keep coming back. Having a stable of workers like that on their books is a boost for WWE. Now, they just need to figure out what to do with Cargill once she stares at the lights for 'Mami' yet again.

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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.