6 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (31 Jan - Results & Review)

WWE's Transfer Window will slam shut following Rumble weekend, which means this was a rare chance to see one CM Punk in unfamiliar surroundings. Sure, Punk dipped a toe into the SmackDown scene before teaming with The OG Bloodline at Survivor Series: WarGames, but he's hardly a regular in this shire. On Friday, Punk just so happened to be in the house to hear Kevin Owens drop his name.

There had to be a rebuttal.

Punk's appearance wasn't the only treat creative had in store for fans readying themselves for the Royal Rumble in Indianapolis. Damian Priest just found out that he has a Jacob Fatu-sized road block in his way if he wants to be the man on team blue, and it looks like Nia Jax will be getting her Women's Title rematch against former pal Tiffany Stratton after all.

Then, there were the negatives. Triple H has had an up and down time filling three vast hours on SmackDown since the turn of the new year. Some episodes have been better than others throughout January, but it was fairly obvious that 'The Game' and his knackered writers felt they needed to stall, stall then stall again to kick off the weekend.

Further, one feud is sucking the life out of episodes because it has nothing new to offer, and the creative team badly need to figure out what they want to do with a former NXT standout. He can't continue doing what he's been doing forever, because cracks are starting to appear.

Here's all the good and bad from SmackDown pre-Rumble.