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

1. WWE Wastes Too Much Time

Tyrese Haliburton Pat McAfee Michael Cole WWE
WWE.com

This was one of those weeks where the three hour runtime felt completely unnecessary and more like a creative noose than a blessing. Video packages hyping PLE matches are one thing, but were some of the segments with Michael Cole and Pat McAfee really needed? There was so much skippable stuff like Pat talking about the Indianapolis Colts or bringing out Pacers player Tyrese Haliburton for a chat.

Burning time is understandable on occasion, but at least make it about WWE’s product/roster. The f'n Royal Rumble is this weekend, for crying out loud! The commentary pair's only skit that qualified for that was the Tiffany Stratton and Nia Jax stuff. That pushed a meaningful story forwards, and it gave Stratton the chance to interact with someone she hasn't before. Pat's energy for the product is infectious, and Cole always brings a degree of legitimacy with him these days, but they wasted far too much time throughout the night prattling on about random rubbish.

The Haliburton focus, in particular, was a grind if you were watching the show live. The NBA star only had empty words to say over the mic, and he seemed to be exclusively on the show to sell an "Indy 3:17" t-shirt to the local live crowd. That wasn't thrilling to anyone watching back home, especially if they don't give a toss about basketball.

If you're going to stick celebs or sports stars on your show, fine, but make it worthwhile. Haliburton's appearance, and all the NFL chat about the Colts from Pat elsewhere, was boring as hell. Sorry, but it was. Nobody wanted SmackDown to turn into an episode of his podcast, and it almost did.

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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.