6 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Dec 15 - Results & Review)

4. Another Solid Tourney Effort

Austin Theory Kevin Owens
WWE.com

It was a bit less surprising to see Kevin Owens and Austin Theory delight in their own tourney scrap.

No, this mini-feud KO has been locked in with Theory and Waller hasn't been great. It'd be a lie to pretend this pulled the nose up on that story either, but it was a fun match. Hopefully, Kev can power past warring with tag-teams (which doesn't make any sense anyway) and get moving towards a program with Logan Paul.

That'll be a cracking spot for him during 'Mania season. Meanwhile, Austin once again showed that he's still fitting pieces of his own personal puzzle together; once Theory finds himself, possibly even as a breakout babyface, then he'll start climbing up the pecking order again. He's clearly good enough to get there eventually.

At times, it was almost like both went out there on SmackDown with a chip on their respective shoulders. Some matches are made better when workers feel like they have something to prove, and this was sure one of them. Really solid effort from both guys here.

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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.