6 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (1 May - Results & Review)

Downs...

4. A Nothing Women’s Tag Title Match

Brie Bella Paige Lash Legend
WWE.com

Hands up if you were expecting better from this.

Paige and Brie Bella vs. Nia Jax and Lash Legend was a snore. Yep, this fan personally expected better from all 4 women than they delivered, but they never really seemed to get going. If this is the quality they’re gonna serve up, then it’d be for the best if Brie and Paige’s title reign was on the shorter side. Maybe an off night for everyone? That seems generous, because this was crap.

Look, not every single match on every single card needs to chase 5 stars (more on that later), but they still need to be entertaining or further a story. As it was, WWE sent this quartet out to fill time - it's the kind of match that'll be deleted from redrafted format sheets once SmackDown returns to a more traditional 2-hour format in a few months, and with good reason. This didn't really work for anybody involved.

Paige has already cooled off as an ongoing concern and she's literally just back in the company, Brie's "Brie Mode" segments have always been too tame and lack audience excitement, and it really seemed like Nia and Lash were going through the motions. That's a shame considering how lively they seemed as Women's Tag-Team Champs themselves a short while back.

This was the walking, talking embodiment of a match that nobody will remember unless they're researching Paige's comeback matches on Cagematch.net or something. Honestly, the belts deserve better bouts than Friday's one. Worrying times or one off wobble? You decide.

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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.