6 Ups And 7 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Nov 22)

Twenty-one years on, it's still not a tank.

SmackDown Tank
WWE.com

Way way back in the 13th century - with no hint of irony as the Holy Crusades continued to rage throughout Constantinople - the theologian and philosopher Thomas Aquinas put forth three conditions for what he termed a 'Just War' (jus ad bellum - he had a Curry's level proficiency in basic Latin):

1) War must have a just cause, eg, invasion, or self-defence.

2) War must be declared and controlled by a legitimate authority.

3) War must be fought to promote good or avoid evil.

Many years later, he added an addendum - jus ad bellum ad.:

4) Different coloured t-shirts.

On all four counts, WWE's latest outbreak of interbrand civil warfare just about complies. Obviously, the most crucial point is the t-shirts, because how else can NXT justify an internecine intrusion on a Friday one day removed from their own intra-brand WarGames? They can't, but the Full Sail chaps really hate red and blue 100% cotton.

In spite of better judgement by their own legitimate authority, they were all marched en masse to Chicago's Allstate Arena for the last SmackDown before Survivor Series. The theme was very much us vs. them vs. the others, then, but did it set the right tone for, er, more war?

And what was it good for?

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Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.