7 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown: Happy New Year (Dec 30)

by Jamie Kennedy

1. Everything It Needed To Be

John Cena Kevin Owens
WWE.com

John Cena teaming with Kevin Owens to wrestle Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn served three different masters for WWE. Firstly, it gave fans some JC magic to round off 2022 and keep Cena's streak of matches every calendar year going. Second, it readied KO for a title tilt vs. Roman Reigns.

Thirdly? Well, it also teased more friction between members of The Bloodline without going too far into Sami Zayn vs. Jey Uso territory from the pre-Survivor Series days. This was just everything it needed to be. Sure, the main event was practically an automatic 'Up' on paper when it was announced, but everyone played their part in making it a success.

Watch it.

Reigns won't take kindly to being humbled by Cena (a man he's beaten) and KO (a man he wants to make an example of by beating again). Sami will surely get the blame for that, and be expected to explain himself for failing. This is only going to get tastier heading into 2023!

What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more wrestling, check out 10 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE Raw From 2003 and 10 WWE Moments From 2022 You Totally Don’t Remember!

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Contributor

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.