7 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Jan 19 - Results & Review)

6. More Aldis & Heyman Needling

Paul Heyman Nick Aldis
WWE.com

Anyone else love the way Nick Aldis is pushing back against Paul Heyman's manipulative bullsh*t? Prior authority figures like Adam Pearce were occasionally hoodwinked by Heyman's behaviour, but Aldis is a mental match for the "Wise Man", and that's working as a go to trope for creative every week in 2024.

This time, Nick threatened to turn the Rumble's title bout into a three-way if Roman Reigns didn't actually show up for work to sign the contract like Randy Orton, AJ Styles and LA Knight had. He wouldn't, obviously, but it's still good fun to threaten it and see the horrified look on Heyman's face.

Paul E needs to do facial expression seminars at the PC. Just saying.

This pair showed significant chemistry on last week's show, and there was more on tap here. The way Aldis is matching Heyman and standing up to Roman's absentee tyranny is a positive sign for his WWE run. Here's hoping the company can get this in the ring sometime this year.

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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.