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

by Jamie Kennedy

1. Pete Dunne Is Back

Tyler Bate Pete Dunne Bruiserweight
WWE.com

Well, it's about time WWE switched Butch back to Pete Dunne and went the 'Bruiserweight' route with him on the main roster. Everything about Pete's tag match alongside Tyler Bate vs. Pretty Deadly worked well; PD are excellent fodder in scenarios like this. The way they pretended Dunne is a different person to Butch was some giggle too.

One can see British Strong Style living a brief run together before Dunne strikes out on his own. Surely, he'll become a priority on the midcard in 2024. SmackDown needs some fresh blood there, and the likes of Santos Escobar, Dunne, Karrion Kross and more are perfectly placed to meet that demand.

Fans should embrace every bit of it.

Long-term, it'd be awesome if Sheamus returned as a heel and went after Dunne for turning his back on The Brawling Brutes idea. That'd be an interesting way to keep Tyler involved too, but this guy is fantasy booking now and getting ahead of himself.

Welcome back, 'Bruiserweight'.

What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more like this, check out 10 DUMB WWE Name Changes (That We Didn't Want To Admit Were GENIUS) and WWE 2K24: 10 Rumours You Need To Know!

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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.