7 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (10 Jan - Results & Review)

2. The Downside

One of the best things about WWE programming since 2022-ish is that some of the 'Downs' seem like nitpicking. That's definitely the case for this one, and it'd be stupid to try and deny it. In fact, you might not actually share the same opinion as the dude writing this or think it's that big a deal at all. Being fair, it isn't a big deal, but here's an explanation.

You just knew Jacob Fatu would come back to haunt LA Knight as soon as the babyface chucked Solo Sikoa’s monster out of the building on behalf of security and Nick Aldis. Fatu and Tama Tonga cost Knight the chance to become US Champ again by ruining his match vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, and that was a tad too obvious. Look, obvious isn’t always the worst thing in the world, but it meant everyone was just sitting around waiting for that run-in throughout an otherwise-fine battle between Knight and Shin.

There’s an upside to all of this, so stay tuned for that.

However, yeah, it was a given that Fatu and Tonga would interfere as soon as LA took matters into his own hands backstage. It might've been better had WWE booked a Knight run in to even the odds during their wild opening segment. Then, they'd have cast a wider net for Jacob and Tama. As it was, Fatu was right out for revenge after being embarrassed by the popular loudmouth backstage.

Again, the most minor of minor grumbles, but one worth mentioning.