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

5. Motor City = One Step Closer

Speaking of which, this.

Motor City Machine Guns tandem Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley beat A-Town Down Under to move one step closer to a number one contenders berth for DIY’s belts. Motor City will need to beat Los Garza first, but that looks likely. Put another tick next to tag-team wrestling on SmackDown, because there was a lot to like about this match, and it’s been enjoyable to see some other often overlooked teams become involved in this story.

The Street Profits ‘whodunit’ has been fun, and it’s clearly helping Pretty Deadly and Los Garza (as aforementioned). Austin Theory and Grayson Waller definitely need to split, but they’re handy for matches like this. Good work from everyone all round, including SmackDown's new commentary team Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett; Joe hasn't called an endless string of matches like this, so his excitement is infectious and leaps through the screen.

Those keeping a close eye on proceedings might've spotted Waller laying into Theory outside the ring post-match, so perhaps WWE does fancy bringing that split story back to boil after all. Fingers crossed, 'cause they've got little left to offer as a permanent team beyond staring at the lights like they did on Friday night.

Side note: WWE live crowds are warming up to Sabin and Shelley's style. It helps that they raced to the top, were shot down by Johnny Gargano's antics and now have to claw their way back up. People can get behind that sort of sympathetic babyface redemption story.