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

3. A Wild Start & A Lot To Unpack!

Kevin Owens Cody Rhodes
WWE.com

Where to start with this?! Paul Heyman announced that Roman Reigns is entering the Royal Rumble. He told Cody Rhodes that Roman plans to win it then challenge for “his” title at WrestleMania 41. That took care of that, and means Roman might not be on TV much before 1 February. Then, Kevin Owens walked through the stands to point out more of Cody’s hypocrisy with The Bloodline.

They brawled, then Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga cornered Heyman before Jimmy Uso saved his skin. That led to Cody coming back to fend off Fatu and Tonga. Phew! This was a really hot start to the night, which is something Triple H has become adept at when he feels like the show needs that. Being honest, this segment felt way slicker and more exciting than many on Raw’s Netflix debut.

For example, the fact there was actually some aggression to everyone put it above The Rock’s weird 'Final Boss but not really' promo from Monday, but at least KO referenced that to give it some purpose. Social media won't want to acknowledge this, but there's always a chance WWE knows exactly what they're doing by formatting things this way. Giving Owens something else to bitch about is never a bad thing, 'cause he'll run with it.

Smartly, WWE avoided the usual promo train trope by having everyone appear organically. Heyman asked Cody to come out, Kev showed up in the people, Fatu and Tonga sprinted in out of nowhere, and Jimmy was there to have Rhodes' back.

Got to love the way this was laid out.

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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.