7 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Jan 17)

by Jamie Kennedy

1. Falls Count Anywhere

Royal Rumble 2020
WWE.com

There's an odd 'Down' hidden inside this 'Up'.

Roman Reigns should've, if he was being smart, banned Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler from getting involved at the Royal Rumble. Instead, he chose a Falls Count Anywhere scenario against 'King' Corbin and forgot to ensure that it'll be strictly one-on-one. Meh, since when are babyfaces the most cerebral of characters?

The big upside here is that Falls Count Anywhere is a good stipulation for those who might normally find Corbin's matches boring. Now, rather than straight singles fare, they can brawl around the stadium in Houston and use all manner of shortcuts. That worked for them (to an extent) at TLC.

Fingers crossed this is the end of the Reigns vs. Corbin feud though. It cannot continue beyond Royal Rumble, and it's clear that this match represents the last few drops of juice WWE can squeeze from a story that doesn't exactly scream WrestleMania worthy.

What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more, check out 5 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Jan 10) and 10 Wrestling Matches That Led To Massive Lawsuits!

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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.