7 Ups & 8 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (11 Oct)

by Michael Hamflett

1. Misery Business

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Completing a big night for Bayley, her main event Championship switch with Charlotte Flair yielded a very good television match between the two that saw 'The Queen's face bloodied as per the intensity shown throughout.

As good as she's ever been since going rogue, Bayley was in the mood to brood, constantly rowing the referee in between extra-brutal attacks on the woman that defeated her just five days ago. As always, Flair turned in a powerful babyface display, selling the agony of the assaults more than usual in a noble effort to ensure the character got all the way over in such a high profile spot. Perhaps the most underrated pairing of all the Four Horsewomen offerings, Bayley and Charlotte had high quality matches on the opposite side of the divide in 2017, but they both precisely two years better here.

Winning after a handful of Flair's hair secured a small package, new two-time blue brand Champion Bayley cut her most confident promo to date simply by cutting down the entire audience as she had her inflatable friends 11 minutes earlier. "B*tch" of course featured in the verbiage, but this one at least felt worthier than the company's typically haphazard deployment of the dated riposte. As the show went off the air, there was the prevailing sense that the former 'Hugger' may put further tired old demons to rest in the weeks to come.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett