8 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown (16 Jan - Results & Review)

This week's SmackDown had a clear purpose in mind. WWE ran 4 number one contendership bouts that'd act as qualifiers for a Fatal-4-Way to come at next weekend's Saturday Night's Main Event. The winner of that will progress to Royal Rumble and get a crack at Drew McIntyre's newly won WWE Title. It won't be Cody Rhodes.

He'll have to enter the 30-man Rumble itself to have any chance of going nose to nose with his conquerer at WrestleMania 42, but let's be real here: Something is brewing with Cody. The live crowd in London, England reacted to Rhodes differently than they normally would. He's no longer the focal point/poster boy/top babyface, and that's clear. Change can be good though, and Cody is likely overdue some.

Those 4 singles matches gave the night a natural flow, but creative still found enough time (they'd have been praising the third hour this week!) to develop feuds like MFTs vs. The Wyatt Sicks, Jade Cargill vs. Jordynne Grace and even Rhodes vs. Jacob Fatu. The less said about a Tommaso Ciampa-less Johnny Gargano warring with Fraxiom the better though - that's kinda going nowhere in a hurry.

The wealth of 'Ups' compared to 'Downs' proves that this was a really tidy episode of blue brand fare. Triple H and team are about to reach the most exciting period of the year, so anyone tuning in should expect an uptick in drama on both major shows. Here's all the good and bad from a physical, satisfying and action-packed evening in London town.