8 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Dec 22 - Results & Review)
Ups...
8. It Worked Despite Some Concerns
Dragon Lee vs. Butch came out looking like the kind of match you'd see AEW book over on Rampage. That's not necessarily a complaint, but WWE surely has to be careful when using NXT titles on the main roster. All three brands need some separation to help them feel different from one another, after all.
The match itself was nifty though.
That was expected going in, because Pete Dunne and Dragon are both superb workers capable of maximising their minutes. Both guys have shown that a few times, so it was nice to see them get approx 10 minutes here. This, hopefully, is the kind of match that WWE will return to and hand 20 minutes on PLE in the future.
It's fair to say that Butch always excels in-ring despite concerns about where his character is heading in the short-to-medium term. He's one of the most dependable workers this company has right now, and that was evident throughout this North American Title effort.
Nice, momentum boosting win for Lee too.