8 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night’s WWE SmackDown (15 Nov)

1. Team SmackDown's Internal War

King Corbin Roman Reigns Mustafa Ali Shorty G
WWE.com

To that point, NXT appears to be the only brand that really cares about this war, especially on the male side.

Midweek night delights like The Undisputed Era and Imperium have shown solidarity behind their home, but the same cannot be said for those on Raw and SmackDown. Instead, 'King' Corbin is too busy poking fun at Roman Reigns' nickname, and the 'Big Dog' is helping Shorty G and Mustafa Ali kick the sh*t out of Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode.

Next week's SmackDown will be headlined by a six-man tag match involving all of those names. That'll happen 48 hours before Survivor Series, which is where Reigns, Corbin, Ali and G are expected to link up with Braun Strowman against Team Raw and Team NXT. This whole internal battle angle is getting in the way.

It'd be more forgivable if fans didn't know it wasn't going anywhere. After Survivors, Reigns will hammer Corbin and WWE will move on ASAP to something else. So, NXT stars who hate one another can come together, but SmackDown ones can't?

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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.