8 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Dec 18)

2. An Excellent Main Event...

Daniel Bryan Mustafa Ali
WWE.com

Daniel Bryan & Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas Vs. AJ Styles & Mustafa Ali fulfilled the fresh start remit accurately and brilliantly: by actually booking the incredible Almas, and injecting a new player into the mix, and not booking a bloody pay-per-view rematch, WWE delivered a main event that delivered pulsating excitement in the present and fascination for the future.

Following another incendiary, unique promo by the New Daniel Bryan, he was in no mood to wrestle a man he had only just defeated on Sunday. Almas was; maintaining the show-wide theme of a roster looking to impress, he almost made a literal impression on AJ’s temple with his just unreal spinning back elbow. AJ looked great here too—it’s as if he too feels renewed, away from his prolonged and too often inconsequential reign with the WWE Championship.

In lovely heel work, Bryan was all too eager to enter the ring with Ali in the opposite corner, slapping him flush in the face in one of several loathsome bully boy tactics. Ali sold them, and Andrade’s disgusting chops, with his inherent sympathy. Because he is a genius, AJ assisted Ali with a somersault plancha timed so brilliantly you’d think they were a tag team. Ali then sold Bryan’s dragon sleeper as if he was about to break his break, and Bryan, who like his alter-ego wastes nothing, applied the utmost pressure before the rope break.

Wrestled in a certain TV gear, and you can’t begrudge that, this headlining match accelerated into something bloody good in the final phase—and bloody unexpected…

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!