8 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Oct 16)

The thumping family rivalry between Roman Reigns and Jey Uso is one of the best stories in all of pro wrestling right now.

Emotion was a key element on WWE's 'season premiere' for SmackDown following the 2020 Draft. There were new beginnings for some, comebacks for others, mini-reunions, emotional farewells and major moments for other stories pinned down by feelings of betrayal, anger and more. If the company can tap into this sort of thing more often, then they'll make Fridays must see.

There was a little bit of something for everyone this week, but it didn't come without pesky over-production or all-too-familiar celeb tie-ins that did nothing for the product. Seriously, somebody needs to loudly question if middle-aged sports analysts are really the right guys to sell the importance of Universal Title bouts.

SmackDown was a fun show overall though. Ignore WWE's own claims that this is the start of something totally fresh for the program, because it isn't (they'll revert to type within a few weeks like they did last year), but damn...only an outright hater could criticise this sort of effort and energy.

Here are all the 'Ups' and the 'Downs'...