9 Ups & 4 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (18 Oct)

by Michael Hamflett

1. Kings Dethroned

Roman Reigns Daniel Bryan
WWE.com

If this entire article has felt like one long neg at the expense of this match's mere existence, consider it an even greater achievement that the end result was such an overwhelming "Up".

The Big GOATs defeated the King Of The Ring and 'The King Of Strong Style' in yet another proving ground for their burgeoning kinship. Just when will Bryan snap?With special credit to Roman Reigns and Shinsuke Nakamura not remotely dogging it in their second match of the night, this blinding doubles brawl was an energetic and enthusiastic way for SmackDown to go off the air.

There was a certain NXT/AEW quality about it, in truth. WWE hadn't given fans much of a reason to care about the guys in it, but the match was of such a high standard all the same.

Based on that comparison, expect it not to have kept ratings stable then, but the more WWE want to deliver quality headliners such as this, the happier their few remaining hardcore fans will be. And it's always good to keep the over-50s satiated.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett