9 Ups & 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (1 Nov)

2. Cole Fills The Hole

Daniel Bryan Adam Cole SmackDown
WWE.com

How grateful must WWE be towards Daniel Bryan for possessing a moral compass now? Had he flown out to Saudi Arabia with the rest of the crew, SmackDown would have been denied not just its main event, but one of its finest television contests in years.

After confronting Triple H backstage, a match between the NXT boss and Bryan was smartly teased, as was an even more appetising one between the SmackDown man and Shawn Michaels. Instead, we got HBK's 2019 proxy - and something even better - in the form of NXT Champion Adam Cole.

A match for the title. Tonight. This is the stuff of dreams.

Rather than luxuriate in Saudi bloody money, Bryan was allowed to indulge in what he loves most - wrestling - in a truly wonderful show-closing contest. It's eternal credit to WWE's eco-warrior that in spite of his irrepressible popularity, he manages to put most of his opponents over. Admittedly, he barely had to try with Adam Cole, but if the Undisputed Era man wasn't already one of the most popular guys outwith the main roster, he definitely was after a wrestling clinic which had the fans in legitimate raptures.

WWE have done their best to take away something we loved, and put it in the hands of shareholders, television executives and Saudi Arabian princes. The fact the fans ultimately no longer matter has never felt more pronounced. Last night, for thirty wonderful minutes, WWE was ours again. It's no coincidence that this always happens when Daniel Bryan is involved.

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Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.