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

Ups...

9. Capitalism!

Shawn Michaels Triple H NXT
WWE.com

Is the fact WWE are so ludicrously well resourced that they can pull a stellar show out of their arse at the eleventh hour, without relying on a favour from Cody Rhodes, something worth celebrating?

Probably not: in a wider context, it highlights the absolute financial stranglehold the company continues to have on the industry, competition out of Jacksonville notwithstanding. For those on the ground however - the workers who won't have seen sunlight scrabbling the show together before their top-hatted, fur-coated boss alighted from his private jet - you have to give them a huge deal of credit. Despite a huge chunk of SmackDown's regular roster being missing, not to mention backstage personnel, it did not afflict the production fluidity one single iota.

Rather, WWE - not always a PR success in spite of being a PR juggernaut - were able to spin the scenario into a positive, presenting their overabundance of riches as an underdog story, and one we fans could get excited about.

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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.