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

7. The Queen Rides Into Town

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WWE.com

Bayley's defeat of Nikki Cross was perfectly serviceable, but it merely served as the bedrock for a fiery post-match angle - even if the constituent parts weren't quite right.

Ideally, The Queen of Spades' (or 'Hearts', as Aiden English invoked his inner Lewis Carroll) burial of Bayley et al. would have came at the expense of a babyface champion, but given the strained circumstances, this quibble can be forgiven. What's important is that Baszler announced herself with every bit the brutality she's demonstrated during her phenomenal run as NXT Women's Champion - not, by this stage, that she necessarily needed an introduction.

Nevertheless, history shows Shayna's 'big league' debut could have been presented so much more ineffectually. It wasn't, and she left the ring looking like the real baddest woman on the planet.

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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.