Kofi Kingston and Big E offered up their SmackDown Tag Team Championships in an open challenge as the second hour rolled on, and thank goodness for the television time remaining - Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura were more than happy to rise up to the request and use it.
Set up by another blistering rant by Sami Zayn (Black Friday was taken to task this time), Cesaro and the marginally-more-motivated-than-usual Intercontinental Champion put up a hell of a fight against the Champions. 'The Swiss Superman' in particular yet again looks inspired by another makeshift pairing, just as he had previously alongside Tyson Kidd and Sheamus.
He came closest to sealing the deal for the heels too, before uncomfortably unbothered former WWE Champion Kofi Kingston peppered him with the usual for the win. It's easy to sleep on The New Day's top shelf tag matches, but this week's undulating episode in particular was one that needed their brand of brilliance more than usual.
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
