5 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (10 Oct - Results & Review)

Ups...

5. “Seth Rollins Is A W**ker”

There was one line that made the opening promo sort of worthwhile.

A passionate Australian crowd chanted, “Seth Is A W**ker” when Cody mentioned Rollins. Initially, Cody asked Michael Cole to tell him what they were saying and tossed him the mic, but Cole passed it off to Wade Barrett. The Brit then stood up and said: “They’re saying that Seth Rollins…is a w**ker!”. That earned one of the biggest pops of the entire night - it was like Rhea Ripley had come out and smashed fools with a few Riptides through tables.

That was funny, and it's a moment worth mentioning. Despite trying to be super serious and talk about his PLE match, Cody broke off to show how much of a master he is at winging it when he wants to. No, he didn’t have a whole lot else to say that hasn’t already been said, but this bit of the promo worked because he blended seriousness with that one quick slice of comedy.

Side note: Cody had a subtle heel air to him that’s interesting. He largely stayed babyface, of course, but we’ll be in for some fabulous heel work from him when that time eventually comes if he eventually leans into the more arrogant line delivery on offer here. His laid back sneer came to the fore, and his smirks towards the crowd occasionally seemed disingenuous. That's something to keep an eye on as we move ever-closer to 2026.

Barrett had to feel good when he heard that pop after calling Seth what he called him though. He didn't have any "Bad News" for Perth there!