WWE SmackDown: 10 Things You Might Have Missed (Oct 17)

9. Best For Business

Randy Orton Sami Zayn
WWE

The further extension of Sami Zayn's smarmy reinvention saw him take to task comparisons he felt unfair between his own legacy in the industry and that of hometown favourite Daniel Bryan. The pair had superb chemistry debating the ills of Zayn's attitudinal shift, not least in how they seamlessly wove fact in fiction in assessing the current blue brand hierarchy.

Sami cynically drew up the usual links between himself at the former WWE Champion, but settled on a more caustic assessment of the 'Yes Man', referring to his inability to 'work smarter' before Kevin Owens joined in as the devil on his shoulder.

Bryan's attempt to defend himself and Shane McMahon for doing what was 'best for the fans' was turned quickly against him in perhaps the most telling moment of the segment. As the pair of heels railed on 'the authority' in general, Owens went further by saying that Daniel was only doing what was 'best for business'.

Based on the very real failings of the company to get behind Sami Zayn (and several others) in SmackDown Live!'s vaunted 'land of opportunity' utopia, the logic of his turn completely holds up and appears to have tacitly opened the door for a Triple H return either onside or in opposition of this new union.

Contributor
Contributor

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