WWE SmackDown: 10 Things You Might Have Missed (Oct 17)
8. Still Gable
Chad Gable's going to do it again.
A justified criticism levied at the 'World's Greatest Tag Team' unit of Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas was a notable lack of microphone poise undermining their instantly fabulous in-ring charisma. The two let most of their actions do the talking well enough, but without a Kurt Angle or Paul Heyman to conduct actual stick duties, they often appeared out of their depth.
It may have been the reason the company elected to bring Shelton Benjamin back in perplexingly silent circumstances as Gable's new partner following the revelation of Jason Jordan's true paternal roots. 'The Gold Standard' wasn't a particularly enthralling orator at his solo best, but as Chad highlighted during his NXT salvaging of Jason Jordan's career, he's got both the suplex and speaking chops to elevate two men.
Given scant seconds to make a point against the red hot Usos this week he shone, and the decision to have the new duo pull back a handshake from Jimmy and Jey was an unusually daring move from WWE to try and make other performers at least look confident beyond the usual veneer of panicked progression they all have to portray.