6 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (31 Jan – Results & Review) – WhatCulture
CM Punk hits SmackDown to kick off WWE’s massive Royal Rumble weekend.WWE’s Transfer Window will slam shut following Rumble weekend, which means this was a rare chance to see one CM Punk in unfamiliar surroundings. Sure, Punk dipped a toe into the SmackDown scene before teaming with The OG Bloodline at Survivor Series: WarGames, but he’s hardly a regular in this shire. On Friday, Punk just so happened to be in the house to hear Kevin Owens drop his name.There had to be a rebuttal.Punk’s appearance wasn’t the only treat creative had in store for fans readying themselves for the Royal Rumble in Indianapolis. Damian Priest just found out that he has a Jacob Fatu-sized road block in his way if he wants to be the man on team blue, and it looks like Nia Jax will be getting her Women’s Title rematch against former pal Tiffany Stratton after all.Then, there were the negatives. Triple H has had an up and down time filling three vast hours on SmackDown since the turn of the new year. Some episodes have been better than others throughout January, but it was fairly obvious that ‘The Game’ and his knackered writers felt they needed to stall, stall then stall again to kick off the weekend. Further, one feud is sucking the life out of episodes because it has nothing new to offer, and the creative team badly need to figure out what they want to do with a former NXT standout. He can’t continue doing what he’s been doing forever, because cracks are starting to appear.Here’s all the good and bad from SmackDown pre-Rumble.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus. 10 Small WWE Character Tweaks That Became DISASTERS!
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Source: https://whatculture.com/wwe/6-ups-3-downs-from-wwe-smackdown-31-jan-results-review
