WWE SmackDown - Best and worst- Possible reason for no RAW invasion, New teams formed, 2 very embarrassing botches 

WWE SmackDown before Survivor Series 2021. It is instantly apparent that the company is not treating the pay-per-view at the same level as the other marquee attractions like SummerSlam and WrestleMania. There is almost no build, no hype at all with regard to the upcoming show. In fact, it almost feels like the company wants to get the pay-per-view over with, before moving on to other things.

That is the second thing. When it comes to building storylines within the same brand, WWE SmackDown is certainly doing a pretty commendable job. It's just coming at the cost of the upcoming pay-per-view which should have been this week's focal point.

What did you think of this week's show? Was it a thumbs up or thumbs down? Rate WWE SmackDown in the comments section below. Do let us know if you agree or disagree with this review as well.

So here's what worked for WWE SmackDown and what fell considerably short.

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#3 Best/Worst: WWE SmackDown did not get invaded by RAW

Tip of the hat to Rohit Nath from Sportskeeda for making this point. In one of the many Sportskeeda Wrestling chats during WWE SmackDown, he remarked how he was happy there were no invasions this year.

Why be loyal to a brand that you've just joined? It's alright to head into battle representing your squad at the pay-per-view. But why should RAW stars, on their off day, want to show up on WWE SmackDown to make their presence felt?

Yes, everyone knew that Big E was going to show up at the end of WWE SmackDown. But in the context of this logic, this is an appearance that makes sense, because he came out only to defend his good friend.

#2 Best: Sheamus and Holland form a formidable WWE SmackDown pair!

Peaky Blinders comes to WWE SmackDown. The pairing of Ridge Holland and Sheamus is incredible and the two men could really form a formidable tag team unit. In time, they could actually take The Usos to the limit. Also, who would have thought that Drew McIntyre and Jeff Hardy would be the team we all needed, but never realized?

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#2 Worst: Holland is not from Ireland but from England

Pat McAfee made the mistake of thinking that Holland was from Ireland when he's actually from England. The WWE SmackDown announcer would apologize soon after, and we as fans can certainly move on. The man was on fire throughout the evening and deserves the benefit of the doubt on this occasion.

What was inexcusable was Michael Cole having to struggle with a graphic that showed Toni Storm as a shadow, when her name was announced for the WWE SmackDown Survivor Series team. In any case, onwards and upwards is the only way to go from here.

#1 Best: That Xia Li Vignette

The best thing on WWE SmackDown had to be the Xia Li vignette. It looked like it belonged to a Marvel movie or even a big-budget TV series. The fact that the company went far and beyond with her probably means that they have big plans. That said, Sportskeeda Wrestling editor Alan Jose John pointed out how the company did the same thing for Aleister Black before he was released as well.

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#1 Worst: A WWE SmackDown official acknowledges corruption right on camera

If you're colluding with an authority figure, wouldn't you acknowledge the deceit off-camera? The best way to carry out this WWE SmackDown angle would have been through hidden cameras/security footage. Maybe Sonya Deville is spotted with the official making a payout. The fact that corruption was acknowledged right on camera seems so stupid.

If this was your regular WWE SmackDown episode, it wouldn't really have been an issue. The fact that it was a go-home show takes away from whatever good there was in this episode. What did you think?