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Ever since SmackDown went to three hours, it's felt like WWE has had trouble filling out that allotted time. The roster is filled with plenty of stars and champions but many aren't featured equally.
That bad trend continued this week on SmackDown, as did the string of fiery promos among the company's best talkers. Some stars gained momentum ahead of the Royal Rumble while others made an immediate impression after joining the blue brand.
A third Charlotte Flair video aired where she admitted to being selfish and greedy while also calling herself "self-made." Tiffany Stratton's promo was just another setup for another encounter with Nia Jax.
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What will have people talking and what felt like filler or a missed opportunity? Here's the best and worst for SmackDown ahead of the 2025 Royal Rumble.
#3. Best - Kevin Owens and CM Punk trade jabs
It shouldn't be a shock that a promo battle between Kevin Owens and CM Punk was great. The Prizefighter started the night after Joe Tessitore tried to "give him" equal interview time after ignoring him last week.
Owens lashed out last week after Cody Rhodes received an interview but he did not. The whole thing started on the wrong foot once Tessitore asked "What's being misrepresented between him and Cody Rhodes?"
That's been Owens' point as no one has listened to or considered his side of the story. The reactions to that have only amplified his viciousness, which is not justified.
CM Punk then came out and the two had a great exchange. Punk mocked that he's never lost five times at the Royal Rumble or to Logan Paul. These promo exchanges should lead to potential WrestleMania matches.
#3. Worst - A disqualification finish to set up another rematch
Chelsea Green and Michin have been battling for a few months now. That feud was intensified when Green beat Michin in the final of the Women's United States Title tournament.
Instead of moving on to other challengers, Green has only faced Michin or by extension, B Fab. The champ has defeated Michin already but felt the need to use a Kendo stick on SmackDown.
This caused her disqualification and the inevitable continuation of the feud. If that wasn't enough, why is Piper Niven, who is bigger and stronger than B Fab, eating the offense of someone who competed in only a handful of matches?
#2. Best - The Miz evolves against Andrade on SmackDown
For the longest time, The Miz has been one of the more vanilla stars in the ring. He had his moments, and like most performers, hit his usual five moves. His move to SmackDown may have been the best thing for him, or maybe it was his opponent tonight.
When he battled Andrade, The A-Lister appeared to have added a few new moves to his arsenal. Despite losing to El Idolo, he busted out a Hurricanrana and a more athletic-looking Tornado DDT.
Andrade also hit him with a top-rope Spanish Fly. The Miz adding new wrinkles to his move set is a good trade-off if he's portraying the same cowardly heel.
#2. Worst - Ignoring a current champion for a one-off guest
Triple H's booking of United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura has been one of the most infuriating aspects of SmackDown. The King of Strong Style emerged with a great new variation of his character and won the title.
Since then, however, he's seemingly been a massive afterthought on the three-hour editions of SmackDown. He's rarely competed and only appeared in a few pre-taped promos. The latest show simply showed him stalking other stars backstage twice.
Instead of featuring an exciting character and champ, Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton received an official entrance and a whole segment with Pat McAfee.
They wasted time going over footage of Michael Cole and Cody Rhodes from the Royal Rumble Kickoff Show. Haliburton is a local star and fan, but that time would have been better served featuring one of the brand's titleholders.
#2. Best/Worst - More of the same featuring Liv Morgan and Naomi
Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez are members of RAW. Despite that, they've been feuding with Bianca Belair, Naomi, Rhea Ripley, and others since October.
They faced off in WarGames but continued the fight every week on RAW and SmackDown. The two sides trade wins from show to show. If the end game is a match for the tag titles, then why did they already fall to the champs?
It feels like a holding pattern or if bookers don't have other ideas. It's hard to invest in the same match week after week on SmackDown.
#1. Best - Welcome to SmackDown, Mr. Priest
Damian Priest cut his first promo as a SmackDown star. However, Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga interrupted them. Fatu initially showed Priest some respect before squaring up for a fight.
The former champ didn't back down but was attacked. LA Knight came to his rescue and a tag team match was booked for the main event.
The promo was different than usual but showed two stars from similar backgrounds refusing to back down. The match showcased how Priest's popularity has risen ever since his time as World Heavyweight Champion.
Knight is already over and carries the torch as the top face when Rhodes and Reigns don't appear. It was a bit strange for Fatu to lose another match, but he wasn't pinned either time.
#1. Worst - Eight-man tag team action presented by Love Hurts
WWE booked Los Garzas and the Motor City Machine Guns against Pretty Deadly and DIY ahead of the two-out-of-three Falls match at the Royal Rumble.
Most of the match took place during the commercial break. It even cut to a short trailer for Love Hurts during the match. The showing itself was a letdown after the action between these teams from previous weeks.
The main point was to sell that neither side could co-exist on SmackDown. The Garzas walked out on the Guns after a tag situation mishap. Pretty Deadly walked out after Ciampa blasted one of them with a kick.
If that wasn't enough disservice to the match, another behind-the-scenes video for the movie aired after the match. Couldn't most of the promotion have been saved for after the conclusion of the contest?
#1. Best/Worst - The spiritual successor to the Money in the Bank case
When a star wins Money in the Bank, they often endure many more losses before they cash in. It's supposed to be a diversion to doubt if the person will be successful and win the title.
This happened with Tiffany Stratton and has been a booking strategy for case winners for years. Hayes didn't win the case but has been losing a lot of matches lately. It's more of a humbling situation for Him since he's overconfident and arrogant.
Hayes and Jimmy Uso had a good back-and-forth, but Jimmy won after cheating. It seems like WWE justified a face cheating to win if a heel attempts it first. WWE also gave Jimmy Uso a brand new theme one day before the Rumble.
That will just confuse fans even more since entrance music has been constantly altered over the last two years.
