11 Ups & 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Jul 16)

Downs...

5. Revolving Door

The New Day
WWE.com

Revolving door talking segments are the scourge of modern WWE programming, and the promotion served up two of them last night.

The second began with The New Day in the ring. They were as jolly and jovial as ever, with Xavier Woods saying "you can call Kofi 'Simon Phoenix' because he's a Demolition man and WWE Champion," before Kingston put his buddies, the new SmackDown Tag Team Champions, over. This led to Daniel Bryan and Rowan coming out, their rematch accepted, though the former WWE Champion and his big beefy pal failed to deliver their "career-altering announcement." They peaced out before even saying a word.

Samoa Joe was out next. He implored Kofi to put his WWE title on the line, before Elias emerged, telling Joe he'd had his chance. Randy Orton's appearance completed the segment and while he wasn't going to fight The New Day initially, he changed his mind when Kofi said "'The Viper' has gone limp," sparking the six-man tag.

While the segment succeeded in putting the match together, there wasn't enough personality nor were the promos strong enough to transcend the rote formula. Watching WWE TV go from A to B is boring without a little spice.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.