8 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Mar 20)

The Life Of Bryan

Daniel Bryan Kevin Owens Sami Zayn
WWE.com

Daniel Bryan is BACK...but we’ll get to that later.

What? That’s how WWE exploited what was sure to be a killer rating on Tuesday night after revealing midway through the day that the ‘Yes Man’ had been cleared. As above though, more on that later.

Not least because there’s nothing wrong with a bit of tension. Of late in WWE, there's been bucketloads of it.

At Fastlane a fortnight ago, the company laid the table for WrestleMania in one huge main event. Rich in action, it was tension that carried the contest.

Floundering for months, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn suddenly found renewed purpose in the shape of Shane McMahon. John Cena came up short in his WrestleMania quest yet again, triggering a needling verbal attack on The Undertaker - of all people - the following night. AJ Styles continued his run as the company's worthiest Champion, drawing sighs of relief from the millions worldwide desperate to see him take on a 'King Of Strong Style' yet to be crowned.

Tension.

A expertly-paced effort, the match used all these underlying concerns to weave together so many threads left loose on the blue brand, with a clear Road To WrestleMania finally established in the process. Things in their control were thankfully going to plan, until potential disaster struck. News broke of 'The Phenomenal One' potentially picking up an injury that could again cast doubt upon the dream Shinsuke Nakamura match. That story itself was lost to the Bryan blockbuster. But we WILL get to that later.

Tension.

Advertisement
Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett