10 Things We Learned From WWE SmackDown In The UK (May 9)
5. Get To The Point
Despite playing out in front of a London crowd feverish for their first televised taste of Shinsuke Nakamura, the simmering conflict between Dolph Ziggler and 'The King of Strong Style' seemed like unneccesary set dressing for a stage already well-prepared.
Though his introduction hasn't been perfect, Nakamura dominates virtually all of the marketing for Backlash, WWE's first SmackDown-only post-WrestleMania pay-per-view scheduled for May 21st in Chicago.
It has been the company's best move with the rechristened 'Artist' and places the former NXT Champion in far higher esteem than yet more playground theatrics with the 'Show Off'.
This week's segment ostensibly made the encounter official, though even that felt more of a needless excuse to throw both out in front of a live crowd that were a free gift for WWE's creative team.
It's hard to imagine the two not delivering a superb effort in their supercard clash, but the story was patently established in week one, and all follow ups have been inferior tributes.
Dolph's cringeworthy heel promo style plateaued within weeks of his turn, and his continued droning before the predictable Nakamura interruption has the company's equivalent of a test pattern. Perversely, both would probably be best served left off next week's go-home show.