11 Ups & 2 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (3 Sept)

10. Big Bully

Samoa Joe
WWE

While Samoa Joe's backstage segment with Chad Gable was rough for his victim, Joe was in excellent form himself last night, coming over from Raw to put a cat amongst SmackDown's pigeons as the King of the Ring tournament rolls on.

It began with a Kayla Braxton interview. Joe claimed he was there to case the joint and watch his potential opponents, threatening to put whoever he faces in the finals to sleep. Soon, the WWE Universe will bend the knee, bow down, and call him "king." Or so he reckoned. Later, Joe brought his bluster down on Gable in a way that presented him as one of the night's biggest bastards.

So excellent is Joe's character work that he only needs to appear on the show for a couple of minutes to be one of the best things on it and while your writer is absolutely here for the hilarious online outrage that Baron Corbin's coronation would spark, Joe put himself over as a worthy contender to the throne on SmackDown.

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Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. 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.