11 Ups & 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (July 30)

1. Full Collapse

Somebody tried to kill Roman Reigns on last night's SmackDown.

Well, sort of. Scaffolding was toppled on 'The Big Dog' was he was making his way through the backstage area ahead of his intended SmackDown announcement. Thus begins a new whodunit saga that actually inspires a reasonable deal of intrigue, and could be a fun way to keep Reigns occupied now that Kevin Owens, not him, is taking care of Shane McMahon and his goons.

The problem is that the stunt was executed really, really weirdly. The staging collapsed on Reigns and Kayla Braxton panicked as a gang of staffers showed up to dig Reigns out. Roman didn't look appreciative of this at all: in fact, he kind of looked like a jerk, and quickly got up, dusted himself off, and totally no-sold any damage done.

This undermined everything, as Roman clearly wasn't hurt by the attack, and the mystery assailant looks weak for not being able to keep 'The Big Dog' down. Strange production choices all round. Let's hope it improves next week.

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Channel Manager
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.