11 Ups & 7 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Jun 18)

6. Empty Threats

Dolph Ziggler
WWE.com

This week's Dolph Ziggler promo was predictably putrid, and its problems began with the volley of empty, unfulfillable threats 'The Show-Off' threw at The New Day ahead of last night's clash with Xavier Woods and Stomping Grounds' rematch against Kofi Kingston.

Speaking on Kofi not deserving to be WWE Champion was fine. The rest of Ziggler's rant? Guff. He talked about slamming Kofi's body into "unforgiving steel" and "grinding [his] face against the cage" at the pay-per-view, which would all be well and good if these PG cage matches hadn't been watered down to the point that they barely beat a standard singles bout in terms of brutality. Afterwards, he promised to make sure that Woods would never be able to interfere on Kofi's behalf again, telling Kingston to "pay close attention to what's about to happen to your buddy," as if he were about to break a few bones, put him in traction, or end his career.

Toot. Complete toot. The worst Dolph can realistically to do Xavier in this scripted universe is beat him in a match, or maybe put him on the shelf with a kayfabe injury for a few days, yet this dude's out here talking like he's some kind of psychopath.

How does anyone invest in this? Give the man better material, please.

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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.