12 Ups & 2 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Mar 5)

5. Sob Story

Just as WWE did a masterful job in celebrating Kofi Kingston's WWE career ahead of last week's contract signing bait-and-switch, the company knocked it out of the park with another awesome video package on the New Day man last night.

This one came as Daniel Bryan and Rowan were making their entrance at the top of the show. In recapping Vince McMahon's decision to strip Kofi's title shot, complete with fancy filters and sappy music, WWE presented Kingston as the ultimate sympathetic figure. They gave the audience even more of a reason to care about him and his title claims, basically, and while said package was no more than a recap, it was 100% essential given that The New Day were away in Mumbai, India rather than attending SmackDown last night.

Later, The New Day promised to be in the building at Fastlane. Their current direction is extremely interesting, particularly with WWE dropping subtle hints (this week, it was Kofi mostly standing in the background for their selfie promo) that all may not be well within the ranks of the company's most popular faction.

Advertisement
Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. 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.