14 Ups & 2 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Mar 19)

by Andy H Murray

1. The Obstacle Is The Way

Daniel Bryan Kofi Kingston
WWE.com

We got five minutes of Daniel Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston after Vince McMahon had pulled the screwjob, and that's all we needed.

Kofi was going up against the kayfabe best wrestler in the world after almost an hour of gauntlet action, throughout which he'd been soundly battered by all manner of brutish opponents, despite his victories. The man's body was a wreck. Anything longer than five minutes would've been unrealistic and an insult to our intelligence, so him losing relatively quickly after a few fightbacks was the right move.

The layout was perfect. Bryan and Kofi were both brilliant, and in the end, the screwjob resonated.

Kingston now faces another colossal obstacle if he's to make his way to WrestleMania 35. Such is the way WWE book underdog babyfaces in 2019, but while patterns like this often produce diminishing returns, there's no evidence that Kofi is cooling off yet. On the contrary, it felt like the man was more over than ever during the gauntlet. Let's hope that WWE's follow-up is as effective as Bryan's callous opportunity-squasher was. This storyline is wonderful.

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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.