2 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Mar 5)

Ups...

2. Daniel Bryan Saw Jey Uso Coming

Daniel Bryan Roman Reigns Jey Uso
WWE.com

Finally, some good stuff.

SmackDown actually opened with some more fine banter between Roman 'Just Hand Me The Mic' Reigns and Daniel Bryan. The former sneered his way through dialogue about passion and ambition, and his Universal Title challenger refused to take his eye off the ball like he did last week.

Bryan remembered Jey Uso's sneak attack, saw another coming, dodged and reversed it before staring down Reigns. WWE achieved a lot with this one simple piece of booking - Daniel looked like a smart babyface, Uso a desperate henchman who wanted to please his leader, and Roman a disappointed 'Chief' that still believes his own sh*t.

Admittedly, Dan did struggle through a few of his lines before the heels came out, but he rescued things by being so switched on later. Plus, WWE shrewdly put Bryan in a situation that suited his underdog strengths. This was rock solid wrestling telly.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.