2 Ups & 6 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Dec 5)

4. United States Title Trash

Dolph Ziggler Baron Corbin Bobby Roode
WWE.com

SmackDown's writers phoned it in last night, particularly when it came to the midcard, with the three-way United States Title feud between Baron Corbin, Bobby Roode, and Dolph Ziggler 'developing' in the most mechanically repetitive way imaginable.

Corbin and Roode met backstage. The champ claimed 'The Show-Off' didn't belong in their Clash of Champions bout, and in stepped Ziggler himself, claiming his past successes justified his opportunity. It was a listless backstage segment that sucked heat away rather than piled it on, and it was followed by a predictable continuation minutes later.

With Bobby and Baron contesting a non-title bout, Ziggler sat at the commentary table, peeling off mundane trash talk lines with the enthusiasm of a man who stopped giving a f*** several years ago. His foes worked for just over three minutes, going through the motions en route to the inevitable interference. It eventually came, with Dolph laying both Corbin and Roode out, standing tall at the segment's conclusion.

It was cripplingly dull. WWE took one of their stalest booking formulas and applied it to three of the least interesting guys on the roster, and completely failed to build intrigue for their upcoming clash, which, on current form, is on course to be a total snoozer.

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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.