2 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Apr 3)

Ups...

2. The Chemistry Between Bryan & Nakamura

Daniel Bryan Shinsuke Nakamura Cesaro
WWE.com

SmackDown did feature some solid wrestling despite all the storyline fumbles.

Most notably, Daniel Bryan and Shinsuke Nakamura put on a decent exhibition of things to come if Dan becomes Intercontinental Champion. It didn't go too long, but that's fine for TV and they can always have a more protracted pay-per-view match if needs must later on. For what it was, this was good sh*t.

Maybe a Bryan clean win would've been preferable to the disqualification finish? That's, admittedly, a bit of nitpicking though. After Cesaro's interference, the heels kicked the living eco-friendliness out of Daniel and left he and partner Drew Gulak laying. Anyone who knows WWE's booking style should rejoice after seeing that.

The babyface struggle here dropped heavy hints that they'll rally at WrestleMania and Bryan will seize the IC belt from Sami Zayn. That's a good thing, and it means D-Bry is one step closer to reclaiming the glory he fancied back in 2015.

Follow-up matches against Shin and Cesaro sound delicious too.

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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.