2 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Aug 27)

2. No Brock Lesnar

Roman Reigns The Usos Paul Heyman Bloodline
WWE.com

Well, so much for that.

The fact that Brock Lesnar wasn't on this week's SmackDown exposes the idea that he was only brought back at SummerSlam to combat CM Punk's AEW debut. If that wasn't the case, then WWE surely would've waited until Roman Reigns' business with Finn Bálor was taken care of before wheeling him out.

This messy situation is exactly that: MESSY. WWE even teased that Brock would rampage back onto FOX with their own hype vignettes through the week, but they didn't deliver as advertised. That's hugely disappointing to anyone who tuned in to see the next chapter of his feud with Reigns, or what Paul Heyman would have to say about things.

SmackDown's writers went with a crummy side quest-style story that saw The Usos doubting Heyman instead. That, sorry to report, was never going to be an adequate replacement for actually having Lesnar there to mow through the brothers en route to Roman.

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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.