2 Ups & 7 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Feb 4)

Ronda Rousey's SmackDown debut falls flat; Goldberg returns; WWE's booking is all over the place.

Charlotte Flair Ronda Rousey Sonya Deville
WWE.com

Charlotte Flair picked Sasha Banks as her challenger for WrestleMania 38.

That was a swerve, obviously. WWE had already advertised that Ronda Rousey would be on SmackDown, so the surprise element that should've accompanied Joan Jett's blaring 'Bad Reputation' tune was totally absent. It also begs the question of why Sasha attacked Flair on last week's show if this was the plan all along.

WWE's booking has been all over the place, and SmackDown continued that trend. In one night, the company's creative forces made Tag-Team Title challengers look like jobbers, Drew McIntyre look like a 'Mania afterthought and lined up a Goldberg match that carries exactly zero threat.

That's some going.

There was also some 50/50 sh*t for you to swallow too; the entire night would've been wasted had it not been for an excellent promo at the top of the broadcast and one hot tag match. That, for the record, was the only bout worth your time.

WWE need to sort SmackDown out, because this just wasn't good enough. Approx 80% of the show was painful to sit through.

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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.