2 Ups & 7 Downs From WWE SmackDown (July 15)

Downs...

7. Gunther’s Unnecessary Chops

Last week's chop-fest worked. This week's...didn't.

Gunther slapping Ludwig Kaiser right on the chest was a fine post-match angle following the second's loss to Shinsuke Nakamura. Seeing the Intercontinental Champion rage at Kaiser's miserable failure made sense, but pressing the repeat button was an odd decision.

Choppy Choppy 2.0 (that's the name of these chopping segments, lads - honest) came across as totally unnecessary and like somebody wants to tease a split between these characters already. That'd be a huge mistake, because they've really only just landed on the main roster.

Let this writer be crystal clear about one thing: Gunther's chops should only happen after an in-ring defeat. He's a competitor, so it makes zero sense that he's punishing Ludwig for the sake of it. The big bully. Seriously though, this didn't need to happen.