3 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (17 May - Results & Review)

by Jamie Kennedy

1. One Of The Better Contract Signings

Cody Rhodes Logan Paul
WWE.com

WWE's contract signing segments tend to be a chore, so it was great to see Cody Rhodes and Logan Paul make the best of things on Friday. The added wrinkle of LP saying he didn't fancy putting his United States Title on the line over in Saudi because Cody hadn't earned a crack at him was fun and typical heel arrogance. It worked well.

Being honest, everyone knows Rhodes is winning, so putting both belts on the line didn't seem logical from the start. Booking Cody as a double champ this soon into his cherished WWE Title reign would've been daft. He doesn't need to pull double duty, and the US strap wouldn't look great in the shadow of a more important championship anyway.

The crowd were red hot for this skit once it got going, which is a positive sign. Nick Aldis stormed away fuming at Paul for his legal loophole antics, then Cody showed some much-needed aggression to fire back at Logan's entourage. Mark this segment down as a winner.

Next week's match will be scorching in-ring too.

What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more wrestling, check out 10 Times WWE Got Their Own BAD Ideas WRONG and 10 Horrible Gimmicks That Wrestlers Pitched THEMSELVES!

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Contributor

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.