3 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Aug 4)

Downs...

4. Oh, You’ve Done The Heavy Lifting?!

Asuka WWE 2023
WWE.com

WWE running three separate vignettes for Asuka, Charlotte Flair and Bianca Belair suggests they've done all the hard yards building their upcoming Triple Threat. The bad news? That match remains one of SummerSlam's least-enticing, and Asuka (the defending champion) is still the weakest aspect of it.

Creative phoned-in some last-minute hype here like that's all they needed.

Candidly, Asuka continuing to be overlooked as champion has sucked. So, mind you, has the wishy-washy booking for both Belair and Flair. Neither is coming across as a must-see character on SmackDown right now, and there isn't exactly a whole lot of momentum whizzing around this feud generally.

It's worrying that WWE believes this rivalry is pay-per-view ready as is. Asuka looks secondary, Charlotte is still flitting between on/off unwanted babyface tropes, and Bianca has been caught in no man's land for far too long now.

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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.