3 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Feb 18)

by Jamie Kennedy

1. The Lesser-Spotted IC Title

Sami Zayn Shinsuke Nakamura
WWE.com

As the intro said, "thank f*ck that's over".

Shinsuke Nakamura's Intercontinental Title reign might've been the worst of all time. His 189-day run (in TV land - keep in mind this was taped last week) was terrible, and it's a major relief that Sami Zayn has the belt again now. Hopefully, WWE actually plans to do something with him.

The IC Title's stock has fallen so mightily that it might as well be the 24/7 prize these days. Also, Michael Cole and Corey Graves went hard on how prestigious the belt is on commentary. Who were they trying to kid? There wasn't a shred of credibility in their voices when both were spewing that guff.

Naka vs. Zayn was another decent match that was a credit to this week's SmackDown though. Fingers crossed Sami doesn't wrestle Johnny Knoxville for the title at 'Mania, but instead gets a match worthy of his excellent work as a cowardly heel.

What else did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more wrestling, check out 4 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Feb 11) and WWE Elimination Chamber 2022: 10 Things That Must Happen!

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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.