3 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Jun 26)

A tribute to the memory of house shows.

WWE SmackDown The Undertaker
WWE.com

The stark contrast between two divisions in WWE was evident for all to see on the latest SmackDown.

During the brand's tribute to The Undertaker, half-arsed sentiments, polite applause and any old excuse to fill time was very much the law. SmackDown's look back at 'Taker's epic career, the talking head segments that complemented those vids and the behaviour of the current roster was rather naff next to the gritty majesty of 'Last Ride'.

Ongoing health concerns veered WWE's attention away from making this as good as last week's episode. That's fair enough, but those who religiously tune into company programming would be forgiven for taking a night off - SmackDown was as half-baked as those "Thank You, 'Taker!" chants that occasionally broke out.

As usual, it wasn't all bad. The promotion did find a way to establish some new matches for the upcoming Extreme Rules pay-per-view, and nothing on the show was strictly awful (especially the in-ring stuff). It's just that few things felt like essential viewing.

Was this the real 'Horror Show', or is that reserved for events on 19 July?

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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.