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

by Jamie Kennedy

1. Swamp Match Set-Up

Braun Strowman
WWE.com

WWE seems to be shifting back to more of a scripted style for some promos. That was evident in Braun Strowman's rehearsed story about chilling by the swamp with a snake-bite-loving Bray Wyatt. The material wasn't exactly stunning, but Braun did his best and this was actually one of his better performance on the mic.

The 'Wyatt Swamp Fight' advertised for Extreme Rules should be a fun cinematic distraction, and Braun's little evil grins and laughs are a sign that Bray is slowly changing him like he has so many others. Remember, he's supposed to affect everyone he targets. Strowman should be no different, Universal Champ or not.

It'd be a massive bonus, for example, if Wyatt's mind f*ckery time-warped Braun back to his wrecking-ball monster days. He's so much more effective as a character when he's not doing comedy, and this was proof of that even though the subject matter was obviously off-the-wall.

Braun did well here.

What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more like this, check out 10 WWE Moves That NEVER Win Matches and 10 Mistakes That Actually Enhanced WWE Matches!

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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.