3 Ups & 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Feb 27)

Ups...

3. Old Man John

John Cena
WWE.com

While WWE's decision to have John Cena go over AJ Styles on last night's SmackDown was troublesome, the 16-time World Champion was in decent form for his opening promo.

Old Man John continued down the path he chose after Elimination Chamber. No longer guaranteed a spot at WrestleMania, he knows he has to work for an opportunity, and that's why he came to SmackDown. Raw wasn't going to throw him a bone. He recognised this, and Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan were happy to indulge the company's biggest star.

They booked the Styles match from there. Granted, the rumoured Fastlane singles clash with Shinsuke Nakamura was a more compelling option, but we have no reason to expect "compelling" from SD at the moment.

The angle, in itself, is a solid one. No longer the Superman of old, Cena has been forced into a slightly lesser role, and it's going to be interesting to see how he reacts and adapts. Does he have one last title run left in him? Possibly, but let's hope it doesn't come at Fastlane.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.