3 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (April 9)

1. It Was Largely Skippable

Roman Reigns Jey Uso Paul Heyman
WWE.com

WWE must've thought that promoting two "WrestleMania matches" and slapping the 'Mania 37 logo atop SmackDown's motif would cut it as go home for the weekend. They were sadly mistaken. This week's show was largely skippable, and didn't really have anything to shout about beyond three well-crafted promos.

Weirdly, Roman Reigns' one was the weakest of the bunch, and he closed the show.

Roman's rant wasn't dreadful or anything, but it paled in comparison to speeches given by Daniel Bryan and Edge earlier in the night. His ultra-dismissive claims ("I shouldn't even be here") ended the show on a low note when WWE really needed to bat a home run and lead people into 'Mania with excitement.

This was as skippable as Reigns' character has been since he turned heel at SummerSlam last August. Combine that with the general malaise affecting the broadcast and you didn't have an urgent atmosphere on SmackDown.

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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.