3 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Jan 14)

by Jamie Kennedy

1. Sami Zayn = Gold

Sami Zayn Rick Boogs Shinsuke Nakamura
WWE.com

Check out the difference in quality between last week's 'Happy Talk' and this week's 'In-Zayn' segments. Both had iffy material, and both arguably went a bit too long, but Sami's energetic performance and all-round entertainment value saved the day.

The guy is a national treasure. Canada should be proud, man.

He's TV gold. WWE should let Zayn do all the comedy, 'cause he's one of the only ones on the roster who can pull it off and keep a live crowd hooked. Best of all, SmackDown paid it off by having reigning Intercontinental Champ Shinsuke Nakamura knock Sami out with a Kinshasa.

Hey, look at that - the IC belt and coming match got some spotlight on TV. That hasn't happened often since Naka became champ. Here, he got to promote his next (first?) big challenge, and Zayn got to poke fun at Johnny Knoxville/the Jackass crew.

What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more wrestling, check out 10 More Real-Life Wrestling Feuds You Totally Didn't Know About and 5 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Jan 7)!

WATCH NEXT: Lita Rejects AEW Offer Before WWE Return

Advertisement
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.