3 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown: Merry Christmas (Dec 23)

1. Then…This!

Raquel Rodriguez Shayna Baszler
WWE.com

Nyuk-nyuk-nyuk-nyuk!

That's the sound of a Vinnie Mac chuckle as he watched Triple H proceed to learn nothing about his mistakes with Shayna Baszler. Ronda Rousey adding her pal to the 'Gauntlet' without warning was one thing, but having Raquel roll Shayna up like some 80s jobber was another entirely.

Holy f*ck, that was awful. Perhaps the worst thing about it is that Baszler's loss was 100% avoidable - WWE could've got what they wanted from Rodriguez without sacrificing Shayna for the sake of it. Yeah, this writer gets that they want to build Raquel quickly, but there were ways to do it without making the entire division look crappy.

Is this Baszler's fate in 2023 then? She's some gatekeeper character for Ronda, and not even a good one? The pair were initially cast as equals who vowed to dominate the women's scene. Now, Shayna is the Petey Williams to Scott Steiner in TNA.

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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.