3 Ups & 7 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (8 Nov)

by Jamie Kennedy

1. The Tease Of A Workhorse Stable

Sami Zayn Shinsuke Nakamura Cesaro Daniel Bryan
WWE.com

Everyone and their dog knows what's coming next, but WWE are doing the right thing by hanging off on Daniel Bryan's decision when it comes to Sami Zayn's offer. The heel's manipulative dismissal of fan support for Bryan is clever, and it'll galvanise even more cheers for D-Bry when he inevitably tells Sami "No".

Or, what if he doesn't? That's the charm of the story: WWE could go either way here.

The alluring tease of seeing a Zayn-led stable comprised of Bryan, Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro is almost too good. Those four workhorses combining to take on the SmackDown roster sounds tasty, but it'll only work if WWE don't fancy Bryan as babyface foil for Bray Wyatt's 'Fiend'.

SmackDown is a bit thin on the top face side of things, so it's likely Dan will spurn Sami and either end up facing Wyatt or working Shin for the IC belt. Either scenario is workable, and it's not like WWE can't return to Zayn's proposal down the road.

What did you think of this week's SmackDown? For more wrestling content, check out 10 Wrestling Facts We Didn’t Know Last Week (8 Nov)!

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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.