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

4. The Lack Of Atmosphere

King Corbin
WWE.com

It might be unfair due to the different demographics they attract, but compare AEW Dynamite's crowds to the one on SmackDown for a second. Manchester seemed bored immediately, audibly groaned when 'King' Corbin was running through WWE comedy (poop jokes are hilarious) and barely popped for anything on the card.

That's worrying, not least 'cause the UK has always been a traditionally hot market for WWE.

There was a time when the company could put on pretty much anything and be guaranteed some sort of response from English audiences. Those days, it seems, are over, and the promotion only have themselves to blame for killing the buzz. They got a house show reaction for a house show presentation.

Fans didn't leap out of their seats to greet big names like Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns, and they couldn't be bothered booing much when Corbin was working his ass off to make (literally) crappy material work. SmackDown may as well have been recorded in-studio.

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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.