3 Ups & 7 Downs From WWE SmackDown (July 22)

by Jamie Kennedy

1. A Fun Brawl Then Promo

Baron Happy Corbin Pat McAfee
WWE.com

Take a bow, Baron Corbin. His boot to the chest on Pat McAfee behind the commentary desk looked wonderful, and the pair's energetic brawl was one of the best things about this week's show. To top it off, McAfee cut another fine promo to hype their match at SummerSlam.

No complaints with this sort of build.

It's slightly infuriating that WWE can produce this sort of stuff for one feud, but not make such simple-yet-well-worked hype the rule of thumb across their entire product. That might be harsh, because few are as adept on the mic as Pat.

Everything about this segment played to the strengths of both men. Corbin was the physically-imposing brute who also doubled as a cheap shot artist, and McAfee refused to bow down before delivering a strong verbal rebuttal.

Telling you, man. Their SummerSlam match is gonna be a sleeper hit.

What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more content, check out 10 Worst Excuses Wrestlers Gave For Missing Matches and FIFA 23: 10 Rumours You Need To Know!

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.