4 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Jan 28)

by Jamie Kennedy

1. Taking The Bait

Seth Rollins Roman Reigns
WWE.com

The show-closing stand off between Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns showed a glimmer of what this feud could've been had WWE wanted more than a gap-filling program for the Rumble. Seth's ability to infuriate Roman when so many have failed to do that felt 100x more believable due to their shared history together.

Rollins poked, he prodded and he irritated the living f*ck out of the Universal Champion by laughing like a clown. The way he clawed at Roman's nerves by bringing up past treacheries (like The Shield split) was really good, and it's another plus point that Seth escaped without taking a kicking.

There's still no clear babyface in this rivalry, but this was a fine enough ending to SmackDown. It did enough to add a new layer of intrigue to the title match, and it was even better that Reigns was alone to get manipulated and angered this way.

Last week's DQ was forced and foolish. This, meanwhile, was a step towards redemption.

What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more like this, check out WWE Royal Rumble 2022: 10 Things That Must Happen and WWE Royal Rumble 2022: 10 Nightmares That Could Come True!

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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.