4 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (June 11)

1. Rather Last-Minute

Rey Mysterio Roman Reigns
WWE.com

Speaking of...

Again, as mentioned in the intro, Rey Mysterio and Roman Reigns are only guilty of doing their best with some very last-minute storytelling. It's like WWE suddenly realised they needed a pay-per-view match for the Universal Champ, panicked, didn't want to plough through a bout with Jimmy Uso and plucked Rey out of nowhere.

Mysterio's promo work was good, but he should be defending the SmackDown Tag Titles with his son and furthering that story. Instead, he's working random-ass HIAC matches and being asked to punish his body when everybody knows that this mini-feud will be forgotten about by Money In The Bank.

As good as Reigns vs. Rey will be bell-to-bell, fans shouldn't give WWE a pass here. They could've given Roman a pay-per-view off and booked this as a TV rivalry in the short-term. Alas, no, he and Mysterio are expected to work miracles and promote a Cell encounter at short notice.

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.