4 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (April 15)

1. Drew Gulak’s Beatdown

Drew Gulak as a wrestler-turned-backstage-announcer will work - the overlooked mid-carder has more personality than his employer would admit (just check out the tutorial in WWE 2K22 for proof), and he knows how to sell his ass off when attacked.

Case in point: Charlotte Flair's beatdown.

Flair's promo work was fine here. If anyone is going to do the heavy lifting on the mic in this feud with Ronda Rousey, it's her, so this was smart. Having Charlotte destroy Gulak, who had a fine audition as part of the broadcast team, isn't a problem either. It's hardly like WWE were ever gonna do anything with him as a wrestler, is it?

Rousey's absence was less egregious than Roman Reigns' because the company actually furthered her story. Flair came across as a total jerk who believes her own sh*t and thinks she can put hands on anyone she likes. That'll come back to bite her at Backlash, fittingly.

Good work.

What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more like this, check out Ranking Every WWE Title Unification Ever From Worst To Best and 10 WWE Stars Who Desperately Need New Gimmicks!