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

1. No Follow Up To Speak Of

Roman Reigns Shinsuke Nakamura Paul Heyman
WWE

Last week, WWE dropped hints that Shinsuke Nakamura will be Roman Reigns' next Undisputed WWE Universal Title opponent at 'Mania Backlash. This felt like a huge step down from Brock Lesnar for Roman, but that could've been remedied had the writers fleshed things out on TV.

They didn't.

Neither Reigns nor Naka appeared on this week's show. If WWE wanted to make the rivalry small time, then this was the way to do it. Where was an expected momentum-boosting win for Shinsuke over a credible villain? Why didn't Paul Heyman even show face to wax lyrical about how Naka was awesome but shouldn't take this shot?

Both sides of the proposed World Title match for the next pay-per-view were totally absent seven days after teasing it. WWE don't have a lot of time to work with here; WrestleMania Backlash is three weeks away tomorrow. Three weeks. They'd better get a move on.

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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.