4 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Jan 8)

4. A Pointless Title Match

Apollo Crews Big E
WWE.com

Who thought this was a good idea?

Apollo Crews, a smiling babyface, was not the best choice to challenge Big E during the first stretch of the New Day's man's Intercontinental Title reign. E needs strong, menacing heels to go up against, not background goodies who barely even get an entrance.

Despite deploying a double pin finish before the restart, both men struggled to make this one anything above average. They shouldn't take the brunt of the blame for that - WWE's creative team need a slap for thinking that Crews vs. E was even viable as a heavily-hyped title bout in the first place.

E must move on to someone like 'King' Corbin or Cesaro. Even running him vs. Sami Zayn again would be better than this. He desperately craves a heel counterpart who can get some heat on him before the inevitable comebacks.

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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.