4 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (July 1)

by Jamie Kennedy

1. No Match? No Problem!

Viking Raiders New Day
WWE.com

You've got to love the sight of fire-breathing heels kicking the living p*ss out of wisecracking-but-popular babyfaces. That's what the revamped Viking Raiders did on this week's show - they didn't show up to work a traditional tag bout. Nah, they wanted to cave in some skulls instead.

More of this, please.

Sure, the "New Vicious Viking Raiders" name is the kind of literal WWE-ism that makes eyes roll, but that'll be a minor grumble if Erik and Ivar are finally used properly. They were amazing as War Machine in other companies, but they've never really got going in McMahon-land. Maybe this changes that.

The face paints they're rocking and the aggression they're showing both work in harmony as evidence of a change in attitude. Come match time, it'd be cool to see The Raiders smash Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods like jobbers. New Day can take it.

What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more like this, check out WWE Money In The Bank 2022: 10 Things That Must Happen and WWE Money In The Bank 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.