4 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (June 3)

1. WWE’s Lack Of Interest

Roman Reigns Paul Heyman
WWE.com

SmackDown is struggling without Roman Reigns.

A Reigns-less episode is a throwaway one to the writers, apparently, and that's rather concerning. WWE can't just rely on one wrestler to carry the brand forever. Imagine the brand extension rules were still ironclad and there was no Riddle this week. The show would've been largely terrible.

Also, WWE literally just added the only blue brand contribution to Hell In A Cell two days before Sunday's pay-per-view. This is what happens when a show is built around one wrestler for so long - everybody else falls by the wayside, and they become afterthoughts in the creative process.

WWE don't necessarily rely on strong TV ratings to reflect success these days, but FOX will want SmackDown to perform well weekly in that department. Sadly, the Friday night show is training people to see it as inessential, and that won't end well.

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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.