4 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Nov 5)

Drew McIntyre saves SmackDown; WWE waste everyone's time; Roman Reigns gets a new challenger?

by Jamie Kennedy
Roman Reigns Jimmy Uso
WWE.com

This sucks for an old-school fan to type, but it might be time for WWE to chuck Survivor Series off the annual calendar. That pay-per-view is only two weeks away, and yet the company is doing nothing to build towards it on TV. Friday's SmackDown featured some super-soft hints about a Roman Reigns vs. Big E match, but even that was tenuous.

Survivors surely can't...survive much longer in the modern climate. It's dull as dishwater, and even WWE seem bored of the typical brand vs. brand b*llocks that only becomes important when calendars turn to November. This week's show was indicative of creative malaise - SmackDown's writers just cannot be arsed with this time of year.

The show wasn't all bad, in fairness.

Drew McIntyre continues to be a weekly highlight, and Shotzi has a real chance to come into her own as a fine heel. Plus, WWE even managed to do some solid business with the usually-terrible Naomi vs. Sonya Deville feud too. That was unexpected.

Almost everything else? Meh. It ranged between average and a total waste of everybody's time.

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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.