4 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Feb 25)

Celebs challenge for titles; WWE forgets about feuds; WrestleMania stipulations made.

by Jamie Kennedy
Brock Lesnar Roman Reigns Adam Pearce Paul Heyman
WWE.com

Intensity.

That word is something fans crave during WrestleMania season. This January-April quarter is the single most important period of WWE's calendar year - it's where they make the most money, lure lapsed fans back in and pen pulsating weekly television that peaks with one hell of a pay-per-view weekend.

Or, if you're SmackDown's writers, you continue to amble along waiting on a spark. Friday's show was a two-hour example of how WWE struggles to fill its programming with must-see content in 2022. Was there some good? Absolutely, but a fair few decisions weighed everything down and made the broadcast a chore.

For every Roman Reigns' rant or functional celebrity segment, there was a splash of rinse and repeat booking or awkward stalling on the mic.

This was almost unthinkable at one point, but SmackDown's second hour is a noose round its neck. WWE could probably be doing with turning the show into a 60-minute sprint. That's never going to happen though, so creative have to get...more creative, especially with 'Mania looming on the horizon.

Here are all the 'Ups' and the 'Downs' from FOX's latest.

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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.