5 Biggest Winners & Losers From WWE SmackDown Live (30 Aug)

5. Losers: The Headbangers

The Headbangers
WWE.com

Whose idea was this? Seriously.

Heath Slater’s ongoing “free agent” storyline has been surprisingly well-played, and him and Rhyno make an entertaining “odd couple” pairing. Slater plays the goofball, while Rhyno acts as the straight guy: it’s a straightforward formula that works perfectly for both of their personalities, and an interesting new layer in Heath’s quest for a contract.

WWE wanted to give Slater & Rhyno a win to further their story, and advance them in the ongoing Tag Team Title tournament. Unfortunately, SmackDown is low on active tag teams (Heath & Rhyno are a hastily cobbled-together team themselves), so they had to look elsewhere for valid competition.

Who did they decide to bring in? The Attitude Era’s 13th most popular tag team, of course!

Mosh and Thrasher were rarely anything more than a novelty act in their prime, let alone in 2016. Their cartoony gimmick is a stark reminder of the worst of the Attitude Era, and they barely even received a nostalgia pop last night. Very few people actually knew who The Headbangers were, and the match was completely lifeless. Other than giving older fans a brief “hey, I remember those guys” moment, Mosh & Thrasher served very little purpose last night.

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Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.