5 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Sept 15)

by Jamie Kennedy

1. The Rock’s Return!

The Rock Austin Theory Pat McAfee
WWE.com

Well, this was a major surprise.

No-one expected to see The Rock back on WWE programming without Roman Reigns in the house. That seemed to be the only reasonable use of ol' Dwayne in 2023/2024, but he was on this week's SmackDown as a special guest. As always, Rocky showing up to serve insults and pop the crowd worked.

This wasn't some ill-conceived, mean-spirited burial of Austin Theory either, which some might claim on socials. Did he get his butt kicked by 'The Great One' and eat a People's Elbow from McAfee into the bargain? Yes. Will it hurt him? No, it'll help Theory. He received better reactions from a WWE live crowd than he has since that match vs. Cena at 'Mania.

The entire arena chanted, "YOU ARE AN A*SHOLE" at him, and it was excellent. Fingers crossed that catches on and follows Austin around, because he could really use some natural heat. Hopefully, WWE hasn't given up on the thought of he and Grayson Waller teaming up as a heel duo too.

What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more wrestling, check out 10 Dream Opponents For CM Punk In WWE and 10 Rubbish WWE Singles Runs You Totally Don’t Remember!

Advertisement
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.