5 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Nov 7)
2. Bulgarian Bullsh*t
WWE
Wresting fans probably aren't strangers to the 'P' and 'R' keys getting a little worn out from excessive use, but this constant feeling of shame doesn't come from something that needs watching on a Google Incognito Tab.
Poor Rusev. Poor, poor Rusev.
The announcement that AJ Styles would compete with Jinder Mahal for the WWE Title knackered an already-agreed contest with the 'Bulgarian Brute' with stakes allegedly high enough, thank you very much. The winner would earn a spot on #TEAMBLUE. This would've stood to sort out the former United States Champion quite nicely as he patiently awaited next September 26th's Rusev Day celebrations.
Somehow though, losing that match to booking changes meant losing this match due to an RKO. Yes, Rusev was inexplicably paired with Randy Orton, a man that already slithered onto the Survivor Series team a fortnight ago.
Because WWE, there's a hope Ru-Ru might still make it on to blue-blue, but the company have again presented him as total poo-poo. Boo hoo.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
