5 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Nov 7)
4. Bad Guys
WWE
WWE may not realise quite what they have in Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens in these particularly difficult pre-Survivor Series weeks.
With the entire company trapped inside the oppressive confines of the Raw Vs SmackDown narrative, few are able to commit even to the match or feud their having without keeping half a mind on whatever the hell they're supposed to be selling at the Supercard.
The Miz was on typical form on Monday Night Raw, but even he struggled to remain on message as he tried to slap Baron Corbin with his left hand and silence Kurt with his right. Similarly, The New Day are currently wearing more hats than Xavier Woods would even suggest for their WrestleMania attire. If it's not smiling babyfaces, it's '#UnderSiege' warlords via Halloween punchlines.
Zayn and Owens meanwhile, are robustly consistent. They don't like Shane McMahon, Daniel Bryan, the (ahem) 'SmackDown Live! fans', or frankly any of the needless side effects that come with Survivor Series fever. They're self-serving, self-righteous baddies, and long may that continue at least until we're stepping out from under this November rain. The w*nkers have become the anchors.
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
