5 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Aug 18)

2. Giving Bloodline Business A Break

Roman Reigns
WWE

Roman Reigns, The Usos, Solo Sikoa, Paul Heyman and The Bloodline story at large is obviously very important to SmackDown, but the narrative deserved a week off. That gives everyone watching a breather, and means people will be refreshed and ready to see more twists and turns next week.

Smart.

This is one of the first times in a long time that zero members of The Bloodline hit the ring for a match or promo skit, and that's not a complaint. Some were starting to think that the story was sagging. Maybe that problem will return when the workers do, but breaks aren't a bad thing by any means.

SmackDown did feature some Bloodline storytelling, to be fair. It was done in such a deft and careful way though, and that's worth mentioning. No Roman, no Jimmy (he's back next week), no Jey, and no Solo. How about Heyman? Well...

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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.