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

by Jamie Kennedy

1. But Having Paul Heyman There

Paul Heyman Kayla Braxton
WWE

...Paul was in Toronto, and he took the opportunity to wind up old foe Kayla Braxton.

The pair just play off of one another so well. They always have, and that old spark ignited the fires of annoyance within Kayla for Heyman's dismissive banter. Their argumentative back and forth worked, and so did Paul getting an anonymous tip about Jimmy Uso's return next week.

Bloodline stuff is the top story in wrestling today, and it can't afford to take too many shows off. This was a necessary breather though. It's also notable that Edge's possible retirement carried the broadcast anyway, so Roman and pals wouldn't have been needed this week.

WWE managed to keep The Bloodline on ice without forgetting about it completely. Perhaps they should stop to think about that, then use the same formula for other stories on both major brands. Not everything can be as carefully-layered or critically-acclaimed as Bloodline, but creative has to try.

What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more like this, check out 10 WWE Gimmicks That Are Totally DEAD and 10 Most INSANE Things Wrestling Companies Did For The Money!

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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.