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

3. WWE Does Right By Shayna Baszler

Shayna Baszler
WWE.com

This has been a loooooong time coming.

Sure, the 'Gauntlet' match might've been a bit iffy, but Shayna Baszler was the right choice as winner. She looked resplendent as she celebrated the victory and then stared down Liv Morgan. WWE's biggest challenge is actually gonna be keeping Liv babyface, because one suspects fans will cheer Shayna.

She'll be booked as a no-nonsense badass, and that might wash with the core audience better than Morgan's, 'I tapped when I thought I'd won' garbage. Obviously, this is all conjecture (some fans change their minds weekly more often than Vince McMahon did!), but it's possible.

It's just awesome to see Baszler finally get some shine on SmackDown though. She's done the grand sum of sod all since moving from red brand to blue in last year's WWE Draft, and that lack of direction has been a near-weekly bitch for this writer. Maybe brighter days are ahead?

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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.