5 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Dec 17)

Ups...

5. Restoring The Raid

Erik Jinder Mahal Shanky
WWE.com

SmackDown's tag ranks were decimated by the loss of Rey and Dominik Mysterio, Alpha Academy, Apollo Crews and Commander Azeez, The Street Profits and The Dirty Dawgs during the 2021 Draft. In addition, the brand lost newcomers Hit Row rather quickly. That didn't leave a lot for teams like The Viking Raiders to do.

WWE started the healing on Friday.

Erik and Ivar have been misused since day one on WWE's main roster, but they're still one of the better squads this company has under contract. This week, the pair offed Jinder Mahal and Shanky in a short match that was easy to watch. It didn't overstay it's welcome. It didn't need to.

This was a way better use of The Raiders than having them chat to randoms in the back or suck up to King Woods (who is in a tag-team himself and therefore competition). Plus, Ivar's splash from the top rope onto Shanky for the pin got a nice pop from the live crowd.

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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.