5 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (June 9)

Ups...

5. Escobar Wins! Escobar Wins!

Santos Escobar Mustafa Ali
WWE.com

Fresher things are happening in the men's MITB convo.

It felt like the right call to give Santos Escobar a big win over Mustafa Ali on SmackDown. Let's be honest, Ali is damaged goods in WWE these days, and Santos bedding in on the main roster (and eventually being pushed) is a much bigger concern to Triple H and his creative lot.

Also, Escobar's LWO squad badly needed to grab a win. He did that here, and in a fun match too. In fact, Santos vs. Mustafa was probably the best bout of the night; it shouldn't be lost on anyone that Escobar pinned somebody who took GUNTHER to the limit back in Saudi Arabia either.

This is Ali's role in 2023, which is fine. He's a good-enough worker to offset anything WWE throws at him, and this was more proof of that adaptability. Escobar in MITB is just a little bit more exciting than Mustafa in the ladder match would've been, basically.

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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.