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

3. Cody Rhodes’ Conviction

Cody Rhodes
WWE.com

Was Cody Rhodes' promo about Brock Lesnar the kind of must-see pay-per-view build the classic PLEs have? No, not really. Did it add a fresh layer on top of what's expected to be a spirited brawl? Again, nah. So, why it is featured in the 'Ups' crowd at all?

You believe in Cody when he's on it like this, that's why.

It appeared his speech might fall a wee bit flat at first, but it turned into a nice piece of build towards his Backlash bout vs. Brock. Best of all, WWE didn't need to waste a Lesnar booking by having him march out to explain why he'd attacked Rhodes in the first place. Cody did the hard yards for him.

Rhodes said he'd "beat it out of" Brock 24 hours after SmackDown. That was the only line anyone needed from this, and it'll be a blessing to the production staff when they're working through the night readying pay-per-view vignettes.

Good work, that Nightmare.

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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.