5 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (27 Feb - Results & Review)

3. The Problem With Segments Like This

R-Truth ESPN
WWE

Did...did we just go back in time to 2019? No, that's not meant as a compliment.

All of the SmackDown stragglers were standing around checking out the big mystery box/crate that's being dragged between Raw and SmackDown when R-Truth walked in and told them how to watch Elimination Chamber via ESPN. So, the WWE roster need to pay to watch PLEs now? Got it. Yeah, this skit was like something from the dark days under Vince McMahon's gaze.

There's a fundamental flaw in segments like this one. Sure, WWE are entitled to hype their major shows and make it crystal clear to fans how they can tune in, but why does Rey Fenix need to know that? Or the Motor City Machine Guns. Or Fraxiom. Or anyone else who isn't booked on the card. Can't they just rock up to the building if they fancy watching?!

Here, the script unintentionally fed into claims that TKO are mega-greedy corporate types who will squeeze every last dollar they can out of everything. Not gonna lie, it is kinda funny to think that Nathan Frazer has to buy the PLE on ESPN if he even wants to watch it. What are we doing here, man?

Truth should be knighted for trying his best to make this guff entertaining. Build that man a statue right now. If somebody had told you he'd be producing puff pieces like this when he returned as badass Ron Killings during Money In The Bank last year, then you'd have (rightly) laughed right in their face; and yet, here we are.

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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.