5 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (7 Feb - Results & Review)

Downs...

4. Give 'Em Good Material Or Don’t Book It

Drew McIntyre Jimmy Uso
WWE.com

It's easy to get the sense that things are a bit up in the air with Drew McIntyre right now. Who really knows if there's much truth to him being frustrated behind the scenes, but it wouldn’t be too surprising when a lucrative period of the year like ‘Mania season is ongoing and he's struggling to find an obvious spot on the card. Everybody wants the best spot possible between Rumble-WrestleMania, because this is a 'reward period' for those who carried the can during the second half of last year.

Friday's promo exchange with Jimmy Uso wasn’t the best start for Drew on SmackDown though. Both men did what they could, but the material was really weak and did them no favours. For example, McIntyre confusing Jimmy for Jey when they really look nothing alike anymore didn’t work, and it was pretty clear that this was a time killing exercise before a match followed. Worse, it didn’t have anything tangible to offer like the tease of Jey Uso vs. Cody Rhodes earlier on.

WWE could’ve done better by Drew with his first official SmackDown promo. Way better.

This is somebody who had a ridiculously hot 2024 as a heel, and here he was nyuk-ing it up more than usual. McIntyre is clearly at his best when he's serious, menacing and vicious, not laid back and fun loving when he has zero reason to be. Yeah, this promo bit went wide of the mark, but the writing left a lot to be desired. Not even LA Knight and his usual crowd interactions could save it.

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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.