5 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (July 30)

4. Played For Laughs

John Cena Baron Corbin
WWE.com

As the intro says, many would've belly-laughed a few months back had one tried to claim that a 15-minute promo opening from John Cena and Baron Corbin would work. Well, haters be damned, 'cause this did work. Not only that, the live crowd ate it up and seemed delighted by Cena's "ha ha" material.

That's a win for ol' JC.

Though it arguably went just a little too long, the segment was inoffensive enough that it didn't suck. It also helped set up beef between these guys for later, which was needed to explain why Cena so gleefully ripped another opportunity for redemption from Corbin's mitts.

Something has changed for Cena. The 60/40 cheers/boos split has disappeared, and most fans are happy to go nuts for the guy. Remarkably, Minneapolis also played along with Baron's banter about being down on his luck and needing a handout.

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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.