5 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (July 3)

2. Match-Making King

King Corbin Matt Riddle
WWE.com

After telling SmackDown newcomer Matt Riddle that somebody needs to put him in his place, 'King' Corbin shied away from the former NXT star's challenge and announced that he'd face John Morrison instead. Who in the name of Teddy Longs gave Corbin that kind of power?

This has become a problem in WWE since they dispensed with the tried-and-tested General Manager idea. There's no clear authority figure running Raw or SmackDown (William Regal still does a top job on NXT), and that means the writers struggle to explain why matches are happening.

So, they book heels to do a little match-making, and it makes zero sense.

If a heel like Corbin had the sway to do that sort of thing, then he'd surely place himself in title matches every single week, or at least take steps towards such success. Instead, he's occasionally able to do things his own way and commonly powerless to do anything about babyface revenge whenever it suits WWE.

Advertisement
Contributor

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.