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

1. Shoe Cares?

Matt Riddle Michael Cole
WWE.com

Did anyone really need to know why Matt Riddle wrestles barefoot?

Isn't it rather obvious? WWE has already established his MMA background before, and Riddle himself has explored his real-fighting past in promos too. On SmackDown though, Michael Cole acted like a grizzled journo asking the tough questions when he quizzed Riddle, 'Why no shoes, bro?'.

This needless query forced WWE to come up with some utterly ridiculous backstory about how Matt has no feeling in his feet due to a frostbite incident as a kid. According to Riddle, who somehow kept a straight face, he's lucky his tootsies weren't amputated.

Then, after revealing that he has no feeling in his feet, Matt mumbled something contradictory about how his feet allow him to feel the ring and his opponents more than most wrestlers. OK... Again, who really needed to know any of this? Why couldn't they leave this one alone?

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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.