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

Ups...

5. Straightforward Hype

Bray Wyatt
WWE

Compare and contrast the way WWE handled Riddle's nonsensical Wisconsin family holiday as a kid and the mesmeric Bray Wyatt vs. Braun Strowman 'Swamp Fight' hype. It was night and day. Rather than forcing someone to stand mid-ring and awkwardly stumble through some sh*tty frostbite story, the production team went to work.

It was bad ass.

Nobody should worry that Braun and Bray weren't actually on the show in person either. This was much more effective as a promotional tool for their upcoming Extreme Rules cinematic match than any amount of in-ring promos or confrontations would've been.

The three-minute vid WWE used here was straightforward and exactly what it needed to be. They can't really do much more now anyway - people just want to see what the match entails, and that's fine. The only problem is how they get through another two episodes without these guys touching.

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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.