5 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (June 10)

by Jamie Kennedy

1. Riddle Stands Tall

Riddle The Usos
WWE.com

Post-match, Riddle got to show off his vicious side too.

WWE's writers only had a short window to turn the stoner from tripped-out tag-teamer into a viable contender for Roman Reigns' Undisputed Universal Title, so they had to move fast. In the span of 30 minutes, Riddle worked a cracker with Sami Zayn then bashed The Usos with a kendo stick.

Job done? Yep, job done. The episode ended with Riddle standing tall and begging for Reigns to come out so they could fight right then and there. Contrast how Riddle is presented compared to Ronda Rousey for a moment; he's confident without being arrogant, and he doesn't dismiss any hurdle put in front of him.

In short, the barefoot brawler is a likeable character babyface. That's like gold dust in pro wrestling nowadays, on WWE's watch and elsewhere, so it's legitimately great to report that there's synergy between Riddle and the audience he's sticking up for.

What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more like this, check out 10 New Directions For WWE After Hell In A Cell 2022 and 10 Awesome Wrestling PPVs With Only One Bad Match!

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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.