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

Ups...

5. Selling The Sharpshooter

Natalya Ronda Rousey
WWE

Need something positive to take away from the women's side of things? You got it.

Ronda is at her best when matches have a clear, focused submission influence. Her arm bar is one of the most credible holds in pro wrestling today, because it's protected (sorry again, Xia Li) and regularly beats opponents in major matches. Now, WWE want to rebuild Natalya's Sharpshooter up as its equal.

That's fine. It's the right way to take the story, and the way Nattie smiled as she locked on Bret Hart's old finish told a story of supreme confidence. It was as if Natalya was saying, 'If I get this on you at Money In The Bank, then you're finished'. Again, that works.

Giving the challenger a killer weapon she can use to explore any suspected weakness in the champ makes sense. It was also nice to see Rousey kinda tease that she can't take another one of those Sharpshooters come MITB or her spine will snap like a twig.

Solid.

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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.