5 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (May 26)

Downs...

4. Going Through The Motions

Bianca Belair Asuka
WWE.com

WWE earned an 'Up' for the Asuka vs. Bianca Belair feud last week. Zelina Vega played a part in that success, which shouldn't be ignored either. The LWO member wasn't involved on Friday though. Nah, it was all Bianca and Asuka, but they struggled to build excitement for a rematch at Night Of Champions.

Creative has stretched seriously thin material out across multiple weeks, and it isn't clicking. Also, would somebody please explain why the Raw Women's Title is still being paraded on SmackDown this long after the 2023 Draft? How messy is that?!

The answer: VERY MESSY.

Canned noise certainly didn't help here, but that's maybe what happens when workers are tasked with coming out in front of the same live crowd two-three times in just a few hours. Christ, Belair still had remnants of Asuka's mist on her, despite that happening "last week".

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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.