5 Ups & 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (July 3)

3. WWE: Inherently Unfunny

Pancake Eating Contest
WWE.com

Like anything else the company does, WWE comedy is highly subjective. Sometimes they get it right (Southpaw Regional Wrestling), and others, they drop a bollock (Bobby Lashley's Sisters). Unfortunately, the average sits far closer to the latter than the former, with the company delivering a couple of tedious examples last night.

Praise the heavens for Sanity interrupting The New Day's pancake eating contest, because Byron Saxton's manufactured enthusiasm dropped a bucketload of cringe all over the show. Team Hell No's humour didn't land, either. Their bickering isn't a problem in itself, as it harks back to their original dynamic, but the script writers went way too far as Daniel Bryan ran through Kane's various transgressions against him. In listing every single thing 'The Big Red Machine' had done wrong in the past, they turned it into a pantomime.

"Lighten up, it's only comedy!", you might say. Sure, but bad comedy is still bad. The New Day shovelling pancakes into their mouths isn't funny. Bayley's poor Sasha Banks impersonation isn't funny. James Ellsworth isn't funny. Sharper writing would tighten this up and eliminate the problem, but such is the case for every aspect of WWE's variety show approach.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.