5 Ups And 2 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Mar 14)

1. Never Mind The Tag Division, Here's Shane McMahon

The Usos
WWE.com

SmackDown finally remembered that it has a tag division this week. The Usos and American Alpha have been off television for close to a month, and for the second time in their SmackDown careers, it looked like their feud had been completely forgotten about. The crowd had almost forgotten either team existed, but despite this, WWE decided to pair them up for the main event.

The Usos won, but the company didn't even pretend to care about the match. Instead of focusing on the action, WWE indulged in one of their favourite tropes by having an authority figure completely steal the spotlight from active roster members. The match was first disrupted by footage of Shane McMahon in the backstage area, and from that point on, JBL and Tom Phillips weren't focused on the match at all. All they cared about was Shane's medical condition, and the action completely passed them by.

Shane was shown backstage again just before the match reached its conclusion, then arrived on the stage in the immediate aftermath. The show closed with him booking his match with AJ Styles at WrestleMania, which was inevitable sooner or later, but it's a shame SmackDown couldn't find a way to do it without trampling on their tag division.

There was no need to completely disrespect American Alpha and The Usos in such a manner, but at this point, it looks like WWE have zero interest in putting the spotlight on tag team wrestling in the near future.

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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.