5 Ups And 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (April 14)

Sami Zayn hit a home run during his big SmackDown main event...

by Jamie Kennedy
Sami Zayn Chris Jericho
WWE.com

Coming out of Monday Night Raw, there were bigger questions surrounding Bray Wyatt than the top contender to the WWE World Heavyweight Title. AJ Styles will meet Roman Reigns for the belt at Payback, but he wasn't a focal point of the show on Monday. SmackDown changed that.

All Styles really needs to prepare him for Reigns is momentum, which is why it was so heartening to see him put up against Alberto Del Rio on the Thursday night show. There was no way AJ was going to lose cleanly, and surely WWE's creative team wouldn't be so stupid to have him lose before such a marquee title challenge anyway.

AJ wasn't the only one who needed to impress, Sami Zayn was also put in a top spot in the main event of the show. Facing Chris Jericho, he needed to prove (mainly to WWE management more than those in the audience) he belongs in singles matches at the top of the card, even if it is only on SmackDown.

As encouraging as those aspects of the show proved to be, it wasn't all sunshine and good times. Let's break the program down, looking at the major 'ups' and 'downs' from the latest SmackDown...

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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.