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

by Jamie Kennedy

1. AJ Styles Gets Back On Track

AJ Styles Alberto Del Rio
WWE.com

Going back to AJ Styles vs. Alberto Del Rio, the result was mightily important to WWE's immediate future. Had other League Of Nations members interfered in the match and caused a screwy finish, it wouldn't have satisfied.

Seeing Styles definitively defeat the Mexican was brilliant, because it gives the announcers the chance to talk up AJ as a genuine threat to Roman Reigns at Payback. That should be the goal with each passing match up until that pay-per-view, make Styles look like he has a realistic chance of bagging the gold, as unlikely as it is to actually happen.

The match against Del Rio was enjoyable, but would have been a real negative had AJ lost. He didn't, which was a shrewd move, and now has some momentum to press on with. More straightforward outcomes like this one please, WWE.

What other 'ups' and 'downs' did you take from this week's WWE SmackDown? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments section below!

Advertisement
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.