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

3. Miz TV Shows Good Fire

Bob Backlund Darren Young The Miz

Some heads were scratched when it became clear that Darren Young had fluked his way to a win on Monday Night Raw to become the new top contender to the WWE Intercontinental Title. That was the story WWE went with, and it was a risky one. Having the main contender to any title come across like a happy accident can be challenging to write properly.

SmackDown cleared things up admirably, and people should now be looking forward to the title bout. Inviting both Young and his mentor Bob Backlund onto Miz TV, The Miz actually put over Backlund before laying into his new rival. That contrast between highlighting Bob's amazing career and the lack of it for Young really worked a treat.

This allowed Young to show some fire with a rousing promo, pretty much acknowledging his underdog status but warning Miz not to take him lightly. The feud really needed a segment like this to help get it over, and now there's some merit to Young's claims that Backlund is teaching him properly.

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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.