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

1. Show Ends With Build Towards Raw's Main Event

Seth Rollins Dean Ambrose

Everything came together nicely on SmackDown. It does feel a tad strange that WWE plan on booking Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins for the WWE Title on Raw, especially before Battleground, but SmackDown helped further the build towards that championship encounter.

Rollins picked up the win for his team in the main event, and had previously attacked Ambrose to cause a disqualification in his short bout opposite Kevin Owens. Come the end of the program, the WWE Champion had his revenge, brawling with his chief rival to set the tone for what fans can expect on Raw.

The whole thing put over the importance of the title, more than anything else. Due to the absence of Roman Reigns from shows, the whole Shield story has been pushed to the background, and the emphasis is now firmly on the gold. Few can argue with that, because main event programs should always be about that belt.

What other 'ups' and 'downs' did you take from the last taped SmackDown? Let us know what you think down in the comments section below!

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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.