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

1. Conflicting Messages With Rusev

Rusev Zack Ryder
WWE.com

It's this kind of hot and cold booking that irks some people, and the same can be said for Rusev. Coming out of the League Of Nations, WWE have pushed the soft reset button on the big Bulgarian's career. He and Lana are going back about their business, and Rusev is all of a sudden a complete killer again.

That's fine, but at least keep it consistent for a while. Rusev brutally battered poor Zack Ryder on SmackDown, it's almost like Ryder's Intercontinental Title win at WrestleMania didn't happen. This was a squashy as a squash match can get, which is fine if WWE are looking to repair the damage they've inflicted on Rusev over the past year or so.

Running out post-match, United States Champion Kalisto got some shots into his larger foe. A better solution would have been seeing Rusev completely overpower the masked man, stomping on his chest as Lana clapped in approval. What was the point in making him look like a monster, only to have him look like a chump moments later?

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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.