6 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown (July 17)

5. Cheaters Win #2

Bayley Nikki Cross
WWE.com

It was similarly the right call to have Bayley cheat to beat Nikki Cross.

Instead of whinging about the heelish spot, Nikki put the heat on herself backstage after falling for the same trick yet again. Then, when she spotted Bayley and Sasha Banks laughing about their victory, she attacked them and tried to take out her frustrations. Again, this was more solid storytelling.

WWE clearly presented Bayley as someone who knows how good Cross is. At the same time, they left things open for Extreme Rules by giving the champ the upper hand going in. Could this be Nikki's time to grab some singles gold and end Bayley's long-running SmackDown Women's Title reign?

Stranger things have happened, and it would be deserved. As examined earlier, Cross needs to get away from the role of Alexa Bliss' happy-go-lucky best friend. She's an interesting character, and there's definitely bags of potential in there.

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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.