6 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown (June 12)

3. A Match Befitting The 'Workhorse Belt'

AJ Styles Daniel Bryan
WWE.com

Though Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles worked a slower pace than some might've been expecting for roughly 80% of their Intercontinental Title match, it worked out. Bryan focused his attacks on AJ's shoulder and elbow after AJ had already targeted his. Then, switching things up, Styles went after Daniel's leg.

Both these guys fit the classic IC mould, and they produced big time here across four or five segments. On that note, it's worth pointing out that AJ and Bryan smartly worked around the commercial breaks so that fans didn't miss anything (those 'here's what you missed during the break' calls from Michael Cole are tedious and annoying), and that helped their story.

This was better than their work back at the 2019 Royal Rumble. That, whilst hardly awful, was a little too meandering and failed to pick up the pace like this SmackDown sizzler did. If WWE were looking for a bout that'd complement the workhorse history of the title, then they got it.

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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.