6 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (May 15)

Ups...

6. Heelin' Ain't Easy

While WWE's portrayal of babyface characters is often putrid, SmackDown are absolutely nailing the heel side at the moment, with every major villainous personality coming off strongly on last night's show.

Shinsuke Nakamura felt more comfortable in his new gimmick than ever as he wrestled AJ Styles in the main event. Samoa Joe's backstage selfie promo was as impactful as always, furthering his reputation as the company's most believable personality. Carmella and The IIconics were gloriously obnoxious, Andrade Almas and Zelina Vega already feel like a big deal, and Big Cass, for all his in-ring deficiencies, is delivering on the character front.

This is more of a catch-all point than one spurred by a singular incident on last night's show, but it stood out regardless. For all the other flaws in the booking, SmackDown benefits from a very well-defined cast of characters, most of whom lie on the villainous side of the alignment scale. Little things like The IIconics playing word association and Joe's brief promo push them forward without hogging too much airtime, and the company deserve credit for the way these performers are being presented at the moment.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.