6 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Jan 3)

5. Shinsuke Nakamura's Revenge

Braun Strowman Shinsuke Nakamura Cesaro Sami Zayn
WWE.com

Last week, Braun Strowman levelled Shinsuke Nakamura with his big Power Slam and then danced with New Day. Though the last part sucked, the first bit didn't. It was about time WWE positioned someone as Nakamura's Intercontinental Title challenger. The guy has had that belt for months without doing anything with it.

Sorry, braun. Revenge is a bitch.

Nakamura smashed Strowman with his Kinshasa knee strike after Braun dealt with Cesaro, and the announcers implied that Shin had been waiting to do that for seven full days. There it is, that simple storytelling and progression that fans want from championship feuds. That wasn't so hard, was it?

Everyone came out of this smelling of roses. Cesaro was competitive, Sami Zayn his usual scampering self, Braun dominant and Nakamura pounced at the most opportunistic moment.

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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.