6 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (July 2)

Downs...

3. Sad Baron Corbin Is Sad

Baron Corbin 2021
WWE

One must question what the end goal of Baron Corbin's plight is.

The one-time 'King' is almost coming across as a sympathetic figure at the moment, and it's doubtful that live crowds will dig that at all when they return in just a few short weeks. Being honest, it's a bloody weird time to play around with a soft babyface turn for someone like Corbin.

Nothing he did on the latest SmackDown was strictly bad, but yeah...where are they going with this, and why does Shinsuke Nakamura seem like the villain of the piece? Even Rick Boogs took the time to batter Baron over the head with some brutal 'King' jokes backstage. Is this supposed to be a double turn?

Credit where credit is due though: Corbin is doing his best with this new direction, and he does cast a sombre shadow. Also, the ex-royal managed to conjure up some actual tears when his car was towed away and he lost the tag bout.

Still, this is strange booking.

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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.