6 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (March 8 - Results & Review)

Cody Rhodes gets revenge on The Rock; WWE explores Bianca Belair's heel turn again.

Cody Rhodes
WWE.com

Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins entering through the crowd was a symbolic gesture for several reasons. Firstly, it strengthens their position as men of the people. People...people...people's champion?! Yep, this was surely done to show that The Rock has lost that moniker to Cody and Seth (but mainly Cody) in 2024.

Second, it could've been a sly dig at Roman Reigns. He used to enter through the masses before his 'Tribal Chief' run kicked off. Perhaps this writer is looking into things just a tad, but there's a chance WWE was trying to portray the 'Hollywood' team as workers who have forgotten humble beginnings.

Rhodes slapped Rocky back to reality anyway. Literally.

SmackDown's closing segment wasn't the only good thing this two-hour weekly had to offer. Tiffany Stratton continues to shine, Bianca Belair is teasing a heel turn all over again, and creative is doing well to keep AJ Styles vs. LA Knight bubbling without having both men brawl.

Bummers came in the form of some forced product placement, a midcard title situation that's painfully uninteresting, and a missed opportunity that really shouldn't have been missed at all.

Here's all the good and bad from WWE's latest.

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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.