6 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Feb 5)

5. The Right Man Loses

Big E Sami Zayn Apollo Crews
WWE.com

Sami Zayn is a natural foe for Big E. Meanwhile, Apollo Crews isn't. It's really as simple as that, and that's why Crews taking the fall in Friday's three-way for E's Intercontinental Title made the most sense. WWE has seemingly forgotten about whatever Apollo had going on with Roman Reigns too.

They do that a lot with underneath guys, don't they?

The sad fact for Crews is that he just isn't an interesting enough character to rival someone as personable as Big E. The champion babyface needs a strong heel to go up against, and that's where Sami comes in. His conspiracy theorist act is stacked with enough phoney outrage for E to rip the p*ss out of before matches.

WWE nailed it by having Apollo take the hit on Friday. Now, he can spin off into something else and hopefully find another wrinkle that gives his character some direction. Random title matches don't really suit him anyway.

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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.