6 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Jan 20)

by Jamie Kennedy

1. ‘Dem Boys Would’ve Been Proud

Erik Sheamus
WWE.com

That was a really nice touch from WWE to let Michael Cole put over The Briscoes as one of wrestling's best tag-teams. Then, The Viking Raiders wore special armbands paying tribute to Jay and had a hard-hitting banger of a match vs. Drew McIntyre and Sheamus.

The Briscoes would've been proud of this.

Yes, it sort of sucks to see The Raiders out of the tournament running already, but it's hard to argue with this sort of in-ring quality; it's also hard to hate on WWE for taking time out to show respect. This was really, really classy, and that hasn't always been the McMahon family way for workers who didn't make their names under the WWE umbrella.

A smile crossed this fan's face when he thought of Jay Briscoe looking down on Erik, Ivar, Drew and Sheamus beating the crap out of each other. That's the kind of wild match he adored, and everyone worked overtime to put on a show here.

RIP, sir.

What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more wrestling, check out 10 Ridiculous Things You Learn Binge-Watching WCW's Worst Year Ever and WWE 2K23: 10 Reasons To Be REALLY Excited!

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Contributor

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.