6 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (July 31)

5. Naomi's Push

Naomi Lacey Evans
WWE.com

Admittedly, Cole and Graves were a little heavy-handed on Naomi's push too. It's perhaps not the best idea for WWE's commentators to pretty much say someone is only getting some attention because fans on social media demanded it. That suggests that Naomi wasn't in company plans before her Twitter drive.

Which, let's be honest, she wasn't.

It's still workable if WWE are willing to meet Naomi halfway. She's too talented to be stuck in crappy karaoke segments like she was before, and the same goes for Lacey Evans. Their match on SmackDown showed that Lacey is much more comfortable in the heel role (her aggression can be fierce) - the opportunistic backslide win for Naomi protected Evans too.

Whether it's contrived or not, it's good that WWE are listening to what fans online want. Both these women need the kind of spark Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose have right now. Singing old wrestling themes was never going to cut it.

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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.