6 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Mar 27)

1. The Painful Pretence

WrestleMania 36
WWE.com

This writer's only guess is that SmackDown was in the can before Roman Reigns was pulled from 'Mania. If it wasn't, then WWE need a slap in the mush for pretending that his match with Goldberg will happen, or that The Miz is on the card too. Neither man was involved in the tapings (that's not a match spoiler, just a fact).

The hype for Goldberg vs. Reigns was hard despite neither man being in attendance for the show. They received a video package, some more build from Michael Cole and Triple H was asked to pick his winner in a special interview. Then, WWE said that both Universal Title combatants would be on next week's episode.

Why?

It's strange to read that Roman is off the card at 'Mania and then see this hours later. Sure, casuals might not be trawling the internet for news, but Reigns' absence from the tapings is all over Twitter, and it's not hard to find. The company shouldn't be knowingly advertising something they know hasn't happened.

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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.