6 Ups & 6 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (25 Oct)
Ups...
6. "Shor...Tee...Gee"
WWE.com
There was actually a measure of enjoyment to be had from the opening segment if you lingered long enough, not counting the f*cking ruler going up the side of the "G" on the former Chad Gable's new ring attire.
Sami Zayn, as usual, was brilliant. In over-emphasising the magnificence of Shinsuke Nakamura, he was a hoot. In trying to figure out what the f*ck he was looking at in Shorty G (with that delicious mocking tone used in the delivery of his name), he was the voice of the befuddled viewer at home. In trying to make sense of the gaping plot hole that saw Cesaro taking his place in the evening's main event, he was a quality pro wrestling coward.
Ric Flair too, was again a mad old triumph. 'The Nature Boy' alluded to being sick of the sight of Roman Reigns whilst remembering to put over Raw team members Randy Orton, Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre. He was potty-mouthed but professional - the exact tightrope the company presumably want him to totter along in this role.
They were both absurd villains putting over a preposterously silly match on a show one of them won't even be welcome at it. Though wrapped in the reminder of WWE acting at its most despicable, Zayn and Flair were welcome distractions from just about everything else happening around them.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for nearly 10 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years.
As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 65,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast.
He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live.
