7 Ups & 2 Downs From Last Night's SmackDown (Apr 10)

5. THIS Shinsuke Nakamura

Shinsuke Nakamura
WWE.com

Evil Shinsuke Nakamura is fantastic, and already infinitely more interesting than the normalised, toned down 'Artist' his babyface had become. Will it work long-term? That remains to be seen, but his WrestleMania turn was an almighty shock, and SmackDown delivered a successful follow-up.

It started with the best promo of his WWE career. Interviewed by Renee Young backstage, he apologised for assaulting Styles on Sunday night, but was rightly called out for being disingenuous. His response? "Sorry, no speak English." If this is a meta comment on the way his character has been overexposed and his aura stripped away on the main roster, it's borderline genius.

Nakamura's big night continued later on when he ruined the Bryan vs. Styles main event, hitting the former General Manager with a Kinshasa for the DQ. AJ came into his crosshairs next. Just like at 'Mania, Shinsuke hit the WWE Champion with a low blow, before Kinshasa'ing the life out of him, and leaving after another shot to the family jewels. A great little angle, and 'The King Of Strong Style' drew strong heat from the white-hot post-Mania crowd - something that would've sounded ridiculous had it been pitched even a week ago.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.