7 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE SmackDown (June 18)

Ups...

7. A Father’s Pain

Rey Mysterio
WWE.com

Rey Mysterio's opening promo was passionate and strong. No, WWE hasn't given his side issue with Roman Reigns ample time to escalate into something worthy of the Hell In A Cell gimmick, but both guys were determined to make the best of things on this week's show.

This was really good from Rey.

He blasted Reigns for attacking Dominik, promised to fight for his life inside the Cell and generally built excitement for that brawl nicely. Then, as he always does, Reigns came out and elevated the segment further by acting like a top notch bully - the way he and Paul Heyman waited until the cage had lowered to come out was special.

Roman has become the best character in pro wrestling because he consistently does the little things incredibly well. Here, he let Mysterio do most of the yapping, then allowed Heyman to speak for him and threaten the Universal Title challenger.

Advertisement
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.