7 Ups & 7 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (May 14)

2. Same Old Tropes

Randy Orton
WWE.com

Contract signings aside, no WWE tropes are more tedious than those they use to sell themed pay-per-views.

The Royal Rumble build sees boatloads of wrestlers brawling in the ring, dumping each other over the top rope until only one remains... because symbolism. Survivor Series necessitates dopy home brand t-shirts and Raw/SmackDown invasions. Now, we're fast approaching Money In The Bank, which means dudes cutting promos from halfway up ladders, and other dudes scaling said ladders to grab the briefcase, with 50/50 booking telling you that said dudes have precisely zero chance of winning the match.

It's all a little tired, and this week's SmackDown was full of such tropes. Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised. WWE has never been so formulae-dependent as it is today, but it'd be nice to see them switch their presentation up.

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Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. 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.