8 Things We Learned From The WrestleMania Go-Home Smackdown Live! (March 28)

5. Fringe Players

Maryse The Miz
WWE Network

A curious omission from an otherwise tightly-booked edition of Smackdown Live!, WWE elected to demote Intercontinental Title combatants Dean Ambrose and Baron Corbin to Talking Smack for their final swings ahead of their WrestleMania clash.

The feud has blown hot and cold, with Baron's impressive Elimination Chamber beatdown in early February triggering weeks of back-and-forth hostilities that have at times bordered on absurdity, with the use of a forklift fleshing out the backstage brawls and even causing the WWE trademark distraction finish when Corbin fell to Randy Orton.

It was disappointing that the pair were given literally nothing to work with on the main show though, as it heightened the possibility that they may end up on the Kickoff show. A sad fate for the first Intercontinental Title singles match since WrestleMania 28, the championship and the wrestlers deserve better.

Corbin has vastly over-delivered on the limited potential exhibited in NXT, and Ambrose has gamely accepted his demotion to the midcard after a maiden run with the WWE Title briefly made him top dog of the blue brand.

Ignoring the silliness, the two definitely had chemistry, and could assemble a sleeper hit on the 'Show of Shows' away from some of the more box office attractions.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 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 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, 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. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett