8 Ups & 1 Down From WWE SmackDown (Dec 16)

by Jamie Kennedy

1. Intercontinental Chemistry

GUNTHER Ricochet
WWE.com

Good lord, GUNTHER and Ricochet should wrestle every week.

They're the kind of pairing ripe for a 'Best Of 7', or something. Ricochet's underdog spirit, and the way the champ had to go to that next gear to beat him? Awesome. Simply awesome stuff. Did you know it was awesome? Well, it was awesome. Go out of your way to see this match.

After beating Rico for the belt in June, GUNTHER worked blistering defences vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Sheamus (back-to-back stunners for those lads) and Rey Mysterio. Now, he's come back around to Ricochet, and the results speak for themselves. Not even annoying TV ad breaks could stop this one from being a match of the year contender.

This was a perfect scenario for the champ. He got to put over Rico's high-flying abilities, then exhibit his own brutality by chopping the p*ss out of his foe. That then neatly fed into Braun Strowman's post-match save and calls from the commentary team about whether or not GUNTHER would be able to slap Braun around like that.

What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more like this, check out 10 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE Raw From 2001 and 10 Booking Decisions WWE Must Make Before WrestleMania 39!

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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.