8 Ups & 2 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (June 19)

1. A Lame Opening

James Ellsworth Carmella
WWE.com

While Carmella's character work is among the best in the women's division, she isn't yet strong enough to be able to transcend bad writing. This was abundantly clear in SmackDown's opening segment, which felt like a direct ripoff of Alexa Bliss' swerve Elimination Chamber promo, but with none of the effectiveness.

'Mella started earnestly. She spoke of the self-confidence issues she suffered in her youth, and explained how she battled through them, becoming "the author of [her] life." But just as 'The Princess Of Staten Island' was on the verge of going full Tony Robbins, she pulled a U-turn. "You can work twice as hard as me and still only be half as good," she said, before bragging about her victory over Asuka, leading to the inevitable James Ellsworth appearance.

'The Chin That Eats The Pin' pulled off his terrible 'Empress Of Tomorrow' cosplay, blurted his bulls***, then out came the actual Asuka, who landed a kick on Ellsworth but ate one from Carmella.

The segment loses points for 'Mella's Bliss rip-off, Ellsworth's existence, and the massive hatchet job WWE have done with Asuka, who now feels as listless as anyone else in the division. A waste, a shame, but sadly not a surprise.

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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.