8 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Mar 20)
6. Talking Smack
WWE
The Usos are f*cking brilliant.
Would this be enough for an entry every week? Because they are. Completely unrecognisable from the team that used to 'Play Hard In The Paint' or frustratedly clog up WrestleMania pre-shows, Jimmy and Jey are more deserving of a spot on the 'Show Of Shows' than almost every other main roster member.
Reunited after The Bludgeon Brothers literally tore them apart at Fastlane, the SmackDown Tag Team Champions were crucially quicker to return than fellow victims The New Day, and bravely talking down to Harper and Rowan in the process.
The mention of their desperate need to perform on 'The Grandest Stage' was expertly deployed. All too often, the 'lifelong dream' trope only succeeds in reducing a performer to the level of a ringside fan, but the brothers spoke of genuine - and unwarranted - struggle to appear, and how close the hammer-wielding maniacs were to taking away their shining moment. Their catchphrase speaks of paranoia - and the poor guys are right to have it.
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
