8 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Aug 28)

3. Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura Moving On

Cesaro Shinsuke Nakamura Sami Zayn
WWE

Neither Cesaro nor Nakamura need to be involved from here on out.

SmackDown deserves credit for tying up loose ends there. Sami burst into the Tag-Team Championship dressing room and tried to get back on his old muscle's good side by hugging Shin and placing his IC Title next to their belts. The champs were having none of it, and they told Zayn where to go.

WWE don't do enough of this. It would've been so predictable for them to bring back Sami without mentioning his old running buddies pre-sabbatical, but they decided to book a short insert backstage that strengthened Cesaro and Nakamura as the masters of their own fate.

This was enough to satisfy those who wondered if the trio would get the band back together, and it put Cesaro and Nakamura over that Sami was keen. Why wouldn't he be? He relied on them to watch his back before, and would want that trend to continue. It won't, and it shouldn't.

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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.