8 Ups & 8 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Mar 26)

4. The New Day & Bar Work To Standard

Sheamus Big E
WWE.com

From a pure wrestling standpoint, The Bar vs. The New Day was easily the gauntlet's most compelling portion, and was largely in-line with the standards we've come to expect from such standout tag teams. That is to say it was very, very good.

Though the opening exchanges were cannibalised by an ad break, we soon got a big, big pop for Xavier Woods' hot tag, as he went to war with both Sheamus and Cesaro simultaneously. A DDT/leg drop flurry almost put 'The Swiss Cyborg' away. Later, The Bar would control The New Day with slower, more grounded offence, but the closing segments were super exciting, particularly as Cesaro uppercutted Woods out of midair for the whole bout's most memorable spot.

The Bar's dominance wasn't enough to score the victory, though. As Cesaro was taken down from the top rope, Xavier scored an opportunistic roll-up on his burly tag partner, followed by the 1-2-3. Sheamus and Cesaro would get their revenge with a big post-match beatdown, getting their heat back straight away while pouring further sympathy on Woods and E, adding an exclamation point to another well-booked slice of gauntlet action.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

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.