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

6. Dull & Mechanical

Xavier Woods Shinsuke Nakamura
WWE.com

Gauntlet pt. II was no better than the Gallows and Anderson segment, with Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura phoning in a pedestrian performance throughout which they largely controlled the babyfaces.

The heels took advantage of The New Day's fatigue. Nakamura was in domineering form early, imposing his will with knees and kicks, hitting the corner knee for a two-count. Double-teams on Woods followed. Then came another near-fall, but The New Day battled back, dumping Rusev to the floor, before E countered the Kinshasa and Shinsuke went into the post. Up next: the bout's second Midnight Hour and its second pinfall

The right team advanced, but the thrown-together Rusev/Nakamura pairing continues to under-deliver. These two look utterly devoid of fire at the moment. What they're doing between the ropes is fine, technically, but with work without a drop of spirit, and seem content to drift through bouts like this in second gear. For Nakamaura, this habit stretches all the way back to his New Japan days. We've come to expect it from him, but it's disappointing to see Rusev in such a state, given he was one of SD's hottest acts a few short months ago.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. 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.