9 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown 1000 (Oct 16)

1. No Longer A Novelty

The Undertaker
WWE.com

WWE wisely kept The Undertaker's involvement brief last night. 'The Deadman' marched down to the ring after Rey Mysterio vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, and essentially read from the same script as he did on Raw, claiming he had three words for D-Generation X at Crown Jewel: "Rest in peace." He then bailed out, securing one of the easiest paydays of his career as the show went off the air.

It felt pointless, and it isn't even possible to apply the old arguments anymore. Such segments used to be passable because "well, it's The Undertaker, and we don't see him often, so it's kinda special," but he's on our screens every other week at the moment. There's no novelty factor anymore, and that makes content like this completely skippable.

'Taker had to be on the show. He's a huge part of SmackDown's history, and he still gets good pops, no matter how many sh*tty, fossilised matches he farts out. That doesn't forgive the filler, though. The brevity itself as a supplemental Up, but WWE could've at least had 'Taker get involved with a brief, fun interaction with someone from his past, rather than dribbling their way through a flat closing segment.

Advertisement
Channel Manager
Channel Manager

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.