9 Ups & 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Jan 15)

1. Welcome To 1999

Jimmy Uso Mandy Rose
WWE

Ugh.

Just... ugh.

Last week's Mandy Rose/Jimmy Uso stuff worked. Last night's most certainly did not. This was a poor execution of what could be a quietly subversive storyline, and while the hotel scene came with a couple of good moments (Mandy swerving Jimmy rather than seducing him, and the babyfaces being smart enough to craft their own setup), most of it sucked.

Scenes like this are patently false, and expecting any smart, switched-on wrestler fan to buy into fake hotel room rendezvouses in 2019 is mad. Then there's the fact that Mandy tried to lure Jimmy in by wearing more clothes than she wrestles in. Then there's sheer absurdity of a paparazzi photographer running in and taking a photo in a room that already contained a cameraman. Then there's Mandy beating the tar out of Naomi again, making the babyface look like a giant dope in the process.

Whoever wrote this segment unleashed a hurricane of piss all over SmackDown. Mandy Rose, Attractive Woman, needs better material to prosper. She needs angles and motivations like those exhibited last week, not this...

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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.