9 Ups & 7 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Apr 30)

2. Lars Destroys Things

It'd be easy for these Lars Sullivan beatdowns to succumb to tedium. If it were another Vladimir Kozlov or Big Daddy V in this role, they'd already be falling flat. There's nothing unique about them: it's just the same old monster format we've seen a thousand times before, with 'The Freak' handing out one-sided batterings to anyone unfortunate enough to cross his path, making it extremely easy to roll the eyes at them.

Here's the thing though: Lars is great, and he's making these segments great.

The big man feels, looks, and performs like a big, scary brute, not a caricature. His intensity sells the whole deal, and he came off well in his latest showing, first targeting Matt Hardy, then absorbing a chairshot from R-Truth in Shinsuke Nakamura attire, eventually felling the former United States Champion with the Freak Accident followed by a Liger Bomb.

There'll come a time when we need to see something more substantial from Lars. Until then, though, the beatdowns are doing everything they're supposed to.