SmackDown on Fox Episode #76
SmackDown Episode # 1,125
Orlando, FL – The Thunderdome (Tropicana Field)
3/12/21
We open the show with a recap video of last week’s main event that saw Daniel Bryan making Jey Uso tap out inside the steel cage which granted Bryan a Universal Championship against Roman Reigns at Fastlane.
We go into the Thunderdome where the 2021 Royal Rumble winner Edge makes his way to the ring as he has a few things he needs to get off his chest. Edge addresses Roman Reigns first as he says that Reigns may make all kinds of excuses as to why Edge doesn’t belong in the ring with him but Edge says he noticed something that nobody else seemed to pick up on. Edge says for months Reigns has been telling people to acknowledge him as the main event of WrestleMania, but as soon as Edge chose to face Reigns at WrestleMania and Reigns felt what Edge still has to offer then he was ready to backtrack and go toward Bryan. Edge says that Reigns did exactly what Bryan wanted him to do which means that Reigns got played by Bryan.
Edge then moves on to Bryan as he responds to what Bryan said last week about how he deserves to be in the WrestleMania main event because of how much he loves wrestling and then says that Bryan is right that he has worked more matches than Edge this year, but he wants to remind Bryan and any new viewer to the WWE that back when Bryan was wrestling maybe once or twice a week on the indies he was busting his ass every day of the week here in the WWE wrestling the top echelon of guys in the business such as Undertaker, Rock, Cena, Batista, Angle, etc. Edge says that he is back in the WWE not because he has to be but because he loves wrestling so Bryan shouldn’t base who deserves to be in the main event at WrestleMania on who loves the business more or who has wrestled more in the last three months. Edge says he is going to have to wait until after Fastlane to find out who he will be facing.
Daniel Bryan interrupts Edge and makes his way to the ring.
Bryan says that he thinks Edge is putting way too much into what he said last week and it has affected him, but he assures Edge that wasn’t his intent, in fact, he thought Edge would respect him for going into business for himself for once in his career. Bryan says he has immense respect for Edge and everything he has done in the business and he sees how much Edge loves the business or else he wouldn’t have fought so hard to come back. Bryan says that when he challenged Reigns it had nothing to do with Edge but more so the fact that he felt demoralized once he realized that he could be going into what could be his last WrestleMania on the back burner and he didn’t want that to happen so he decided he was going to do whatever it took to be in the main event of WrestleMania. Bryan says that Edge’s spot in the main event is a lock and now it’s about how he has to go through Reigns in order to get his spot in the main event so this really isn’t about him.
Edge understands where Bryan is coming from but a win is a win and he won the Royal Rumble to earn that right and Bryan had that same chance as he was in the Rumble as well but he blew it. Edge says he has mutual respect for Bryan and that he likes him, but he just doesn’t like how Bryan went about the whole thing because Bryan is better than this, but he’s not better than Edge.
I’m not usually one that wants a screwy finish to a match, but after this promo exchange, I really hope the Fastlane match ends up with a screwy finish so that we can get a triple threat match at WrestleMania because I really want to see both Edge and Bryan face Reigns (and I also want to see them face each other) as they both have credible reasons for wanting to be in the main event and why they want to win the Universal Championship.
After the commentary hypes up the rest of the show we get the entrances of the Street Profits and the Mysterios but as they are coming down the ramp they are attacked from behind by their opponents for tonight’s opening match which is Alpha Academy and the SmackDown Tag Team Champions Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode.
This would take us to our first commercial of the night.
We come back from the break and go right into our opening match.
Match #1: The Street Profits, Rey Mysterio, & Dominik Mysterio vs Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode, & Alpha Academy
Dawkins is fired up as the bell rings as he ducks under a clothesline from Roode and knocks Ziggler off the apron and then fires away with some punches on Roode before sending him into the ropes where we get a drop-down and leapfrog spot that ends with Dawkins hitting Roode with a one-handed bulldog. Dawkins hits a dropkick on Roode and Gable as he tries to interfere and then he tags in Ford who hits Roode with another dropkick. We then get some inter-team double-teaming as Ford lifts Dominik up in a wheelbarrow and drops him onto Ziggler for a leg drop which gets a 2 count.
Dominik lifts up Roode and pays for it with a knee to the gut and then Roode brings him over to the heel corner where he tags in Gable who tries to capitalize on the opening Roode gave him but he ends up getting hit with a running hurricarana but he rolls right into a tag to Otis. Dominik runs right at Otis and catches a big right hand to the gut and then he catches Dominik when he tries to jump up and over Otis, but Dominik quickly slides out the back to the apron where he attempts a springboard move, but Otis catches him in mid-air with an ax handle. Otis tags in Gable who holds Dominik so that Otis can give him a punch to the kidneys. Gable sends Dominik hard into the corner and then hits him with a bridging butterfly suplex for a 2 count.
Gable tags in Roode who works over the leg of Dominik for a minute and then lifts him up for a suplex, but Dominik knees his way out of it and then hits Roode with a tornado DDT. Dominik makes the hot tag to Dawkins while Roode tags in Ziggler and Dawkins who has fired up once again as he takes Ziggler down with a spinning back elbow and an exploder. Dawkins knocks Otis off the apron and then charges at Ziggler in the corner, but meets a back elbow but he quickly recovers as he hits Ziggler with the Anointment and then makes the tag to Ford. Ford goes up top but before he has a chance to do anything Roode pushes him off the top causing Ford to bounce off the top rope to the floor and that sends us to a commercial.
We come back to Ziggler in control of Ford as he has him grounded with a reverse chinlock, Ford gets back to his feet and tries to fight back, but Ziggler takes him back down with a dropkick. Ziggler backs Ford into the heel corner but he finds a burst of energy and fights out of the corner knocking the heels off the apron and then he tries to hit Ziggler with an enziguri but Ziggler ducks and jumps on Ford’s back with a sleeper hold, Ford tries to walk over to his corner with Ziggler on his back but just before he makes it he falls to the mat. Ford fights back to his feet and finally makes the tag, however, the referee doesn’t see it as he is busy dealing with Roode. Dawkins argues with the referee and while this is happening Ziggler drags Ford into the heel corner and they all beatdown Ford.
Ziggler tags in Roode who hits Ford with a backbreaker for a 2 count. Otis is tagged in and he sends Ford hard into the corner and then goes for an avalanche but Ford is able to move out of the way which causes Otis to stagger back into the corner where Gable tags himself in and he knocks Dawkins off the apron. Gable goes for a German suplex but Ford lands on his feet and then he dives over Gable to finally make the hot tag to Rey Mysterio. Rey comes in with a series of forearms and then catches him with a flying headscissors. Rey looks to send Gable into the corner but he reverses only for Rey to jump up and over Gable and then he hits him with a tilt-a-whirl DDT where he spikes Gable on his head which gets a 2 count when Otis breaks up the pin.
Otis lifts Rey over his head but he slides out the back and then Dominik comes off the top but Otis catches him but takes too much time before slamming him and this allows Rey to recover as he comes off the top with a seated senton. Rey hits Gable with a headscissors that sends him into the second rope which sets up the 619, but as Rey runs to the ropes Roode makes a blind tag and he catches Rey with a spinebuster for a 2 count when Ford breaks up the pin. Ziggler hits Ford with a superkick, Dawkins hits Ziggler with the spinning butterfly neckbreaker, and then Roode sends Dawkins out of the ring. Dominik distracts Roode long enough for Rey to come from behind and dropkick Roode into the ropes and then both Mysterios hits Roode with a stereo 619. Rey tags in Ford and then the Mysterios take out Alpha Academy with springboard crossbodies to the floor. Ford comes off the top and hits Roode with the big frog splash and that is enough to pick up the win for his team.
Winners: The Street Profits, Rey Mysterio, & Dominik Mysterio via Pinfall Match Rating: **½
This was a really fun match to showcase the tag division and I wouldn’t be surprised if these are the four teams that are involved in the SmackDown Tag Team Championship match at WrestleMania.
We get a recap of the announcement on The Bump of Molly Holly being told she is going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year.
We cut to the back where Uso is walking toward the locker room of Roman Reigns but Paul Heyman stops him and informs Jey that after what happened last week perhaps he should wait until later before he talks to Reigns. Uso is cool with that as he has something he needs to go handle and he will come back later and Heyman tells Uso that Reigns will be happy to see him by then. This takes us to our next commercial break.
We come back to an interview with Seth Rollins where he says he was only trying to help Cesaro but now he is done with him and is tired of hearing people talk about Cesaroand then goes on to call Cesaro the biggest waste of potential in WWE history. Rollins says that Cesaro has requested a rematch with Buddy Murphy and that match definitely has him interested and then Rollins walks off.
We then go to a video where Nia Jax and a very reluctant Shayna Baszler take Reginald clothes shopping in an upscale men’s boutique and he tries on a bunch of clothes and while Nia compliments him Shayna is bored out of her mind as she is on her cell phone the entire time. At the end of the video, Nia smacks Reginald on the butt and he asks her what he can do to repay her and she just gives him the eyes.
Why? Why? Why? Why did this need to be a segment on this show and if this wasn’t bad enough it gets much worse later, so stay tuned.
Cesaro makes his way to the ring as he is in action after the break.
We come back and Buddy Murphy is already in the ring for the next match and then Seth Rollins comes out and sets up a chair on the top of the stage so he can watch the match.
Match #2: Cesaro vs Buddy Murphy
Murphy tries to catch Cesaro with a knee strike right away but Cesaro sidesteps him and works him over with uppercuts and punches to the gut. The referee backs Cesaro up and this brief distraction allows Murphy to drive Cesaro into the corner and repeatedly drives his shoulder into Cesaro before stomping a mudhole in him. Murphy looks to bring Cesaro out of the corner but Cesaro catches him with an uppercut and then he follows that up with something but we miss it as the camera was focused on Rollins.
Murphy catches Cesaro with a knee but Cesaro comes back with a boot that sends Murphy out to the apron where Cesaro looks to hit the deadlift superplex back into the ring, but Murphy pushes him away and drops to the floor and when Cesaro charges at him he catches him with a big jumping knee strike. Murphy throws Cesaro back into the ring and goes up top, but he is cut off by a dropkick from Cesaro and this causes Murphy to fall back down to the apron, and this time Cesaro is able to connect with the deadlift superplex. Cesaro hits Murphy with a couple of running uppercuts in the corner, but when he goes for the third one Murphy catches him with a kick and then looks for a dropkick off the middle rope, but Cesaro catches him and puts him in the big swing, but before he can finish Rollins hits the ring to cause the disqualification.
Winner: Cesaro via Disqualification Match Rating: **¼
After the match, Rollins hits Cesaro with a couple of Curb Stomps and then he places Cesaro’s head between a steel chair, but before he can hit him with a Curb Stomp is caught by WWE agent Jamie Noble. The referees check on Cesaro as Rollins walks off still running his mouth.
We follow Rollins to the back where he runs into Nakamura and they stare at each other before Rollins walks off.
This was a good match, but like all good matches that happen on weekly TV, it has to end in a DQ. I thought the post-match beatdown was really well done and I liked Noble physically grabbing Rollins to prevent him from hitting that Curb Stomp on that chair instead of just standing there and screaming at Rollins while waving his hands in the air as we see usually see the agents do. I really hope that this feud isn’t settled at Fastlane as it’s time that Cesaro has a singles match at WrestleMania and a match against Rollins could absolutely steal whichever night of the show they are put on, but then again that tease of a Rollins vs Nakamura match is enticing for a WrestleMania match as well.
Kevin Owens is walking backstage and he is headed to the ring as he is set to host the KO show coming up next, but before that he runs into Sami Zayn. Zayn tells KO he has been thinking and nobody knows him as well as KO does and that is why he wants KO to be apart of his documentary. KO tells Zayn they can talk later but right now he has to go do the KO show but that isn’t a good enough answer for Zayn as accuses KO of blowing him off and tries to sell him on it even more and KO eventually tells him he will think about it and walks off. This sends us to another commercial break.
We come back from the break and go to the back where Jey Uso runs into Edge and Edge says he wants to talk to him man to man since he has a history with Uso’s family and he asks Uso what he is doing. Edge said he watched a match from The Usos in 2015 that made him realize he could still love this business, but now Uso walks around with his head hung low and he is all slouched and then wants to know what Uso’s father Rikishi thinks about all of his. Uso tells Edge not to talk to him like they are that close and furthermore Edge should go enjoy some family time because when Reigns is finished with him he is not going to be able to enjoy anything.
We go back inside the Thunderdome where Kevin Owens makes his way to the ring for the KO show.
KO says he has been absent the past several weeks because the past few months have been hard on him, but he is going to keep fighting until he is no longer able to.
KO then introduces his guests for the evening which are the two WrestleMania opponents at WrestleMania and tag partners at Fastlane the SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks and her challenger Bianca Belair. KO talks about how their match at WrestleMania is a big-time match, but it could be even bigger if they were going into it as the Women’s Tag Team Champions as the only people to do that, but if they can achieve that same feat it could go a long way in cementing their legacies as two of the greatest ever. KO then brings up how they were unable to beat Nia and Shayna at Elimination Chamber and KO says that it could be because there is an underlying tension between them and perhaps that tension could be coming from whatever Sasha has going on with Reginald.
Sasha says she can’t help it that she looks so good and Reginald has a crush on her and that leads to Bianca telling Sasha she needs to stop letting Reginald chase her around because he is going to be a problem for them in their match against Nia and Shayna. Sasha tells Bianca not to worry about the tag match and then says she is Michael Jordan while Bianca is Lebron James. Sasha says that Bianca wouldn’t have accomplished nearly what she has without her paving the way and then mocks Bianca by doing the “uh uh” catchphrase. Bianca gets to her feet and corrects her that it is “girl uh uh” and then says she respects all of Sasha’s accomplishments and that is why she choose her but she didn’t get her where she is today because she wasn’t in the gym with her nor did she help her win the Royal Rumble. Sasha says she wasn’t in the Rumble but if she would’ve been she would’ve stopped Bianca from winning.
Sasha says she is going to go into WrestleMania as 2 belts Banks when she beats Nia and Shayna. Bianca says she is glad that Sasha is focused on the title match at Fastlane, but just get one thing clear and that is that she may be walking on the road Sasha paved but she is in her own lane.
Nia, Shayna, and Reginald interrupt the two women in the ring as they will be on commentary during the next match.
Natalya and Tamina make their entrance and that sends us to a commercial break.
Match #3: Sasha Banks & Bianca Belair vs Natalya & Tamina Snuka
We get a lockup and Tamina throws Sasha into the heel corner and then tags in Natalya who looks to send Sasha into the ropes but Sasha reverses and we get a drop-down, leapfrog, and tumbling spot that leads to Sasha smacking Natalya in the face rope-assisted lucha arm drag that sends Natalya sliding to the outside and then Sasha hits her with a baseball slide. Sasha throws Natalya in the ring and then stares down Reginald but this distraction costs her as she gets blasted with a clothesline by Natalya when she gets back into the ring.
Reginald gets on the announce table to show off his new threads while back in the ring Natalya and Tamina work over Sasha in the corner. Natalya hits a snap suplex on Sasha for a 2 count. Natalya applies a chinlock but Sasha escapes by hitting her with a jawbreaker and then reaches out to make a tag, but just as she is about to reach Bianca she is pulled back into the center of the ring by Natalya who looks to lock in the Sharpshooter, but Sasha kicks her off and makes the tag to Bianca.
Bianca comes in and hits a couple of dropkicks on Natalya and then Natalya reverses a whip into the corner, but Bianca hops up to the middle rope and when Natalya charges in she jumps over her and then catches Natalya with a spinebuster. Bianca goes for a pin, but the referee is distracted by Reginald who has jumped up on the apron. Bianca beats down Natalya in the heel corner but when she charges in Natalya gets a boot up and then takes Bianca down with the discus clothesline. Reginald jumps back up on the announce table and this time Sasha joins him and they have words before Reginald jumps down off the table and Sasha gives chase into the ring, Reginald slides out of the ring and Natalya hits Sasha from behind, all of this distracts Bianca and that allows Tamina to come up from behind and roll her up in a schoolgirl to pick up the win.
Winners: Natalya & Tamina Snuka via Pinfall Match Rating: *¼
After the match, Bianca and Sasha argue with each other as Bianca is pissed that Sasha’s nonsense with Reginald ending up costing them the match and that sends us to a commercial break.
We come back to Sasha and Bianca still arguing in the back as Bianca tells Sasha she said to get rid of Reginald not to slap him or slam the door in his face. Sasha tells Bianca that she isn’t going to take the blame for a rookie losing the match.
This entire feud between Sasha and Bianca could’ve and should’ve been such an easy story to tell, but WWE had to overbook it to high hell and has thrown in all kinds of smoke and mirrors that the feud didn’t need. The booking of this feud has greatly diminished the hype for the match for a lot of people which is a shame because at one-time people were thinking this could main event the first night of WrestleMania, but there is no way that is going to happen now. I enjoyed the back and forth between Sasha and Bianca during the KO show and just wish that the entire feud could be filled with them going back and forth like that instead of involving Reginald. I wouldn’t be surprised if they put the tag titles on Sasha and Bianca at Fastlane and they keep them through WrestleMania because it isn’t like they have a babyface team built up to face Nia and Shayna at WrestleMania anyway since The Riott Squad can’t seem to get a win this year and have been absent from the show for the past two weeks.
This whole Reginald thing was fun at first but the longer it goes on the more it is severely hurting the SmackDown Women’s Division as he is now the central figure that the women are fighting over rather than the Women’s Championship and the fact that he is so involved in this feud between Sasha and Bianca is completely ridiculous. I am still confused as to why they keep giving Tamina wins over much younger and much more talented women as there is nobody in this world that is wanting a Tamina winning streak.
We come back and get a recap video of Apollo Crews attacking Big E with the steps a few weeks ago which put him on the shelf for a few weeks, but he is back tonight and is out for revenge on Apollo Crews.
Big E makes his way to the ring and at first, he is all taped and bandaged up but he rips it all off while coming to the ring and he is fired up.
Big E says that he has had a lot of time to think about what Apollo Crews did to him and he hopes that Crews realizes what he did because there is no coming back from what he did as Crews has opened Pandora’s Box. Big E says that after what Crews did to him he is going to have to go biblical on him because it’s an eye for an eye. Big E says Crews came to hurt but he is coming to maim as beating Crews isn’t enough as he is going to have to end him. Big E says they don’t have to wait as they can do it tonight, Big E calls out Crews and tells him he is giving him the opportunity he has been wanting.
Big E waits for Crews to come out but he never does and Big E figures that would happen, but he is dressed to defend his championship and is issuing an open challenge. King Corbin comes out wearing street clothes and tells Big E to calm down as he is acting crazy. Corbin says he is not dressed for a fight but if Big E is going to issue a challenge then he doesn’t mind tearing off his $10,000 suit, but before he can go any further he is interrupted by Sami Zayn. Zayn says he accepts the challenge but Corbin stops him and says he just accepted the challenge, but Zayn corrects him and tells him that he never accepted the challenge and he has it on camera. Zayn says this is the perfect way to end his documentary with him winning back the Intercontinental Championship. Corbin and Zayn start arguing until Big E cuts them off and tells them the first man to get into the ring can have the match and that ends up being Sami Zayn.
Zayn turns his back on Big E in order to gloat at Corbin but when he turns around Big E hits him with some punches and a belly-to-belly suplex that sends Zayn rolling to the floor and sends us to a commercial break.
We come back and it’s time for our last match of the night.
Match #4: Big E © vs Sami Zayn (WWE Intercontinental Championship)
They lock up and Big E powers Zayn into the corner but is forced to break and back away from Zayn. They lock up again and this time Big E delivers a series of knees to the midsection of Zayn and then looks to inflict more punishment in the corner, but Zayn kicks him in the gut, Zayn locks on a side headlock but Big E sends him into the ropes and then we get a drop-down and leapfrog spot that ends with Big E dropping Zayn with a back elbow for a 2 count.
Big E sends Zayn into the corner and Zayn takes a fantastic bump to sell how hard Big E whipped him into it, Zayn pulls himself back to his feet and Big E charges in but Zayn gets his knees up and then he hits Big E with a clothesline from behind. Zayn hammers down on Big E with mounted punches and then chokes him across the middle rope. Zayn slams Big E head-first into the turnbuckle and then comes off the middle rope with an elbow to the top of the head for a 2 count. Zayn goes back up to the middle looking for another elbow, but this time Big E catches him and looks to hit the belly-to-belly trifecta but only gets two of them as Zayn bails to the outside before he can hit the third one. Big E throws Zayn halfway into the ring and hammers the chest of Zayn with clubbing blows while screaming for Apollo Crews and then he goes for the splash on the apron, but Zayn is able to roll out of the way as Big E falls to the floor and that sends us to a commercial break.
We come back to Zayn and Big E fighting it out on the top as they jockey for position until Zayn is able to flip over and hit a sit-out sunset flip powerbomb which gets him a 2 count. Zayn pulls Big E up to his knees and starts slapping him in the face which proves to be a big mistake as it fires Big E up as he runs through a clothesline from Zayn and comes back with one of his own that almost decapitates Zayn. Big E lifts up Zayn and hits him with the Big Ending which is enough to pick up the win and retain his Intercontinental Championship.
Winner: Big E via Pinfall Match Rating: **½
After the match, Apollo Crews attacks Big E from behind and hits him with a couple of Olympic Slams. Crews talks some trash to Big E and then goes out to grab the steps which he brings into the ring and hits Big E with causing Big E to roll out to the floor. Crews proudly stands on the steps and talks trash to end this segment.
OMG! That promo from Big E was absolutely fantastic to the point where I had to watch it a couple of times and I never do that when it comes to promos and right now this is my promo of the year. There are professional actors out there that don’t show as much emotion as Big E did during this promo as you could look at him and actually see tears welling up in his eyes. I loved the line about him having to go biblical and Old Testament on Crews which I’m sure he knows a lot about since his father is a preacher. The post-match attack on Big E was done really well and I like that Crews got the best of Big E once again as that is going to make it even sweeter once Big E finally gets his hands on him.
I liked how Corbin realized what a great opportunity this was and was willing to take Big E up on his open challenge even though he wasn’t dressed to compete. I have started to enjoy this back and forth between Zayn and Corbin over the past few weeks as they have a bit of a feud but haven’t even had a match against each other and I don’t know where it is going but I actually wouldn’t mind if this feud leads to Corbin turning face as I think he needs something new to freshen him up and we haven’t seen him be a babyface since his early days in NXT so that would be interesting to see all these years later. I thought the match between Big E and Zayn was good but nothing too outstanding but it did what it needed to.
We go backstage where Nia is talking with Reginald when Kayla Braxton walks up for an interview and is scolded by Nia for interrupting them. Nia says that it is funny that Sasha thinks she is going to be a double champion. Reginald then makes a suggestion that perhaps Nia should challenge Sasha for the title next week which is an idea that makes Nia very happy. Nia shoos Kayla away to end the interview.
The Head of the Table and WWE Universal Champion makes his way to the ring alongside Jey Uso and Paul Heyman and that sends us to a commercial.
We come back and Daniel Bryan makes his way to the ring as it’s time for the contract signing for Fastlane. Adam Pearce is in the ring to act as moderator and he asks who wants to sign first and that is when Reigns and Uso surround him and he knows by now that he has screwed up so he moves to the side so that Reigns can be at the head of the table. Reigns says a couple of weeks ago he agreed to do this but he has changed his mind as Bryan doesn’t deserve it. Bryan grabs the contract and says he is happy about this and would love to go first and he signs the contract.
Bryan then starts to play on Reigns’ ego by saying that Reigns isn’t a man of his word and that he is afraid. Bryan says the reason that Reigns is afraid is because for years people have said Bryan is better than Reigns and last week he proved that by doing something that Reigns couldn’t do which is making Jey Uso tap out. Bryan suggests that perhaps he should be the new “Head of the Table” or ruler of the island since he did something that Reigns never could. Bryan says that he is sure Afa and Sika would love him as they are such nice people.
All of Bryan’s goading works as Reigns gets pissed off and signs the contract and once that is done Bryan gets serious telling Reigns that he is going to make him tap out just like he did to Uso. Uso gets pissed at this as he throws the table out of the ring and grabs the mic and tells Pearce that he should be the special enforcer for the Universal Championship match at Fastlane.
Edge comes out and says that he has a better idea which is that for the first time since his retirement in 2011 he has a match on SmackDown next week against Jey Uso where the winner gets to be the special enforcer at Fastlane. Pearce agrees to this and makes the match official. Edge comes down to the ring and a brawl breaks out, Bryan sends Uso out of the ring and then goes to get a piece of Reigns but Edge throws him out of the way as he was beating down Reigns. Edge throws Reigns out of the ring and when he turns around Bryan hits him with the Busaiku Knee and that is how SmackDown comes to a close.
I really liked this closing segment as Bryan was fantastic during this as he knew what would make Reigns pissed off enough to sign the contract which was to play on his ego. I also liked that Reigns didn’t talk as much during this as this wasn’t really about him as much as it was about Bryan. I find it interesting that Reigns and Uso were back to being good with each other so quickly as I was expecting repercussions for Uso losing last week but it seems like all is forgiven. I’m looking forward to seeing Edge wrestle on SmackDown next week as him against Uso could be a lot of fun. The fact that there is going to be a special enforcer means the chance of a screwy finish to get a triple threat match at WrestleMania is even more likely.
The 5 Count
Cons
- The booking of the Sasha vs Bianca feud involving all these smoke and mirrors when it’s not needed.
- Tamina continuing to pick up wins on more talented and deserving talents.
- The women’s division being more concerned over Reginald than they are the championships.
- The over the top “evil” laugh that Sasha Banks does feels forced when the rest of her promo is fantastic.
- The second week of the Riott Squad not being on the show.
Pros
- The Big E promo and the emotion he showed during it.
- The contract signing segment as Bryan was fantastic during it.
- The promo between Edge and Bryan at the top of the show
- The continuation of the Cesaro vs Rollins feud and the tease of Rollins vs Nakamura match.
- The 8 man tag was a fun showcase of the SmackDown tag division.
That’s it for me this week but I’ll be back next week for the Fastlane go-home show where there are only three matches announced for the card and all of those matches are from the SmackDown, so Raw needs to get their shit together.
