By David Dodgson@@DodgeeWriter
Daniel Bryan’s back and so is your favourite Smackdown Live review in our new home here at Pro Wrestling Journal. It’s go home time ahead of the single biggest WWE event of the year and what can we expect from Smackdown? Treading water with lots of hype packages (like RAW)? Or an action-packed episode that cranks up the excitement levels to 11? Let’s find out!
Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon Promo
Bryan is back! Yay! Shane is back… meh… Both guys get a huge ovation. Bryan admits he has made mistakes handling Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn over the last few months and apologises. Shane admits he may have been stubborn and hot-headed before Daniel suggests they hug it out. Shane takes some persuading but eventually obliges. Bryan then passionately vows to beat the holy hell out of KO and Zayn.
That was an average segment elevated by the crowd being hot for anything involving Daniel Bryan right now. It was all quite chummy though, so I sense a heel turn coming. There is no way anyone will boo Bryan at this point so could Shane be about to go evil?
Charlotte v. Natalya
A rematch from a couple of weeks ago when Natalya got a surprise win thanks to the distraction of Carmella’s failed MITB cash in. For once, the ads interrupt the entrances and we get a decent dose of action. There is plenty of mat wrestling early on and plenty of trash talking between the two rivals as well. Charlotte takes control with an impressive sequence of flips while holding Natalya in a head scissor lock.
Natalya takes control when the fight spills to the outside by shoving the champ into the ringpost. She gains a couple of near falls and gets her knees up to block a moonsault. When both ladies take each other down with clotheslines, Carmella appears for another cash-in attempt (for some reason waiting for a ref to come even though there is already one in the ring). This time, she is thwarted by Charlotte as the champ boots the briefcase out of the ring before Carmella can hand it over. She then slaps the Figure Eight onto Natalya for the victory.
After the match, Asuka enters the ring and vows to make The Queen bow down. They both suggest the other is not ready for the title match on Sunday. Winner: Charlotte
A lot packed into that segment without it ever seeming over-crowded. Charlotte and Natalya put on another good match, Carmella’s failed cash-in attempts make sense as she tries to get her opportunity before Asuka (I would expect her to have one last glorious failure at Mania itself), and there was tension added to the title match. Job well done!
Jinder Mahal v. Rusev
Bobby Roode is on commentary as half of the Fatal Four Way match up for the US title clash. Rusev finally gets to play the face and has the full Aiden English sing-tro for the first time in weeks after Sunil Singh has abused our ears with a song of his own. The crowd are firmly behind the Lion of Bulgaria and they get their wish as he beats Mahal fairly quickly with a Machka Kick after blasting Sunil Singh off the apron.
Would you believe it? We then get an RKO out of nowhere to Rusev. Aiden English beats down the champ briefly before getting pushed into an RKO by Roode. Randy and Bobby stare each other down before staring at the Wrestlemania sign. All the while, the crowd rattle the rafters with a chant for ‘Rusev Day!’ Winner: Rusev
Great to see Rusev get a win, though that would suggest he will come up short on Sunday. The post-match interaction between Roode and Orton was predictable and beautifully hijacked by the fans. Rusev Day rules!
Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Mojo Rawley, & Primo Colon v. Breezango, Tye Dillinger & Zack Ryder
After a bizarre promo for the tag title match that was actually a WWE Network advert, we get a true hotchpotch of a match of Andre the Giant Battle Royale competitors. The crowd is the quietest it has been all night as everyone gets dumped over the top rope (is that the only way Creative know how to build for a Battle Royale?) Corbin nails The End of Days on Fandango for the win. Winners: Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Mojo Rawley, & Primo Colon
A nothing match that did exactly nothing to build anticipation for what has quickly become pre-show filler.
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn Invasion
KO and Sami burst through the crowd and stand atop the announce desk to cut a promo. They vow to ruin Daniel Bryan’s comeback and send him home to Brie a shattered shell. As they turn their attentions to Shane, their mics get cut and they head back into the crowd. The management team then make their way to the ramp to celebrate the historic moment of KO and Sami’s final appearance on Smackdown Live.
Hmm, lots of mentions of Owens and Zayn not appearing on Smackdown anymore… I guess they are off to RAW then! One more thing to add – this was a lot better done than Roman Reigns defying his suspension on RAW a couple of weeks ago. Just small touches like having them appear in street clothes and not ring gear makes a huge difference.
AJ Styles & Shinsuke Nakamura v. Gable & Benjamin
We had to get the two faces teaming up eventually and this is it. Gable and Nakamura start the match off with some slick chain wrestling. Shinsuke tags Styles in by patting him on the head, a call back to last week’s finale. That ires the champ and gives Gable and Benjamin and chance to take control.
The two faces get worn down until Styles gets a hot tag and unloads on both Gable and Benjamin. He then delivers the Phenomenal Forearm to Gable from right next to Nakamura, sending a message about what he will have in store for the challenger at Wrestlemania. After the match, he feigns another forearm on Shinsuke but pulls up short before patting him on the head – a nice full circle turn on last week. Winners: Styles & Nakamura
This has been about as good as face v. face build as I think I have ever seen. Tension has been built without the need for any accidental collisions or misdirected strikes. This is one clash that does not need a face/heel dynamic and the interactions have reflected that.
Final Thoughts
Despite the liberal dose of hype packages (including for RAW bouts) and the pointlessness of the eight-man tag, that was an entertaining go home show (it certainly kept me more entertained that
RAW this week). I am hyped for most of the Smackdown matches and this week even got me slightly interested in the US Title Fatal Four Way. Let’s just hope the Blue half of the show delivers on Sunday.
