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SmackDown had its first misstep in a matter of weeks.
Fortunately, it had nothing to do with the best wrestling scenario today. We will cover the problem later.
This show managed to silence those who were upset that they had yet to see Roman Reigns staring at the lights. It happened thanks to the best babyface in the business right now.
The best quality of SmackDown outside of consistency, is actually the other thing WWE goes so wrong with Raw – getting people to show up. They do this brilliantly with so many people on this show. Owens had the best look here, but even after Bayley’s loss, Bianca wearing Otis was an amazing visual. Cesaro, Nakamura, Banks, Big E, and Crews also get this great treatment.
It makes me realize more and more that WWE is capable of making shows fun to watch. So… why not do that then? Three hours is too long for a wrestling show, but attempt to make it fun. Most Monday nights so far this year have been YouTube clip shows.
SmackDown is on TV. Vince, wouldn’t you like to see all this positivity for Raw?
Let’s talk about the main successes and shortcomings of this show. For a full look at SmackDown, check out Reverend Claire Elizabeth’s live blog!
Live for violence
Roman Reigns said Kevin Owens and Adam Pearce thought they shot something at him.
We’re not going to see Owens because he says so. The map is subject to change, that’s what losers think. It means that people are afraid to come to work. It took a pandemic and his health to keep him out of the ring.
Reigns asked if he was a “cat” (my God) like Pearce and said his body parts hurt, especially his back because he had worn WWE for years. So Pearce came out and Reigns just tore up a new one for him. How dare he say he was in pain and whine about it? Reigns was the workhorse and always showed up every time.
Heyman was laughing at what Roman was saying, and Pearce called him. So Reigns gave Paul the mic, and he said he’s from New York (so I’m coming to see myself, bro) and that he will face Pearce tonight on a verbal agreement. Adam squeezed her hand and accepted.
Heyman later said Roman was brilliant. Thinking they had shot one on Pearce, Heyman was really playing along, but Reigns said no, he now has to face Pearce. It was great, but then we see what was really going on.
Heyman came out in the main event and faked an injury and said “card subject to change”. Bait and change! Roman came out to face Pearce instead, and Roman beat him all over the ThunderDome. Surprise the appearance of Kevin Owens and he dominated Reigns for the very first time. He gave Reigns two narcotics and a pop-up powerbomb across the announcement table.
This is the first time since Roman has returned that he has been effectively disposed and not standing up to end SmackDown. And it was done brilliantly. Love that Owens got the most fire after the amazing promo he cut earlier, which I spoke about in a moment. It was legitimately a good feeling.
I’m not sure if Jey Uso’s absence from this show was planned, but it certainly made Reigns look a little weak after all this time. We know Jey was the executor and the main reason Reigns is still the champion. If Owens was a normal man, he should be afraid to show up for work next week.
But Owens is not normal. He lives for violence. It’s adorable.
Reginald’s beginnings
So I guess it was more of an intergender match than the one with James Ellsworth!
Yo. Reginald is crazy. Like literally moves like a heavyweight. As… better than a cruiserweight even.
He was very arrogant and tried to give Sasha Banks a rose and Banks slapped him. He was perfect here, sliding out of the ring and flipping the steel steps. Reginald caught Banks trying to make a cross and walked out of the ring again, and she made a meteorite.
There was matrix stuff in another meteor in the ring, and Banks locked a bank statement for the win.
Honestly, I thought they were going to bait us and change us again, and I’m pleasantly surprised we’re having a real game. Reginald had less offense and more defense, which worked perfectly. Sasha had her moments and it was awesome too. No complaints about it. We know Carmella is going to have another match, and now she must avenge her discarded champagne.
But like… can we get more from Reginald?
Emotional message
Sensational. Okay, I really cried watching this promo.
Kevin Owens messaged us from his car. He showed up for work and was told he was not allowed to enter the building because Roman Reigns had pulled strings. He can’t stay away and can’t stop fighting because Reigns hasn’t beaten him like a true champion yet.
And then it got really personal. He shows off his hand tattoo with the initials of his grandfathers and says they’ve always had his back all along and were his biggest fans. Nothing made them happier than seeing him in the ring, and his biggest regret will always be that he didn’t get to WWE in time for neither of them to see him on the big stage. The mark they left will always be there. He kept talking about them having illnesses and I was tearing through it. This is probably one of the best promos I’ve heard from Owens.
We need to protect Owens with our lives. I would like to hug him one day. This man can sell me a ticket anytime.
The rest
Ultimate obstacle course for athletes
Tires, hurdles, boards, sneakers and… Chad Gable. Bayley started off by lifting the tire and going through the tiny obstacles and transporting the firefighter to Gable. The last basketball shot was taken and all Belair had to do was beat the time one minute and twelve seconds.
Before they could start however, Bayley decided to “EST” the course with normal hurdles. When Bianca cleared all of that, Otis was chosen to be the person she was to carry by the firefighter on the line, which she did with ease. She beat Bayley in her own game with time to spare, then painful loser Bayley attacked her. It ended up being really fun. I love Bianca so much and want her to win the Royal Rumble this year.
Cesaro beat Dolph Ziggler
It was a nice back and forth. First, Bryan came out and said he wanted to win the Rumble for the first time in his career. Cesaro came out and said that as the first winner of Andre Memorial Battle Royal he is very experienced and will make sure that does not happen. So instead of fighting Bryan, he issued an open challenge that Ziggler accepted.
Ziggler took a sleeper and Cesaro did the swing and it was really good. I haven’t seen a great swing like this in a while. This led to an impressive spit reversal, and then Ziggler hit a desperate Zig Zag he couldn’t capitalize on. Cesaro took the victory with a neutralizer. Cesaro looks strong! Let’s continue this, please.
Big E vs Apollo Crews ends in referee save
The urgency was there yet again as the two men exploded to begin with. The crews did the standing moonsault for a count of two. Both men were on the ropes and Crews kicked E. And then Sami Zayn who handcuffed himself to a barrier outside the whole show until that point took off the handcuffs and Helluva took off. kicked the Crews and E and ended the game. No one looked bad here, which is a delight. Thinking we can see a triple threat coming out of this!
King Corbin defeated Dominik Mysterio
Corbin delivered an obnoxious clothesline and dominated the game. He went for End of Days but Dominik succeeded. Dominik tried to gain momentum, but Corbin punched him and succeeded in the second end of days for a quick win. I would have liked to see a little more of this, but I guess it’s just to compound any possible dissent between father and son. Rey was trying to train his son ahead of this match, but Dom said he was confident in his abilities. Welp. It’s time to listen to Dad!
Charlotte Flair and Asuka defeated the Riott Squad
Okay, that was weird. The last two SmackDowns were top-down aces, but this game was the least interesting for several reasons. What was the goal of this match? Why were Natalya and Tamina shown in the back watching? No mention of Alexa fighting Asuka, no mention of the Flair / Lacey Evans thing. The last time Asuka and Charlotte were together was the night after TLC. It’s very strange. I’m not too happy Riott Squad lost here either. It’s not the best thing here. Not a bad game, but very little to no consistency with the women’s tag division.
Quality: B +
What have been your thoughts, Cagesiders?
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