R-Truth beat two men in the same night and is now the United States Champion. Shane McMahon is a champion. Shane and Miz are officially known as “the best tag team in the world”. In 2019. I simultaneously love and hate everything that this company represents.
It was around the point that George Mizanin triumphantly raised his hands in the middle of the ring, flanked by his weeping son and sweaty tag team partner, while enthusiastic chants of “Mister Miz” rang out around the arena, that I started to re-evaluate all of the choices I had made in my life. And you know what? I’m totally cool with everything that led me here.
The simple truth is that if you don’t embrace the lunacy of SmackDown Live, these sorts of moments will drive you mad. The inexplicable title changes, the melodramatic storylines, casting the environmentalist as a villain – you either bury your head in your hands in utter despair or reconcile yourself to the fact that this is your life now. It goes without saying then that I am fully on board with this kind of lunacy.
The night kicked off with Becky dropping a fire promo before delivering the type of sneaky punch that would make Jerry Lawler proud. A 100% sustainable, organic hemp belt got one of the biggest pops of the night. And a 300-pound rump steak brought to life by a mad scientist during an electrical storm almost became the number one contender for the SmackDown tag team championships. I’ve changed my mind, I love this company.
Tonight we didn’t earn an opportunity at the #SmackdownTagTeamChampions
We did show that #HeavyMachinery is right where we belong; @WWE.
This brotherhood is just getting starting and tonight was a little taste of what the future holds for us. pic.twitter.com/9vaKXxsvD1
— Levi Cooper (@REALLeviCooper) January 30, 2019
So we know last night’s SmackDown Live was insane, but was it good? Thankfully, our team of WrestleTalk writers are here to answer that very question. Read on to find out what they thought.
What was your favourite moment from SmackDown Live?
Nate Craver
I feel like a broken record, but the best thing about SmackDown for me continues to be Becky Lynch. The “Planet’s Champion” Daniel Bryan or Samoa Joe’s promo were in the running, but Becky Lynch is still ‘The Man’ in my books. Her promo and point of view on Ronda reminds me a bit of the ‘Common Man’ stuff from Dusty Rhodes. “I’m proud of coming from nothing.” It’s the every man vs. the silver spoon. Becky’s great at delivering it. Charlotte is good as being a proxy for Ronda on SmackDown.
I just hope we somehow get out of the triple threat rumored for WrestleMania. It was clear on Raw the crowd is behind Becky over Ronda. If done right, Becky can be the face of the company for the long term. Even if Ronda is sticking around longer than this year, Becky should be around longer and is the smarter investment for WWE.
THIS is the new symbol of excellence.
Say hello to the new 100% SUSTAINABLE HEMP #WWEChampionship! #SDLive @WWEDanielBryan pic.twitter.com/2C8yszzAko
— WWE (@WWE) January 30, 2019
Emma Heeley
Once again Daniel Bryan stole the show. From the new belt unveiling, to the “Thank you Daisy” chat and the mass brawl at the end, this whole segment made me incredibly happy. My cheeks ached from grinning so hard. I LOVE heel Daniel Bryan, and I imagine that the Elimination Chamber match is going to be incredible. Also, mad props to Rowen for sporting an Alestorm T-shirt!
I also loved Mr. Miz. I popped when he told Miz he was proud (and I’m not even ashamed). I will quite happily eat humble pie and admit that I am growing quite fond of this Shane / Miz tag team.
Jeffrey Bowie Jr.
The opening segment involving Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. These two women continue to have excellent chemistry with one another. Lynch’s promo work at the start was strong and effective. Flair’s egotistical promo was also strong, as the former SmackDown women’s champion is just fantastic as an arrogant heel.
I do worry that company officials will go against the grain and inject Flair into the Rousey / Lynch match at WrestleMania. This segment proved that the interaction between the two won’t be over anytime soon, but I hope that paranoia turns out to be wrong and officials keep it at just Becky and Rousey. Besides, there’s still money in Flair / Asuka II at WrestleMania. The story of Asuka looking to redeem her previous WrestleMania loss is indeed compelling.
A nod goes to the fatal 4-way elimination tag team match. A fun and chaotic match that introduced an interesting matchup between the Usos and Miz & Shane McMahon.
Kyle Payne
The opening and closing of the show was the best part of SmackDown Live, for different reasons, and it’s hard to choose which one was better. The beginning of the show saw Becky Lynch cut a great promo, have Charlotte Flair interrupt her to take the spotlight and try to take credit for all of her success, and then a brawl between the two. It was a hot start and Becky Lynch always, in everything she does, comes across as a rockstar. Also, she is so over it’s crazy and I hope WWE realizes they do not need to add Flair to the main event and interfere with Lynch vs. Rousey.
The ending segment saw Daniel Bryan unveil the new WWE Championship that is completely eco friendly and absolutely gorgeous. Also, seeing him throw the original title into an actual trash can was surreal to see. This brought out Orton, Ali, Hardy, Styles, and Joe. Samoa Joe, by the way, is just too phenomenal on the mic that it’s crazy. This caused a brawl to erupt and lead to Triple H announcing that all these men, and Daniel Bryan, will fight for the title in the Elimination Chamber. Bryan and the new belt are so over that it’s great and it’s all making the road to WrestleMania even more exciting.
What was the worst part of last night’s episode?
Nate Craver
The treatment of the US Title was the worst thing about SmackDown for me. It’s been absent from television for what seems like most of 2019. It got relegated to the pre-show at the Royal Rumble in a match that was barely set up. Last night, R-Truth won in controversial fashion. Instead of it setting up a three-way feud or a program centered around the title, it was used as a way to create the tag-team of Shinsuke and Rusev.
R-Truth is over with a large portion of the crowd and Vince. However, he is not the fresh face that was promised. He’s been with the company forever and what good does he do the title? Put the title on Rey or Andrade. Make it part of their feud. Andrade as the champ would do the belt wonders and he is getting a push right now. It’s disappointing when you have a championship that isn’t used to get a guy over or further a feud.
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Emma Heeley
For me, there wasn’t actually a standout moment of the show that I found to the “the worst”. If I had to pinpoint one moment though, it would be the backstage ‘interview’ with Mandy Rose. Not that any parties involved were bad, but the writers seem to be back peddling with the story, trying to find a legitimate reason for Rose to hate Naomi. I felt this was a little lame on their part. Maybe they should just put this segment to bed now and forget it ever happened.
Jeffrey Bowie Jr.
The contrived Rusev / Shinsuke Nakamura / R-Truth mess. I actually got excited at the possibility that Nakamura and Ali could be feuding for the US title based off their Rumble interaction, but the company made the title even more worthless by having Nakamura drop it in a flukey, controversial manner that did neither Truth nor the former champion any favors.
And then Rusev turned heel for no real reason and sided with the man who “injured” his wife. I have no interest in a Nakamura / Rusev pairing and the booking to possibly get them together as a long-term tag team didn’t help matters. The United States championship and everyone involved was damaged in this segment.
The Mandy Rose segment was a strong second. No offense to Rose, but she’s making porn stars look like solid actors. And her reasoning over why she hates Naomi was silly and laughable.
Kyle Payne
The Mandy Rose feud with Naomi is getting crazy and it’s really looking like they are making it up as they go. I think it’s time to move on from this feud, perhaps to focus on winning those women’s tag team championships. Rusev’s heel turn and alliance with Nakamura made absolutely no sense after what they’ve been through. No Auska and no contender for her was also disappointing.
How would you rate the show overall? (From best to worst: SmackDamn, SmackTastic, Smack Bang in the Middle, SmackDowner and A Smack in the Face)
Nate Craver
I’m giving this one a Smack Bang in the Middle. Positives include Becky Lynch and the closing segment. Negatives for me were the US Title and the co-besties tag team celebration.
Some will say the tag team match was entertaining (and it was), but it’s leading to a Miz / Shane-o-Mac storyline, where the focus won’t be on the in-ring action. The show was fun to watch, but I didn’t walk away amazed.
At #WWEChamber, two of the best tag teams in the world will duke it out when @WWEUsos challenge @mikethemiz & @shanemcmahon for the #SDLive #TagTeamTitles! https://t.co/LF204UWube
— WWE (@WWE) January 30, 2019
Emma Heeley
This week show was great, the perfect capitalisation on an outstanding Rumble weekend. I did find the finish to Truth vs Nakamura a little confusing, but I also didn’t hate it. And other than opening the show with Becky and Charlotte, there was very little showcase of the SmackDown women’s division.
However, as a whole, I felt the show was incredibly entertaining, with (once again) SmackDown coming out as WWE’s more dominant show. This week’s SmackDown was a high SmackTastic.
Jeffrey Bowie Jr.
A low Smack Bang in the Middle. Other than the Mandy Rose and United States title situations, there was nothing actively bad on this show; however, there was nothing that has me really excited over the future of the blue brand except Andrade and Mysterio. The Lynch and Flair confrontation has me worried that the company is making a triple threat match at WrestleMania.
The main event segment felt more convoluted as each superstar made their entrance. While an Elimination Chamber match between the six men should be great, the set up was extremely clunky, with Joe being the only shining star in the segment. The continuation of Andrade and Rey Mysterio was a solid development tonight and I hope the company can be patient and actively build this feud through to WrestleMania.
Overall, a bit of an off night for the blue brand.
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Kyle Payne
The show was SmackTastic because it was great overall and the time just flew by.
Becky Lynch has the fans in the palm of her hands. Her not backing down and throat punching Charlotte Flair, and the brawl that ensued made her look strong. Also, her still selling her Rumble injuries is a lost art for others to emulate and refusing to receive medical attention as she left just makes her look tough as nails.
The segment with Daniel Bryan was great with the new title, new faction in the works, and a star-studded Elimination Chamber line up. The wrestling on the show was good, with the tag division in a four way to earn a title shot at The Miz & Shane McMahon. I liked that the The Usos won and look forward to their match. The segment with The Miz’s dad was decent but through it all I got the feeling that a heel turn was coming. It hasn’t arrived yet but we know it’ll be devastating when it does.
The only thing that was missing from the show was more wrestling. Things with Naomi and Mandy Rose look to be continuing and that’s unfortunate. Also, Rusev turning heel and aligning with Nakamura makes zero sense but, hey, at least R-Truth got some love.
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