Well, color me interested. Which I imagine to be a soft shade of blue, not too dissimilar to a baby’s nursery, or an unwell Smurf.
You see, going in to last night’s SmackDown Live, I had one major reservation around perhaps the biggest match in recent company history. Namely Becky Lynch vs Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania. More particularly, I was worried whether there was enough mileage in this feud to carry us through the next two months.
My primary concern was certainly not with Becky, who we know is wrestling’s hottest commodity right now. But rather the question was whether Ronda could produce enough heat on her end to keep this fire burning through to April.
On Monday we saw the first effort to inject a fresh dynamic into this rivalry, with Stephanie McMahon confronting, suspending and then being beaten down by ‘The Man’. It was unexpected, visceral and highly effective. But as much as I enjoyed the angle, with God as my witness, there’s no way I’m sitting through sixty days of Stephanie McMahon screeching about Becky Lynch.
So again, I wondered, how could this story progress? Well, on SmackDown last night, we got our answer. First a noticeably more heelish Charlotte again interjected herself into the Becky / Ronda mix, once more raising the likelihood of a WrestleMania triple threat. But after she was cut off by a still visibly limping (and clearly trespassing) Lynch, the big guns came out. And there are no bigger guns than those connected to Triple H.
This. Was. Awesome. With little provocation, the WWE COO accused Becky of looking for an excuse to avoid facing off against Rousey, of intentionally getting herself hurt so that she didn’t have to wrestle the Raw Women’s Champion. He harkened back to the Becky led invasion of Raw before Survivor Series, pointing out that it was a suicide mission bound to end in injury.
The parting shot was Triple H’s suggestion that Becky may merely be faking her current knee injury, using it as a cowardly way out of her WrestleMania encounter. For the first time in this entire program, the smug look permanently painted on Becky’s face, the one that she’s carried through every promo to this point, was wiped away. Gone was the arrogance, gone was the pompousness, replaced instead by a hint of doubt – a glimmer of… fear? Maybe?
With no words left in her arsenal, Becky resorted to a common – and always popular – way of ending the conversation. She assaulted a McMahon family member. The only way this could’ve been better is if she’d punched Shane too.
On yesterday’s Raw review, I pointed out that Becky hadn’t yet found her one defining antagonist. That one obstacle who turns her into the generational anti-hero we all want her to be. It’s not Ronda; her promo game isn’t strong enough and she’s reportedly on her way out after WrestleMania. It’s not Stephanie; she can never decide whether she’s a babyface or a heel. Charlotte is compelling as a heel, but many fans have been growing tired of her. But Triple H? That has potential. And this was one of my favorite opening SmackDown segments in a long time.
As you may have guessed, this was another promo heavy edition of our Tuesday night wrestling fix. But I’m totally cool with that. Most of the blue brand’s side of the Elimination Chamber card is set. And when given the choice between great promos to hype up a pay-per-view encounter, or an endless stream of rehashed matches between the same group of competitors, I’ll gladly choose the former.
What else was good though? And where did SmackDown falter? Join our WrestleTalk writers as they share their best and worst moments from last night’s show.
What was your favorite moment from SmackDown Live?
Kyle Payne
There was so much to like about this episode of SmackDown. The show started off hot with Charlotte Flair gloating about Becky Lynch’s situation, only to be interrupted by ‘The Man’, despite her suspension. One again, Lynch came across as an absolute star and is so over with the audience. The stare down between HHH and Becky, her slap and her defiance, was excellent and the cheers for her were unprecedented. There is no one more over than her, it’s as clear as day.
Speaking of promos, the Usos cut a killer one that reminded everyone that there are very few tag teams even remotely close to their level. Daniel Bryan and his promo, without attacking the audience, was great. There is nothing better than a heel that sees himself as the hero.
The show also had good wrestling though. Mustafa Ali’s ability to make you believe (and who also cut a good promo of his own) led to a competitive match with Randy Orton. They had a nice encounter that I would love to see more of down the line. Daniel Bryan vs. Jeff Hardy was also great and this is a terrific feud down the line for the championship belt. The non-finish also helped. Another highlight was Samoa Joe, who is a phenomenal heel not portrayed as a coward but rather a destroyer. The video package for Asuka was nice.
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Nate Craver
For once, I’m not going with Becky Lynch. Last night, I thought Samoa Joe was the best thing about Smackdown Live. He was able to come across as the vicious destroyer that he is. I know it won’t lead to him actually winning the title from Daniel Bryan. However, if WWE needs a secondary heel on the show, he fits the bill perfectly. If only there was a mid-card title he could hold that wasn’t being used on the show…
Steven Lugo
“How dare you ‘what’ my good friend, Rowan?”
The New Daniel Bryan promo was the best. While Becky’s staredown with Triple H certainly felt bigger, there is just something so unique about Bryan’s heel run right now. The audience of his home state of Washington cheered him the way Canada used to cheer heel Bret Hart. Bryan, standing there with his giant ‘intellectual peer’, Rowan, telling fans what he feels they need to hear about their consumption is both hilarious and thought-provoking. What can I say? He’s the planet’s champion.
Louis Dangoor
The opening segment. Charlotte was a cocky heel and the ultimate troll, Becky Lynch feels like a badass and Triple H eating a Lynch slap before going face-to-face with ‘The Man’ in an intense stare-down was awesome. She is confident and feels like a huge deal.
Samoa Joe is also brilliant. The way he was attacking Orton straight as the replay ended made him feel chaotic and his promo was intense as ever. So was Bryan’s. He’s fantastic on the mic and you can tell he believes every single word he says. That RKO was also damn cool. I actually also liked Mandy Rose saying that her and Sonya have been in the chamber before unlike most of the other women in the match. It was a nice instance of WWE actually have some continuity and paying attention to detail.
What was the worst part of last night’s episode?
Kyle Payne
The SmackDown Women’s Champion was not on the show at all and there are no hints of any credible challengers. Asuka deserves to be showcased because of how talented she is and because she is the champion of the brand. It’s a disservice for her to be in the shadows of Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch (regardless of how much I love Becky Lynch).
AJ Styles is slowly falling into that Dean Ambrose category, where I’m losing sight of who his character is or who he’s supposed to be.
.@BillieKayWWE & @PeytonRoyceWWE worked 14 years to get here, and they plan on becoming the first-ever #IIconic Women's #TagTeamChampions at #WWEChamber! #SDLive pic.twitter.com/PxFRbKcaqy
— WWE (@WWE) February 6, 2019
Nate Craver
I don’t know that anything on the show was particularly awful. If I’m picking a worst, I’m going to go with the women’s tag team match. I’m picking this basically because SmackDown doesn’t really have a team that seems like a serious contender for the tag team titles.
The IIconics shouldn’t have been wasted like they have been and they could have been. Throw in the fact that Naomi seems destined to just get randomly thrown into tag teams with bffs that have glow in the name, and the SmackDown women’s tag division is pretty crap. I would much rather see the Sky Pirates or Shafir and Duke in this match.
Steven Lugo
The unfathomable partnership of Rusev and Nakamura. Okay, it’s not as ‘unfathomable’ as, say, Steve Austin joining forces with Vince McMahon. But it doesn’t make much sense either. Throwing these two together, seemingly at random after a weak program as opponents, makes me care less about them. It’s because you can tell zero thought went into it, and neither Rusev nor Shinsuke have good reasons for wanting to partner in the first place.
Maybe because this is all based on the idea that R-Truth could beat them both in the same night. Facepalm. Remember when Rusev and Nakamura were two of the hottest wrestlers in WWE? It’s tough, isn’t it?
Louis Dangoor
R-Truth not being on the show. At least they acknowledged it and said he was at home resting. But I didn’t like Nakamura not being on the show for weeks on end as he was champion and Truth being champ is bad enough, but at least have him on TV. I can say the same for Asuka and, with Charlotte occupied with Lynch and Rousey, I worry that Asuka will be left without a WrestleMania match-up.
Although the segment was fun, I really hope WWE steer clear of having Charlotte added to the ‘Mania match. I hope that Charlotte is only involved now for Lynch to beat her at FastLane and solidify herself as the true main event. I might be giving WWE too much credit here, but Lynch and Rousey really don’t need Charlotte in the match. In spite of that, at least they are booking it well.
The women’s tag match was sloppy. Naomi and Carmella actually seem promising as former women’s champions tagging together but they could have done with picking up the win here in their debut match as a team. Instead their win was sacrificed for the continuation of the Mandy Rose / Noami storyline. At least Rose and Deville (I refuse to refer to them as ‘Fire and Desire’) now feel like somewhat of a threat come Elimination Chamber.
It would have been nice to see Almas and Mysterio in the flesh rather than in a backstage segment, but the show was busy as it is, so I understand.
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)
Kyle Payne
The show was SmackTastic. Everything you could want from a wrestling show was there: good wrestling, good promos, and story progression. Becky Lynch and HHH had a great interaction and this should just lead her to smack and throat punch every member of the McMahon family. Daniel Bryan and the Usos gave great promos, Mustafa Ali / Randy Orton had a good match, and so did Bryan / Hardy.
The only negative I have with the show is AJ Styles, because he seems to be a little lost chasing the belt. The lack of Asuka is absolutely wrong and needs to be fixed. She deserves more than a video package.
What if @MustafaAliWWE is victorious at #WWEChamber?
What if he becomes @WWE Champion?
What if… #SDLive pic.twitter.com/VDSTpQHRJb— WWE (@WWE) February 6, 2019
Nate Craver
We’re a couple weeks away from the Elimination Chamber and this is the type of week in booking where you typically won’t get overly exciting shows. I didn’t think this show was bad, but I wouldn’t say it was great either. It pretty much just was.
Therefore, I give it a Smack Bang in the Middle. The six men in the main event all had moments and furthered the storyline. We know who the women representing SmackDown are. No US title, no women’s title, and no tag team titles. We also didn’t see much from Rey and Andrade. I didn’t think the Nakamura / Rusev team looked comfortable or showed a lot of chemistry.
While Becky and Trips were entertaining, I don’t think it had the heat of previous Becky promos. Maybe I just don’t want more Authority storyline rehashes. Finally, we got Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy representing the big matches on the show. In 2019, that doesn’t make me go SmackDamn! Granted, Daniel Bryan and Mustafa Ali offset that quite a bit, but Hardy and Orton, c’mon. I’m expecting great weeks the next two. Hopefully, we’ll get some great build going into the chamber.
https://twitter.com/BeckyLynchWWE/status/1092966181298855936
Steven Lugo
Smack Bang in the Middle. Overall I enjoyed the show, especially ‘The Man’, Daniel Bryan, and the video package about Asuka. It definitely could have used something like an Andrade match though, as we built to the 6-way at the Elimination Chamber.
I love Somoa Joe’s heel work, but every time I see him choke out an unsuspecting foe, it makes me wonder why he’s never had a big win. I start to think he’ll never win. Elimination Chamber would be the perfect environment for it, though. Randy Orton is another curiosity. He’s shoved into these main events based on reputation, I imagine, but wouldn’t it be nice if main-eventers did meaningful things on weekly TV, too? It seems like random matches and random RKO’s.
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Louis Dangoor
Aside from the cross-over with Becky Lynch, Raw and SmackDown could not feel any more different. SmackDown flew by. The two hour show genuinely felt like minutes and I could have watched more. Bryan and Joe cut intense promos, the Ali and Orton match was fun but left the door open for more. The franken-team of Rusev and Nakamura actually excites me and I feel it could go somewhere.
However the opening segment stole the show. Charlotte was slimy and antagonistic and Becky’s intense stare-down with HHH after slapping him was intense. The segment was further evidence that the Becky Lynch story is one of the best booked WWE stories in recent memory. SmackDown for me was a high Smacktastic! Great stuff.
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