We learned after RAW went off the air, the RAW Tag Team Championship match between Cesaro/Sheamus, Gallows/Anderson, and Enzo/Big Cass will now be a ladder match. AWESOME!
Now, I don’t normally cover SmackDown, but being as this is their go-home show for WrestleMania, I decided to watch live and cover it for all my wonderful fans.
*cricket noise* *cricket noise*
Thanks. Really.
The show begins with a contract signing, because we need a good ol’ fashion paper pushing segment between Shane McMahon and AJ Styles with Daniel Bryan officiating. Bet he would have liked to have a match with Shane. Shane starts off by putting over Styles, to which his opponent agrees and puts on the heel mode. Except, the fans love it. I have to say, it certainly sounded as though Styles got a bigger pop than McMahon. The segment nearly broke into a brawl, by Daniel Bryan stepped in. Baw.
Carmella has a match with Becky Lynch with Alexa Bliss and Mickie James at commentary. The match runs short as the two table guest starts brawling, spilling into the ring, if that makes sense. We come back from commercial to find this turned into a tag team match, with James and Lynch against Carmella and Bliss. Match gets some great ring time, but is again interrupted by Natalya. Is it just me, or does she get worse? I think so, because the commentators kept cutting her off. She eventually gets in the ring, turns the whole thing into a brawl, and this one is over. But wait! There is more… Naomi! The Glow gal is back and lays waste to all the heels in the ring, declaring herself an entrant in the SmackDown Women’s Championship match at WrestleMania.
I watched on WWE.com, the parody Miz and Maryse made of Total Bellas, and I have to say, it’s better than the real thing. MizTV once again airs the parody, the conclusion to the Bella’s B*** segment. Too funny. It makes fun of the major arcs from the show, with Cena’s house rules and lack of a wedding proposal. Things take a turn when Miz and Maryse shed the costumes and get serious, running down Cena and Nikki Bella. In the ring, Cena and Nikki wind up interrupting the segment and Cena cuts the best promo he has cut in the past year. Wow. Parts of it sound convincing as though it was a shoot. Fantastic promo, and I have some genuine interest how their match at WrestleMania will turn out.
Mojo Rawley, Rhyno, Heath Slater, and American Alpha defeat Dolph Ziggler, The Usos, and Breezango
So, this tells me there will be no SmackDown Tag Team Championship title defense at WrestleMania, since everyone in this match will be in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Rawley gets the pin on Ziggler. Pretty decent match.
I have to say, there is a lot more promotion for NXT Takeover on SmackDown than RAW. In fact, I don’t there was anything noticeable on RAW.
Lots of promos for WrestleMania, going over the updated match card.
Bray Wyatt defeated Luke Harper
Good match, took an awkward turn as Harper had the win, however suddenly stopped in his tracks, which allowed Wyatt to take the big man down with Sister Abigail. Harper did great, hopefully he stays on his own, maybe 2017 will see him win another singles championship.
The show concludes with a very strange segment of the supernatural. Randy Orton shows up on the titantron, apparently desecrating the “Sacred Ground” and ending the power bestowed on Bray Wyatt.
Well, aren’t we just taking a trip back to the early 90’s.
