SMACKDOWN PRIMER: What to expect tonight based on what happened last week including the Battle Royal, Naomi, Nikki-Natalya, more

SMACKDOWN PREVIEW
FEBRUARY 21, 2017
ONTARIO, CALIF. AT CITIZEN’S BANK ARENA
By Joey Galizia (@RamJam89), PWTORCH SPECIALIST

“A ROYAL BATTLE”

This just keeps getting more interesting. Last week the Royal Rumble winner Randall Orton decided that he would NOT challenge for the WWE Championship because it his held by his supreme leader Bray the World-Eater Wyatt. The bond between these two seems to be stronger than ever, and their dominant run dating back to Survivor Series cannot be overlooked. With that said: Daniel Bryan is not happy. Randy is breaking tradition by denying himself his shot at the gold and a new contender must take his place. Cue the Battle Royal, which should feature several of the Elimination Chamber combatants such as Dean Ambrose, The Miz, Baron Corbin, and perhaps A.J. Styles and John Cena. Now… if things were to get VERY interesting… well then, a little man (he’s NOT little) named Luke Harper may the one who stands tall at the end.

“FIGHT EVERYWHERE AND ALL OVER”

At Elimination Chamber, Nikki Bella and Natalya attempted to settle their differences, but their feud was too strong to withstand the rules of a regular match. This led to a double-countount, and an unsatisfying finish for a feud that is filled with this much hatred. Fortunately, that would not be the last chapter, because Ontario will get to witness them slug it out one more time in a FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE match. I’m honestly not sure who will come out on top, but I am prepared to be thoroughly sports entertained. #teamBELLHAMMER

“ELECTRO-LUNATIC”

This is not another “let’s pat SD on the back for being so great at booking” article, but the brilliance of this Battle Royal shows how superior the blue brand is at telling stories. In one match, several scenarios can possibly play out, and each scenario helps strengthen an ongoing rivalry. One of those rivalries consists of Dean Ambrose and Baron Corbin. If you haven’t been keeping up: Dean eliminated Baron in the Chamber match, Baron no like that, Baron beat Dean within an inch of his life, last week Baron ATTEMPTED MURDER on the lunatic fringe, Dean and Baron hate each other. With six weeks until Mania, they have plenty of time to build anticipation for these two clashing for the Intercontinental Championship. Don’t be surprised if these two eliminate each other as they attempt to go for the top prize.

“TIME IS RUNNING THIN”

Naomi’s title triumph is still giving me goosebumps. She certainly has come a long way in scraping her way to the top of the division. Regardless, her victory over Alexa Bliss left her injured, and Alexa gave her until tonight to either defend the title or hand it back over to its rightful owner. I know I’ve said this before, but Naomi spent nearly a decade fighting her way to the top, so just imagine how hard she will fight to stay there. Tick-Tock Naomi. Tick-Tock.

“EYES OPEN”

-Don’t be surprised if we see Dolph Ziggler in the Battle Royal tonight. He’s bad now and does bad things. I can’t wait till the other dudes pound his stupid little face in.

-Becky Lynch and Mickie James are tied at 1-1. RUBBER MATCH TIME. When I don’t know, but the ensemble of the Blue Brand women’s division never fails to disappoint.

-Speaking of women… Carmella is using James Ellsworth. We know this. She knows this. He doesn’t. Thus proving that James Ellsworth is useless. GO AWAY.

Should be an exciting show! Don’t forget about 205 after! C’MON HARPER.

NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S ARTICLE: SMACKDOWN PRIMER: What to expect tonight based on what happened at Elimination Chamber including Bray defends against Cena, Orton’s reaction, Naomi celebrates, Corbin-Ambrose