TOP 3 DEVELOPMENTS – SMACKDOWN: Styles takes self-ownership, Gable & Benjamin point fingers, Bryan-Shane isn’t getting less confusing

A.J. Takes Self-Ownership…

Recap: The show began with A.J. Styles in the ring for an interview with Renee Young. Renee began her interview by asking A.J. if he thought that his handicap match with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at Royal Rumble was fair. A.J. demurred, instead expressing regret that he was so loose with his words in sarcastically asking for the match. When pushed for an answer to her initial question, A.J. stated that while he didn’t think the match was fair, life wasn’t fair. Renee then asked if he thought Daniel Bryan was showing favoritism, at which point A.J. declined to comment on the Bryan-Shane feud but instead focused on his own situation.

Evaluation: This was outstanding. In our unfortunate victimhood culture of 2018, A.J. Styles stood out in taking self-ownership and refusing to point fingers at others. It really made him pop as a hero-type face. A.J. is clearly Smackdown’s alpha male.

Forecast: A.J. is firing on all cylinders as the confident “face that runs the place.” I’m hopeful that Smackdown will keep him in this role and continue building Smackdown around him.

We also learned from this segment that at the Royal Rumble, Owens and Zayn will tag in and out, and if they win they will be co-champions. This makes it almost certain that A.J. will retain the title.

Gable and Benjamin Point Fingers…

Recap: Gable and Benjamin came out to the ring. Gable asked the crowd if anyone knew what it was to work to be a winner. Benjamin indicated that they were robbed by a bad referee call, just like Georgia in the College Football Playoff Title game. Gable repeatedly asked why the second referee was in the match last week. Benjamin indicated that it was out of jealousy, as the ref didn’t understand what it took to be a winner. Gable then called “Generic Referee #2” down to the ring. Instead of the referee, however, Daniel Bryan appeared. Bryan expressed sympathy for what it feels like to work to be a winner. He also, however, reiterated that the referee’s decision was final. When Gable sarcastically asked “Do we have to beat them twice in one night?”, Bryan agreed with the sentiment and set a two-out-of-three falls match for the tag titles at Royal Rumble.

Evaluation: Just as A.J.’s self-ownership and personal responsibility worked great for his face character tonight, Gable & Benjamin’s finger-pointing whining worked in getting them over as heels. Since the overturn of the initial call last week was so clearly correct, Gable and Benjamin don’t have a leg to stand on in their complaining.

Forecast: They’ve done a good job in setting Gable & Benjamin as heel foils for the Usos. Considering the good character work and the phenomenal in-ring work (particularly by Gable), the two of three falls match should be a good one.

Bryan and Shane Trade Accusations…

Recap: During A.J.’s interview with Renee Young, Owens and Zayn came down the ramp to gloat. They were followed by Shane McMahon, who expressed confusion over Daniel Bryan’s booking of the handicap match, but also stated that he ultimately backs his GM. Shane then set the main event for the night: a handicap match where Shinsuke Nakamura, Randy Orton, and A.J. Styles would take on Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. Backstage, Bryan and Shane shook hands as Bryan seemed to approve of Shane’s booking of the main event. Later, however, Shane referred to Bryan’s recent decisions as “impetuous and irrational,” critical of both the A.J. Styles match and tag team title match at Royal Rumble. Shane then indicated that Bryan seemed unstable, and in response Bryan indicated the same of Shane.

During the main event, Owens and Zayn headed to the back. However, Shane restarted the match with a no-countout stipulation. Later, Owens and Zayn were disqualified when Owens struck Orton with a chair, only for Shane to again restart the match with an additional no-DQ stipulation. A.J. then isolated Owens from Zayn by beating Owens with a chair outside the ring while Orton and Nakamura double-teamed Zayn. Orton won the match with an RKO and pin on Zayn.

Evaluation: This angle isn’t getting any less confusing. While last week Bryan’s over-literal interpretation of a wrestler request played in favor of a pair of heels, tonight it played against a pair of heels. As I’ve discussed in previous weeks, there is no way WWE can run this angle with Bryan playing heel to Shane as a face. Nothing tonight really provided any clues as to how this will play out. The confusion has kept me guessing for weeks on end, so in that regard, it’s working.

Forecast: I’ve mentioned in past columns that I believe WWE must know that Daniel Bryan can’t be a heel. As a result, I’ve previously predicted that Shane would at some point turn heel with some sort of confession that he had eventually realized (like Sami Zayn in his heel turn) that Kevin Owens’ criticisms were right all along. Nothing tonight changed my prediction, although with so many conflicting signals I don’t have a lot of confidence in my prognostication.

In the short term, Bryan will likely be angry at Shane’s actions in restarting the match, as it allowed Owens to be beaten with a chair while Zayn was double-teamed by Nakamura and Orton.

Random Thoughts…

-WWE showed a clip where Sami Zayn surprised Becky Lynch with an offer to be partners in Mixed Match Challenge. She hugged him profusely and squealed excitedly. Considering that in the immediately preceding segment Becky Lynch was playing face and two segments earlier Sami Zayn was playing a clear heel, this MMC promotion was very clearly undermining tonight’s Smackdown stories….

-The normally vanilla Tom Phillips stepped out of his typical zone tonight when he referred to Byron Saxton’s suit as a “fashion atrocity” during the match between the Fashion Police and Rusev Day…

NOW CHECK OUT THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: TOP 3 DEVELOPMENTS – RAW: Jordan shines as the overfamiliar heel, Braun returns to Monster status, WWE embraces NJPW history with Balor Club