SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER
FEBRUARY 20, 2018
PHOENIX, ARIZ.
REPORT BY JOEY GALIZIA (@RamJam89)
ANNOUNCED BY WWE
- How will A.J. Styles react to WWE Fastlane Fiveuad, -way match?
- Charlotte Flair teams with Becky Lynch and Naomi to face the Riott Squad in six-woman tag action.
- Is Bobby Roode’s U.S. Title reign in danger?
- Tag match between New Day and Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin to determine new #1 title contenders.
“WHEN WILL THIS SHOW GET BETTER?”
At what point did Smackdown become so hard to watch? For a while I was impressed by the clever booking and fantastic feud building streak that the blue brand had been on, but as of recent it’s been hard for me to even turn my television on. It doesn’t help that WWE Champion A.J. Styles is constantly put in impossible scenarios like a handicap match against the YEP movement and now a Fatal Five-way for his title at Fastlane. Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin each earned a spot in the aforementioned match by defeating Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, the other two dudes ALREADY in the aforementioned match. At some point Styles is going to have to sit down with General Manager Daniel Bryan and Commissioner Shane McMahon and figure out exactly what the hell they have against him. According to the previews on WWE.com, that’s exactly what you can expect this evening from the champion.
“HOW MANY TIMES HAVE WE SEEN THIS?”
Over in the women’s division things are not fairing much better. It seems that SD champion Charlotte Flair is in some type of holding pattern until the Rumble winner Asuka decides which championship she will challenge for at WrestleMania. In the meantime, The Nature Girl has been beefing with the Riott Squad since they laid her on her back and almost gave Carmella an easy cash-in. (She botched it though.) Over the last two weeks Charlotte has taken on Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan in single action, but instead of clashing with their leader Ruby Riott one-on-one, instead we’ll see another six-woman tag that the WWE loves to run as of recent. Becky Lynch and Naomi will join the champ. Hopefully some spice gets added into the division before Fastlane because like the rest of the Tuesday night show it has been DULL.
“CREDIT CARD? NO PROBLEM.”
-Elsewhere in the tag division the pancake eating New Day will clash with Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin. According to GM Daniel Bryan, the winner will be the next challengers for the Usos. Not so fast, DB. Don’t forget about the unstoppable Bludgeon Brothers who have done nothing but win the past couple months, and win with ease. Do Harper & Rowan lay out the competition? Guess you’ll have to tune in to find out.
-In the United States Title scene, Bobby Roode has been trying to run an open challenge. He successfully defended the belt against Rusev and Mojo Rawley, but last week he ate another RKO from the Viper Randy Orton. He wasn’t the only one. Former champion Jinder Mahal tried to answer the Glorious One’s challenge but the Apex Predator got to him as well. Does Orton want to be the next challenger for the belt? Or is he just pleased with himself that he still remembers how to execute his finisher?
-Shinsuke Nakamura has won the Royal Rumble and remains one of the most popular wrestlers on the roster. Now can he be on television please?
Plenty of time for Smackdown to get back on track. Let’s just cross our fingers and hope that they can. You watching?
CATCH UP ON LAST WEEK’S REPORT: KELLER’S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 2/13: Sami and KO don’t like Shane’s decision to have Corbin vs. Ziggler for a slot in their title match
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.