SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
EDITOR’S NOTE: Brandon LeClair premieres his alternative perspective report on the weekly Smackdown Live TV show to provide another set of details and analysis of one of WWE’s flagship programs.
WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT
MARCH 5, 2019
WILKES-BARRE, PA. AT MOHEGAN SUN ARENA
REPORT BY BRANDON LECLAIR, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Todd Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton
-The show began with a live shot of the crowd as Daniel Bryan’s music hit. Todd Phillips welcomed fans to the show and teased the WWE Championship match between Daniel Bryan and Kevin Owens this Sunday at Fastlane. Bryan pointed to the iron and a video package aired detailing Kofi Kingston’s rise to Championship prominence and eventual removal from contention by Vince McMahon. It also featured highlights from last week’s tag main event which saw Kevin Owens pin Daniel Bryan. Back in the ring, Bryan was pelted with “Kofi” chants. He said that he remained silent throughout last week’s ordeal, but that tonight was his chance to speak. Rowan said Bryan was about to “enlighten us all.”
The crowd continued to chant loudly for Kofi. Bryan said he wasn’t there to talk about Kofi, and that Kofi is a supporting player. Bryan said he wasn’t pleased that Owens was his replacement opponent because he looks like the audience, he thinks like the audience, and like the audience, he doesn’t deserve a WWE Championship match. Daniel called Owens a “nobody.” Kevin Owens music hit, and he came to the stage. Owens said that for the last five months, he’s been a member of the WWE Universe, watching shows from the comfort of his couch. (“Right where you belong,” Bryan retorted.) Owens said that Bryan has been acting like he’s above everyone else, and that it especially irked him when Daniel threw the WWE Title in the trash. (“Exactly where it belonged,” Bryan claimed.) Owens said after that moment, he knew he wanted to return to Smackdown to face Daniel Bryan and shut him up. Bryan said he provides the people with “educated wisdom, not empty calories.” Owens accused Bryan of resorting to low-brow fat jokes, (Bryan nodded in approval.) Bryan said KO is just like the fans, and Owens agreed, saying, like them, he finds Bryan to be a “pretentious jackass.” The crowd roared to life with a “YES!” chant.
Owens said unlike Bryan, he doesn’t have a reality show, or a giant to do his bidding. Bryan countered that the only reason Owens doesn’t have a 7-footer by his side is because he doesn’t have any friends. KO rallied at this point, acknowledging that his past actions have made him a bit of a pariah. He said he never meant to take Kofi’s title shot, but he means to beat Bryan again on Sunday and take the WWE Championship. Rowan stepped in front of Bryan and got into KO’s face. Owens mockingly said, “Do we have a problem, Redwood?” The two traded blows. KO sent Rowan out of the ring and Bryan attacked him from behind. Owens briefly got the better of the champion, attempting to give him another Stunner, but Rowan returned and dropped Owens to the mat.
Bryan’s music hit as he and Rowan headed to the back. The announce crew teased R-Truth’s open challenge for later tonight. The camera cut backstage to Shane McMahon and The Miz, hyping each other up in preparation for Miz’s match against Jey Uso next.
(LeClair’s Analysis: Strong opening segment and a good pivot away from Kofi for the time being. Bryan’s early lines were mostly basic, but acted as a nice setup for Owens to come out and cut what amounted to a simple but effective babyface promo. I thought this nicely established KO as a sympathetic, every-man babyface. I’m intrigued to see where they go with his character going forward.)
Back from commercial, The Usos hit the ring. Todd Phillips said the Smackdown Tag Team Champions were “ready for a fight.” Todd briefly previewed the Tag Team Title match between The Usos and The Miz & Shane McMahon for this Sunday at Fastlane. Jimmy and Jey grabbed microphones. Jey said the Usos became six time champions at Elimination Chamber, and Jimmy began mocking The Miz and Shane. He poked fun at The Miz’s recent change in attitude and Shane McMahon’s desire to jump off things. He said what really gets him, though, is that Shane thinks his shoe game is better than The Usos. They said the point, though, is that at Fastlane, Miz and Shane are stepping in the ring with a real tag team. The ended the promo with the usual, “welcome to the Uso Penitentiary” line, which the crowd repeated.
Miz and Shane headed to the ring next. Shane asked the crowd how everyone was doing. He said they, too, had passion and emotion and wear their hearts on their sleeves. Miz got serious and said he will expose and beat Jey Uso tonight. He said at Fastlane, he will make Shane and his dad proud. Before Miz could finish his “AWESOME” line, The Usos tried to attack. Miz and Shane sent them packing over the top rope and into another commercial break.
(LeClair’s Analysis: This worked for me. I’m a big fan of The Usos promo style, because it almost never sounds like anything else on the show That was the case here. They were comical, and to the point. While I wasn’t big on Shane and Miz’s retort, it was quick and to the point, which hasn’t always been the case with the two of them in recent weeks.)
(1) THE MIZ (w/Shane McMahon) vs. JEY USO (w/ Jimmy Uso)
The match began officially in the picture-in-picture screen during the break. Jimmy and Jey circled the ringside area for a bit before Jey finally got in the ring. Hey applied a headlock into a shoulder tackle. He and Miz shared a series of counters before Jey clotheslined Miz over the top and took him out with a suicide dive to the outside. Jimmy and Shane jawed back and forth. Miz regained control back on the outside and bounced Jey’s head off the announce desk. Back in the ring, Miz hit a double axe handle from the top rope for a two count. Back out of the break, Jey hit Miz with a kick and a series of clotheslines to regain control. After some back and forth, Jey hit a Samoan Drop on Miz and headed to the top rope for a splash. Miz got his feet up, but Jey caught them. Jey caught Miz with a roll up and got an assist from Jimmy, who tried to give his brother some leverage. Shane took exception to this, flying off the stairs and connecting with a clothesline on Jimmy Uso. This allowed The Miz the capitalize, hitting Jey with the Skull-Crushing Finale for the win.
WINNER: The Miz
-Todd Phillips announced that Kevin Owens would face Rowan later on tonight.
(LeClair’s Analysis: Fine match to build up to Sunday’s tag title encounter. Nothing of note to really speak about here. The Usos promo before the match was really the highlight of this segment.)
-Backstage, Kayla Braxton welcomed Charlotte Flair. Charlotte mockingly wondered if Smackdown was missing the presence of her “best friend” Becky Lynch. She invited Becky to Smackdown tonight. Loud “Becky” chants filled the arena. Charlotte asked if Becky was “man enough” to come talk to her about her in-ring capabilities after the beating she suffered at the hands of Ronda Rousey.
(LeClair’s Analysis: Charlotte stumbled trying to reiterate the stipulation of her match with Becky at Fastlane (who wouldn’t?) and the camera hung on her a little too long after she’d finished. By-the-numbers stuff, otherwise.)
-R-Truth and Carmella headed to the ring next for Truth’s U.S. Title open challenge. A recap of last week’s triple threat match between Truth, Rey Mysterio, and Andrade aired before a proper commercial break.
-Back from the break, Truth said he wanted to be just like his childhood hero, John Cena. He said he didn’t realize Cena did this every week, and that he was already tired. Carmella told him that Cena said to “never give up.” Truth joked about all the places he sees John Cena before a seven second dance break. Truth said the open challenge starts now. Lacey Evans music hit, and she did her normal strut down and back up the ramp. Truth pleaded, “come back, Ms. Sexy Gloves!” Samoa Joe’s music hit, and Joe marched to the ring to a strong “Joe” chant from the crowd. The moment Joe reached the ring, Rey Mysterio’s music hit. Rey ran into the ring. Then. Andrade’s music hit. He, too, rushed the ring, Zelina Vega at his side. Without hesitation, or explanation, Greg Hamilton declared that we’d see a Fatal 4 Way match for the U.S. Championship. A commercial break followed.
(LeClair’s Analysis: I appreciate the comedy of R-Truth’s character, but I dislike it being attached to a title that we’re supposed to take seriously. That, coupled with the open challenge rules that don’t necessarily make all that much sense left me feeling pretty down on this pre-match segment.)
(2) R-TRUTH (w/Carmela) vs. SAMOA JOE vs. REY MYSTERIO vs. ANDRADE (w/Zelina Vega)
Back from the break, the match was already in progress. Samoa Joe looked to have taken early control, and the crowd chanted along for him. He cleared the ring of all three opponents. Mysterio returned first, and Joe began working him over. He threw Rey out of the ring and turned his attention to Truth second, followed by Andrade. Joe hit a suicide dive through the middle rope on Andrade and Phillips remarked that there may not be another athlete on the planet quite like Samoa Joe. Joe continued toe systematically dominate each of his three opponents at ringside for several moments. Eventually, while trying to sail Mysterio over the barrier, R-Truth dropkicked Joe from behind. Another commercial break followed.
Returning from commercial, Andrade was engaged in a series of suplexes on Mysterio. R-Truth was downed in the corner and Joe was off camera, outside the ring. Andrade attempted to superplex Rey from the top, but Truth broke up the attempt. Joe returned, and Mysterio leaped over Truth and Andrade to connect with a cross body on Joe. Andrade hit an impressive springboard dropkicks on Samoa Joe before delivering a hard powerbomb to Rey Mysterio. Joe broke up a pinball attempt by Andrade on Mysterio. The pace quickened asTruth returned to the fray and delivered shots to each of his three opponents. Truth hit a double Five-Knuckle Shuffle on Joe and Mysterio (but only connected with Joe.) Shortly after, Joe steadied himself and locked in the Coquina Clutch on R-Truth.
As Truth began to fade, Mysterio connected with the 619 on Joe. Truth immediately rolled up Mysterio for a near fall. After a baseball slide splash to the outside from Mysterio, the crowd picked up a “This is Awesome!” chant. Behind the referee’s back, Zelina Vega hit a Hurricanrana on a recovering R-Truth at ringside. Todd Phillips yelled “no disqualifications!” even though the referee didn’t see it. Carmella retaliated with a swift kick to Zelina, taking her out. Mysterio set up Andrade for the 619 and connected, following it up with a splash from the top rope. After a one count, Samoa Joe broke up the cover with a senton splash. He lifted Andrade and slammed him with his modified Uranage for the win. The crowd erupted at the title change, and immediately broke into “JOE!” chants. Corey Graves noted that the path has been painful, but Joe has finally captured his first title in WWE.
WINNER: Samoa Joe to capture the U.S. Title
(LeClair’s Analysis: Chaotic match, as most Fatal Four-Ways tend to be. It was fun, though, with a lot of nice spots that made Samoa Joe look like a real killer, credible threat. It should come as no surprise, given my comment earlier, that I’m pleased with the title change, and happy to see Joe finally get some gold. He desperately needed to be rebuilt, and this should help him, and the U.S. Title.)
-Becky Lynch is seen walking backstage. Back at the commentator’s table, Todd Phillips throws to a pre-recorded message from The New Day, sent from Mumbai, where the trio are on a promotional tour. Kofi, Big E, and Xavier announce that they’ll be at Fastlane. Byron says it’s suspect that Kofi Kingston was sent a promotional tour following his removal from the WWE Title Match at Fastlane. Graves dismisses him as a conspiracy theorist.
-Aleister Black headed to the ring for tag team action following the break.
-Back from commercial, Kayla Braxton is standing with new United States Champion, Samoa Joe. Kayla said that, over the last few months, Joe’s peers have questioned whether or not he could win the big one. Joe said those weren’t accusations, they were unanswered prayers. He said the other wrestlers fear what he’ll do to keep gold. Joe stated that he won’t do dance breaks, and won’t pander. Joe mentioned that unlike Truth’s obsession with Cena and his hustle, loyalty, and respect, his opponents will only find disrespect.
(LeClair’s Analysis: This is Samoa Joe at his best, already lending credence to what I suggested immediately following the match. In mere moments, Joe expressed a desire to hold onto the title and prove its worth. I took particular note of his mention of John Cena. That’s a Wrestlemania program I would gladly welcome.)
-Back at ringside, during Ricochet’s entrance, Todd Phillips announced that Sunday at Fastlane, the team of Ricochet and Black will have another opportunity at the Raw Tag Team titles against The Revival, and Bobby Roode & Chad Gable.
-Sheamus and Cesaro wished Ricochet and Black good luck in their tag team title match at Fastlane, but said that, like the other teams on Raw, they don’t measure up to the Bar.
(3) ALEISTER BLACK & RICOCHET vs. THE BAR (Cesaro & Sheamus)
Ricochet and Sheamus started things off. Ricochet took control with his speed, but was quickly overcome by the power of Sheamus. After a shot from Cesaro sent Ricochet to the outside, Todd Phillips threw to break and we got picture-in-picture action. On the small screen, Cesaro beat down Ricochet at ringside before bringing him back in the ring. He traded cut-off tags with Sheamus. Back to full screen, Cesaro had Ricochet grounded as the crowd tried to will him on. Ricochet eventually hit a slingshot DDT out of the corner, allowing him to make a tag to Aleister Black. Cesaro tagged Sheamus at the same time, and Black built momentum with a number of kicks and takedowns. After regaining control, Sheamus and Cesaro isolated Black on their side of the ring. Black hit a surprise Black Mass on Cesaro and was tagged out by Ricochet as Sheamus clotheslined him over the top rope. Ricochet immediately hit the 630 on Cesaro for a pinball win.
WINNERS: Aleister Black & Ricochet
Post-match, Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura attacked Ricochet and Black from behind. Sheamus and Cesaro joined in on the chaos. Before long, the Hardy Boyz music hit and Matt and Jeff rushed to the ring to save Black and Ricochet. The four took out the heels and stood tall in the ring.
(LeClair’s Analysis: I’m not huge on the teaming of Black and Ricochet. I just think both have so much to offer as single’s competitors that it undersells them a bit to have them continue teaming on the main roster. With that being said, their in-ring work has been incredibly impressive and now that they’re in some friendlier markets, they’re getting favorable reactions. The match itself was relatively uneventful, and primarily used as a driver to get to the post-match angle. Having the Hardys back helps the tag division, even if their return felt a little out of left field last week.)
-The commentators narrated a recap of the opening segment’s events, setting up the Owens vs. Rowan match for later tonight. Daniel Bryan was shown backstage getting Rowan pumped up.
-Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville headed to the ring before a commercial break.
-Out of the commercial, social media praise for Torrie Wilson’s Hall of Fame Induction announcement was shown. Corey Graves asked when Mandy Rose was going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
(4) MANDY ROSE (w/Sonya Deville) vs. NAOMI
As the bell rang, Graves said that Naomi seemed “hell bent on directing traffic outside the arena.” She was wearing a bright yellow jumpsuit. After a quick distraction from Sonya, Mandy kneed Naomi in the face and connected with the Double Underhook Facebuster finisher for the win in mere seconds.
WINNER: Mandy Rose
Post-match, Mandy and Sonya celebrated up the entrance way. Asuka snuck up behind Mandy Rose and took out both women. Her music played the segment out. The commentators previewed the Becky Lynch/Charlotte confrontation, and the Kevin Owens/Rowan match.
(LeClair’s Analysis: Nothing match, but it’s probably better that way. This seemed like the first time we’ve seen Asuka in weeks, which is a shame. I don’t have high expectations for the title match on Sunday.)
-Backstage, Kayla Braxton welcomed AJ Styles. She wanted to know what AJ would do in KO’s shoes. Styles said Kofi was robbed, but that KO was put in a lose-lose situation. He blamed the McMahon family for not listening to the fans. Randy Orton entered the frame and chastized Styles for intimating anyone else deserves a title opportunity. He said he understand why it took Styles 15 years to get to WWE.
-Kevin Owens headed to the ring for his match with Rowan prior to a commercial break.
-Back from the break, Rey Mysterio vs. Andrade is announced for the Fastlane kickoff show.
(5) KEVIN OWENS vs. ROWAN
Daniel Bryan sat in on commentary and pondered what Kevin Owens has done to earn a title opportunity. Rowan dominated the early moments of the match. Owens rolled to the outside and Bryan repeatedly called him a “lazy coward.” Owens attacked Bryan at ringside, which allowed Rowan to take control. Bryan mounted KO and delivered a series of punches, which led the referee to call for the bell. Bryan instructed Rowan to deconstruct the table. Mustafa Ali’s music hit, and he rushed to the ring, taking out Bryan and turning his attention to Rowan. While trying to topple Erick, Bryan recovered and hit a big knee on Ali on the outside. By this time, Owens had recovered. He hit a Stunner on Bryan in the ring and sent Bryan and Rowan packing up the ramp.
WINNER: Kevin Owens by Disqualification
(LeClair’s Analysis: Like most of the matches tonight, not much to this one. The segment worked to further the heat on Bryan and Rowan and build sympathy on Owens. The crowd clearly wanted Kofi to make the save, and so the reaction to Ali was respectful at best. Even with this match just being made last week, I think they’ve done a commendable job building interest between Owens and Bryan.)
-Charlotte was shown backstage, walking toward the ring as they headed into the final commercial break of the night.
-Charlotte Flair headed to the ring as Graves remarked that her road to Wrestlemania is “paved with gold bricks.” Byron explained the stipulation for Sunday’s match between Flair and Lynch. Graves questioned whether or not Lynch could even compete. In the ring, Flair pointed to the tron. A video package recapping last night’s beatdown on Becky aired. Charlotte mocked the crowd’s “Becky” chant (which they picked up) in order to get Becky to the ring. Becky sauntered slowly to the ring as the commentators debated the intelligence of Becky’s decisions to this point. Becky said that it was good to back. She said she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t hurting a little, but that it’s worth if it means she’ll be in Charlotte and Ronda’s heads. She said last night, Ronda hit her with her absolute best, and she’s still here, ready to fight again. Lynch said she’s owned Charlotte for months. The crowd broke into another “Becky” chant. Becky said that, though she’s damaged, that means she’s at her most dangerous. Charlotte threw her jacket at Becky and slammed her to the mat. She began to work over Becky’s injured knee. Flair prodded Lynch repeatedly with Becky’s brunch, but Becky grabbed it and began hitting Charlotte with it. Becky was then able to pull Charlotte in and lock on the Disarm-her. The crowd booed as referees rushed the ring to pull Becky off of Charlotte. Another, admittedly weaker Becky chant broke out as Charlotte escaped the ring and Becky continued to taunt her opponent.
-The announcers ran down the top matches on the Fastlane card as Lynch and Flair stared each other down and the show went off the air.
(LeClair’s Analysis: A fair segment, but nothing particularly exciting and there doesn’t feel like there’s a lot left to say between these two. I felt like last night’s segment and the head-scratching progression of stipulations has lead to this angle cooling off significantly, and I don’t think tonight did anything to heat it back up, though I don’t think any further damage was done. Sunday’s match should be interesting, given how hard they’ve sold Becky’s knee injury. It’s hard to mention it not being the focal point of the contest, and that will limit some of what these two are usually capable of doing.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: This was an angle-heavy go-home show, and that’s sort of what it needed to be. The turn around between Elimination Chamber was so quick that most of these matches needed some extra punch and it felt like they did what they could to give it to most of them. The U.S. Title match, and Samoa Joe’s subsequent win, were undoubtedly the highlights.
RECOMMENDED: TOP 3 DEVELOPMENTS – SMACKDOWN 3/5: KO the Regular Guy, Joe the US Champ, Charlotte Calls Out Becky
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