WWE SMACKDOWN HITS & MISSES 3/12: Main event MVP Daniel Bryan, a lost Edge, and identity crisis for Rollins

Hits

Main Event MVP
Daniel Bryan continues to be the most interesting element of the WrestleMania main event. The problem? He’s not in the WrestleMania main event. That might be up for debate, though, after watching this week’s program. The updated main event graphic looks just too good with him added to the overall image and Edge came across looking more like an interloper than the deserving challenger. Bryan’s ability to jar a genuine reaction out of Reigns during the contract signing stands in great contrast to the unnatural ones brought on by Edge. Bryan is performing with the confidence of a man with a rocket on his back. Is it headed to a WrestleMania main event or out of WWE all together? That remains to be seen.

Opposites Attract
I admit it. I loved the segments with Nia Jax and Reginald (and Shayna Baszler in a supporting role). This brought to mind the unexpected brilliant chemistry between Eddie Guerrero and Chyna back in 2000 and while I don’t expect this to be a main event act in the making, it was great to see Nia’s comedy come across at such a high level. The performers were having fun, but not to a damaging degree. The women’s division remains a bit of a mess, but Reginald is a much better fit with the tag team champions than the Women’s Championship storyline. Hopefully this is the start of a full pivot in that direction after Fastlane.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Jey Uso’s performance backstage with Edge tonight was a wonderful (and needed) reminder of his tremendous acting that carried Smackdown through the fall months. There doesn’t seem to be another run at the very top around the corner for Uso, but when he snaps – and he will snap – it will be a moment to rival Batista leaving Evolution.

Cautiously Optimistic
I’m glad Big E got serious. I think it overall will serve both him and his opponents well. Perhaps the rising tide of Apollo Crews has also lit a fire under Big E to not get left behind, but there’s a difference between being serious and main event. It’s time to shed the cartoonish elements of both characters and define the wrestlers as tough championship fighters. This feels like it could go the way of Ahmed Johnson and Faarooq quickly if not managed correctly.

Misses

Lost Edge
Edge put up an effort to counter the damning Daniel Bryan promo of last week, but are we really supposed to think that when Edge was on top, Bryan was relaxing for six days a week? Something about Edge doesn’t connect here and he looks more like an annoying neighbor interrupting everyone than a genuine threat or legacy challenger. Edge has not given the audience anything for which is worth rooting and the check is coming due as we get dangerously close to WrestleMania with Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns carrying the weight of the load to get there.

Forgotten History
You would never know by watching this week’s Smackdown that we are on the verge of witnessing the first ever WrestleMania women’s championship match featuring two Black athletes. Why? Because apparently, a suddenly demoted Kevin Owens, a comedy leaning Jax, Baszler, and Reginald, and a useless pairing of Tamina and Natalya were all thrust into the storyline creating a bonafide mess. Things seemed so promising at the start, but post-Fastlane, WWE needs to stop the nonsense and focus on what they have – two immensely athletic, confident stars hungry for a championship. It’s time to mute the rest of the noise.

Nothing Really Matters
Did it even matter that Otis was teaming up with Dolph Ziggler after their WrestleMania feud last year? Has WWE beaten us all into submission that this kind of logic just doesn’t even matter anymore? The good news is consistent in that the quality of the Smackdown mid-card typically leads to good, if forgettable, action that carries the middle of the show. It’s also great that Dominik continues to grow and that the heel tag champions have found a decent chemistry. With that said, none of it means anything since apparently at this position in the card, nothing really matters. That not only hurts the show, but it especially hurts the wrestlers who are defined down when every bit of their history is freely thrown out the window for no good reason.

Identity Crisis
The sage of Seth Rollins makes me sad. Could anyone have predicted just how disconnected and just plain cheap he would come across in his return? Probably not, but we are there. Cesaro doesn’t have the mic skills to carry the burden of raising the program between he and Rollins to the level it needs to be and it appears that Rollins is just as much in an identity crises as the people who write for him. Why is he wearing a turtle neck in March….in Florida? That clearly isn’t a big deal, but it doesn’t exactly scream main event act either and that’s the problem. Rollins deserves better – from the writing team and himself.

NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S SMACKDOWN HITS & MISSES: WWE SMACKDOWN HITS & MISSES 3/5: Too much of a great thing with Daniel Bryan, Apollo’s creed, best of Big E, more