Smackdown Live Review (19th of February)
We’re on the road to WWE Fastlane and Smackdown has heated things up a bit! This show was held in New Orleans, Louisiana and this crowd was for sure better than the Lafayette, IN crowd on RAW. The matches on this show geared up for some interesting Smackdown matches that’ll take place at Fastlane. This was also the second night that we saw NXT stars Aleister Black, Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, and Ricochet!
Show begins with Shane McMahon addressing the title loss he suffered with The Miz at the Elimination Chamber PPV and Miz apologizing for losing for their team. Miz then opens up the idea of a rematch for the tag titles and was interrupted by the new tag champs, The Usos. They were against the idea, then suddenly Shane takes up Miz’s idea for a rematch and announces the match for Fastlane. The Usos will defend their Smackdown Tag Team Championships against Shane and Miz in an official rematch.
Show begins with Shane McMahon addressing the title loss he suffered with The Miz at the Elimination Chamber PPV and Miz apologizing for losing for their team. Miz then opens up the idea of a rematch for the tag titles and was interrupted by the new tag champs, The Usos. They were against the idea, then suddenly Shane takes up Miz’s idea for a rematch and announces the match for Fastlane. The Usos will defend their Smackdown Tag Team Championships against Shane and Miz in an official rematch.
Aleister Black Vs. Andrade
The crowd here actually reacted to Black’s entrance and that was cool to hear! This match was the main event of last year’s NXT Takeover: New Orleans and to see this again one year later was pretty cool. Good back and forth action between the two and match ends with Aleister delivering the Black Mass to Almas. Aleister Black picks up the win in impressive fashion.
Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano Vs. The Bar
This was a pretty good tag team match. I love seeing Ciampa and Gargano team up again and facing The Bar made this a better match. This was just as good as their tag match against The Revival on RAW and match ended with Ciampa rolling Cesaro up for the pin. Ciampa and Gargano pick up the win.
Asuka returns to television since the Royal Rumble, where she TAPPED OUT Becky Lynch. I feel so bad for her because of everything that’s going on with the RAW Women’s Championship picture, she’s lost in the damn shuffle. She legit has not been seen on TV since the Rumble event and made her comeback on this show. She’s looking for a new challenger and Mandy Rose stepped up to the plate.
Asuka returns to television since the Royal Rumble, where she TAPPED OUT Becky Lynch. I feel so bad for her because of everything that’s going on with the RAW Women’s Championship picture, she’s lost in the damn shuffle. She legit has not been seen on TV since the Rumble event and made her comeback on this show. She’s looking for a new challenger and Mandy Rose stepped up to the plate.
Asuka Vs. Mandy Rose
This match was fine as it was an opportunity for Mandy to prove if she can be a contender for the Women’s championship. During this match for some reason, Lacy Evans walks out and then walks to the back. Okay I guess. Match ends with Mandy Rose rolling up Asuka and picking up the win! Mandy Rose defeated Asuka and I’m sure this sets up a title match for Fastlane I assume.
Ricochet Vs. Eric Young
First of all, WHERE HAS SAnitY BEEN?! These guys were a great act on NXT and then once they came to the main roster, they’re barley used at all on TV. It’s just sad for real. Anyway this was another great showcase for Ricochet and he delivers the 630 splash to pick up the win here. I can’t wait to see this man kill it on the main roster.
AJ Styles, Kofi Kingston & Jeff Hardy Vs. Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe & Randy Orton
The momentum Kofi has behind him is going strong as he’s the favorite in this match. Pretty good action in this 6 man tag match and match ends with Kofi yet again pinning Daniel Bryan after hitting him with the Trouble in Paradise.
After this match, Shane McMahon comes out and announces that Daniel Bryan will defend his WWE Championship against Kofi Kingston at Fastlane! Crowd goes nuts for this and Kofi finally has a one on one championship match that he’s always deserved. This show overall was good and I can’t wait to see the WWE Championship match as I feel Kofi and Bryan could have a match of the year caliber, maybe with Kofi winning the WWE Championship before Wrestlemania?
Show Rating: 8.5/10
After this match, Shane McMahon comes out and announces that Daniel Bryan will defend his WWE Championship against Kofi Kingston at Fastlane! Crowd goes nuts for this and Kofi finally has a one on one championship match that he’s always deserved. This show overall was good and I can’t wait to see the WWE Championship match as I feel Kofi and Bryan could have a match of the year caliber, maybe with Kofi winning the WWE Championship before Wrestlemania?
Show Rating: 8.5/10
