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SmackDown delivered a good episode to kick off the year last week and followed up on the stories and the actions this week.
One of the most anticipated segments of the week involved The Miz’s former partner and guest this week, John Morrison. Lacey Evans and Sasha Banks were also prepared to settle their rivalry in the squared circle after Banks got in Evans’ daughter’s face a few weeks ago.
Fans were also excited to watch The Usos return to the ring this week, while Strowman built his case to win his first singles title in the company.
While the action was rock solid this week, it was the segment involving Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan that took the cake once again.
In this article, we will look at the 4 things that SmackDown got right on this week’s episode.
#4 Miz & Morrison
While Miz TV has always been less about the guest and more about the host, it was good to watch John Morrison and The Miz in the same ring once again.
Morrison seemed natural upon his return, and his chemistry with Miz clicked almost immediately on the mic. While there were many better ways to set up Morrison’s first appearance on SmackDown after a long time, it did what it had to effectively.
Morrison mentioning ‘The Big Dog’ Roman Reigns right away was a good touch keeping in mind that a feud between Reigns and Morrison could work really well with the WWE Universe.
Later on, Morrison helped Miz pick up the victory against Kofi Kingston by attacking Big E. This effectively set up Morrison’s first in-ring angle on SmackDown and a feud between The New Day and Miz & Morrison could be extremely big!
The entire segment worked well to build on Morrison’s character and give newer fans a taste of what to expect from the returning Superstar in the coming months.
#3 Roode’s return
The Usos were set to make their return to the ring this week after saving their cousin Roman Reigns from King Corbin and Dolph Ziggler last week.
Reigns cut a promo before the match and introduced The Usos, but Jimmy & Jey were interrupted by Corbin and Ziggler.
The four men got into a match where we saw all four share the spotlight with Corbin getting some of the bigger spots. However, The Revival appeared to distract The Usos and also pose a threat to Reigns and his cousins.
During the latter stages of the match, Corbin was in control to pick up the victory which forced Reigns to spear him and end the match in a disqualification. While The Big Dog was gaining momentum, Robert Roode appeared from out of nowhere to plant Reigns.
Roode got some good moments right after returning after a suspension and put an exclamation mark on the entire rivalry.
This is now turning out to be the best non-title rivalry in all of WWE, and with the threat of The Revival lurking, it’ll be interesting to see how Reigns and The Usos fight off this battle.
#2 Lacey Evans’ Championship build-up
While Lacey Evans tried to succeed on RAW several times but failed each time, it seems like SmackDown is the right place for The Sassy Southern Belle.
This week, Evans was set to take on Sasha Banks in a singles match as Evans looked to collect her dues from The Boss. However, after Evans entered the ring, SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley appeared on the screen to inform the audience that her friend and tag partner was in Los Angeles and wouldn't be bothered coming to the show.
This was a good way to cancel a match involving two Superstars who can’t handle a loss at the moment as both are in the rebuilding phase.
Instead, Evans did not like Bayley’s comments regarding her daughter and hunted down the Women’s Champion backstage where the two women brawled before Bayley retreated.
The segment helped build towards a Championship match between Evans and Bayley for the SmackDown Women’s title and built more heat for The Boss who is developing into a great heel character.
It’ll be interesting to see whether Evans will get a title match right away or she’ll be a surprise winner during the Royal Rumble.
#1 Strowman’s first Championship in sight
Braun Strowman has been actively competing in the ring for the company for over four years now but The Monster Among Men hasn’t hoisted even a single major title during that time.
While he’s won Tag Team Championships, the Superstar deserves to win a singles title as soon as possible in order to get over with the WWE Universe once again.
This week, Strowman took on the Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura in a non-title match. Nakamura has held the title for almost six months now but hasn’t defended it even once each month.
The Intercontinental Championship seems to be the perfect start for Strowman who defeated Nakamura this week even though Cesaro and Sami Zayn tried their best to distract him and allow Nakamura to pick up the victory.
Strowman has had many ups and downs in his career and falters each time he’s been given a major Championship match by the creatives. Now that he’s gotten over in the Intercontinental Championship rivalry, he will likely get a Championship match at the Royal Rumble if not earlier.
The company should allow the big man to pick up his first major title before fans lose all interest in him at a time when smaller and more athletic Superstars are slowly beginning to take over.
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