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From a significant change in the Universal Championship WrestleMania match to a brawl between former friends, this week's edition of WWE SmackDown featured many contrasting moments.
WrestleMania 37 is less than 16 days away, and the latest episode of SmackDown was an engaging show, for the most part. While the show wasn't perfect from start-to-finish, it led to some big developments for WrestleMania. In addition to an important title match, two non-title showdowns were made official for The Show of Shows.
Which show was better this week, RAW or SmackDown? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Here are the five biggest news stories from this week's episode of WWE SmackDown (March 26, 2021).
#5 Apollo Crews set up a WWE WrestleMania 37 clash against Big E
Apollo Crews and Big E's feud continued in a six-man tag team match scenario during this week's WWE SmackDown. The Street Profits (Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins) teamed up with Big E to face The Alpha Academy (Otis and Chad Gable) and Apollo Crews.
The match itself felt like a standard way to combine two separate storylines in one big melee, which is just one of many WWE tropes that do not lead to any outstanding plot developments in most cases. As a result, the match itself was fine in terms of quality.
The heels picked up the victory when Crews slammed Big E for a successful pinfall attempt. This outcome shifted the momentum in Crews' favor ahead of his upcoming Intercontinental Championship match against Big E. Their WrestleMania clash was made official during the episode.
On a positive note, Apollo Crews and Big E's feud has been quite enjoyable, so their WrestleMania showdown should be an intense back-and-forth bout.
Meanwhile, The Street Profits and The Alpha Academy could settle their beef in a multi-team SmackDown Tag Team Championship match at WrestleMania. This week, Rey Mysterio picked up a victory over the current SmackDown Tag Team Champion, Dolph Ziggler.
Perhaps Rey and Dominik Mysterio could also be included in the potential multi-team melee at The Show of Shows, along with the champions, Ziggler and Robert Roode.
Another option would be to book just these two teams in a SmackDown Tag Team Championship match at WrestleMania, which will leave out The Street Profits and Alpha Academy.
#4 Sasha Banks expressed her heelish tendencies during WWE SmackDown
Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair finally moved away from the tag team melodrama on WWE SmackDown. Belair went head-to-head against Natalya during this week's episode.
Banks came out at one point, which distracted Belair from the match at hand. The initial shenanigans between Banks and Belair seemed like standard tropes that have no place in their feud at this stage. The SmackDown Women's Champion sat in on commentary for this match, and her attitude made it clear that she will be the heel to Belair's babyface character.
Towards the end of the bout, however, Belair retaliated against her WrestleMania opponent when she slapped Banks outside the ring. She then went inside to successfully pin Natalya. After the match, Banks entered the ring to hit Belair with a backstabber in retaliation.
The increased focus on their one-on-one rivalry is an appreciable development. Let's hope that WWE can go all-in on the animosity between the two stars before WrestleMania. Regardless of what happens next, Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair will most likely be an excellent match at The Show of Shows.
#3 Seth Rollins endured 11 swings before his WWE WrestleMania 37 match became official
Seth Rollins faced Shinsuke Nakamura in a Fastlane rematch during this week's WWE SmackDown. Both men have good in-ring chemistry with each other, which is why their SmackDown clash was an engaging battle.
As much as WWE fans want Nakamura to be pushed as a top star, it is now evident that he is a secondary player in Rollins' overarching feud with Cesaro. The Messiah defeated Nakamura in their rematch, after which Rollins beat down his opponent.
To break up this one-sided attack, Cesaro arrived at the scene and retaliated against Rollins. He even attempted to swing the latter in the ring. While Rollins avoided his immediate fate, his bad karma would eventually come full-circle.
Later backstage, an enraged Rollins challenged Cesaro to a match at WWE WrestleMania 37. Cesaro accepted the match, but only after he swung The Messiah 11 times.
Cesaro's singles push has just begun, and his non-title WrestleMania match against Seth Rollins is proof that things are currently moving in the right direction for him.
#2 Will Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn's WWE WrestleMania 37 match feature a celebrity?
During this week's WWE SmackDown, Kevin Owens hosted The KO Show, which led to a major development for the Blue brand and WrestleMania 37.
Owens had one question for Sami Zayn, and the latter dragged out the segment to avoid the inevitable. Zayn recently engaged in a Twitter exchange with YouTube sensation and boxing star Logan Paul. Apparently, the celebrity believes that there might be a conspiracy against Zayn in WWE.
As a result, Paul will join Zayn for the red carpet premiere of the trailer for his conspiracy documentary next week.
Meanwhile, Kevin Owens had a different agenda in mind as he bullied Sami Zayn into accepting a WrestleMania match against him. After Zayn had no choice but to accept the challenge, the two former friends brawled against each other to end the segment.
Will Logan Paul's appearance in next week's episode lead to his involvement at WrestleMania 37? Perhaps that could be SmackDown's equivalent of Bad Bunny's involvement on WWE RAW.
Whether or not people are excited about the YouTube sensation's arrival in WWE, Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens promises to be an excellent clash at The Show of Shows. It will be interesting to find out whose side Logan Paul will take in this feud.
#1 Edge snapped on WWE SmackDown and confirmed his turn to the dark side
The WWE Universal Championship scenario at WrestleMania 37 is no longer a singles match between Roman Reigns and Edge.
During this week's WWE SmackDown, Daniel Bryan opened the show and made the case for his involvement in the Universal Championship picture. Edge became even more furious every time Bryan pitched himself as the future Universal Champion. As Edge accused Bryan of manipulating the system, he left the latter in the ring with a Spear and a chair shot.
Adam Pearce was tasked with modifying Roman Reigns and Edge's WrestleMania match to satisfy all parties. Reigns did not wish to fight twice over this year's WrestleMania weekend. Bryan wanted to face the winner of Edge vs. Reigns on the second night of The Show of Shows. Meanwhile, Edge wanted Bryan to be removed from the equation altogether.
In the final segment of the night, Pearce revealed his decision — Reigns vs. Edge vs. Bryan for the Universal Championship will take place during WWE WrestleMania 37: Night Two.
The triple threat match decision led to a brawl between all three men. Edge became the last man standing, which is when he finally crossed the line. The Rated-R Superstar brutalized his WrestleMania opponents and set up a con-chair-to. Ironically, this is exactly what a deranged Randy Orton did to him last year.
WWE officials tried to intervene, but Edge attacked them as well. This gave Bryan and Reigns enough time to escape from the ring.
Edge brought back his iconic heel-like stare towards the camera, which seemingly confirmed that he is no longer a traditional babyface.
This triple threat match has a lot of momentum behind it, and it will be intriguing to see exactly how this storyline will proceed in the two SmackDown episodes left to air before WrestleMania.
Do catch Jeremy Bennett and Sid Pullar III (SP3) on 'Smack Talk' in the video linked above, as they share their thoughts on all that went down during this week's WWE SmackDown.
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