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From Apollo Crews' intense promo to a Steel Cage main event, this week's edition of WWE SmackDown featured many contrasting moments.
This particular episode was an engaging ride from start-to-finish. Aside from a few booking grievances, the major storyline with Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan made this a memorable show. Two matches for Fastlane have been booked at this stage, and both matches were addressed during this episode.
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 5, 2021).
#5 Sami Zayn couldn't recognize a member of his own documentary crew on WWE SmackDown
Conspiracy theories have created widespread paranoia throughout history, and Sami Zayn perfectly represents that demographic on WWE SmackDown.
This week, King Corbin and Zayn were scheduled to fight The Street Profits in a tag team rematch. However, plans changed when Corbin didn't look forward to teaming up with The Great Liberator. Instead, WWE fans witnessed two sets of back-to-back singles matches:
- King Corbin vs. Montez Ford.
- Sami Zayn vs. Angelo Dawkins.
In the first bout, Corbin successfully defeated Ford with Zayn at ringside. However, Zayn was abandoned by Corbin when it came to the second bout due to a miscommunication.
Towards the end of Zayn vs. Dawkins, The Great Liberator got distracted when Ford cut a promo in front of his documentary crew. As a result, Dawkins capitalized on the distraction and picked up a victory over Zayn.
Of course, Zayn could have avoided the aforementioned distraction if he realized that some documentary scenes can be edited out in post-production.
After the match, Zayn's paranoia got out of hand. WWE's resident conspiracy theorist couldn't recognize a man from his own documentary crew. Zayn took out his frustrations on the poor bystander by attacking him.
The only person who lost in this whole scenario was Zayn. Corbin picked up a victory earlier, and at least one member of The Street Profits emerged victorious as well.
Can Sami Zayn find a way to redeem himself on the Road to WrestleMania 37?
#4 Apollo Crews was accompanied by two Nigerian elite guards on WWE SmackDown
Apollo Crews' Nigerian side emerged faster on WWE television than all those years it took for him to break out as a great promo personality.
Not only did he carry a spear with him, but Crews was also accompanied by two Nigerian elite guards this week. The two guards were portrayed by NXT Superstars named Denzel Dejournette and Matrick Belton.
He cut a promo about the "real" Apollo Crews in a Nigerian accent from start-to-finish. Crews talked about how his friends used to mock his ancestry for years. Now that Crews has fully embraced his heritage, he is no longer trying to fit in and make amends in WWE. He demanded another match against Big E for the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
Nobody could have seen this drastic change coming at the beginning of 2021. Apollo Crews has never seemed more confident than now in playing a character on WWE television.
A lot of people forget that the Intercontinental Championship allows the titleholder to represent his entire continent. WWE doesn't highlight this aspect of the title too often nowadays. But if Crews becomes the next Intercontinental Champion, he will most likely embrace the roots of what the belt meant in the first place.
Regardless of who emerges as the winner between Big E and Apollo Crews, this feud has become one of the most important storylines in the current landscape of WWE.
#3 Murphy wanted to become Seth Rollins' disciple in WWE once again
Murphy re-emerged on WWE television this week without the presence of Aalyah Mysterio by his side.
Instead, Murphy appeared to re-kindle his disciple/messiah relationship with Seth Rollins on WWE SmackDown. Murphy assisted in helping out Rollins with the Cesaro problem. However, Rollins wasn't too keen on reuniting with his former disciple.
Later in the ring, Murphy faced Cesaro in a one-on-one match while Rollins was on commentary. Towards the end of the match, Cesaro mocked Rollins by executing a Cesaro Swing on Murphy in front of the self-proclaimed messiah. The Swiss Superman locked in the Sharpshooter on Murphy, as his opponent had no choice but to tap out.
So what happened to Murphy and Aalyah Mysterio's on-screen relationship? Unless WWE acknowledges that the two lovebirds broke up, it looks like the Mysterio-Murphy angle has been scrapped and retconned on WWE television.
Despite a long-term buildup, here is what the key players from the Mysterio family, Murphy, and Seth Rollins' saga are doing right now:
- Aalyah Mysterio and her mother aren't recurring onscreen characters anymore.
- Rey and Dominik Mysterio's equation has been the same as ever.
- Seth Rollins teased a character change, only to re-establish the messiah gimmick during his recent return.
- Murphy's character development as a babyface has been scrapped. He wants to become Rollins' disciple once again.
To summarize, there were no long-lasting plot developments from a feud that spanned several months last year.
On a positive note, Cesaro's gradual rise to the top in his feud against Rollins is something to look forward to on WWE SmackDown.
#2 WWE RAW's Nia Jax has planned something for Carmella's former sommelier — Reginald
Poor Reginald was dumped on by key members of the WWE SmackDown women's division this week.
During a backstage segment, Carmella fired Reginald as her sommelier in a humiliating fashion.
Later in the night, Bianca Belair faced WWE RAW's Shayna Baszler on this week's SmackDown. Sasha Banks came out to be in Belair's corner, while Nia Jax was present at ringside to support Baszler. Reginald entered the frame as well, mostly because of his alleged infatuation with Banks.
Although Belair emerged victorious over Baszler, Reginald's presence resulted in some shenanigans outside the ring. Post-match, The Legit Boss slapped Reginald and told him to stay out of her business.
Later backstage, Reginald tried to talk to Banks, but the poor man was once again rejected. Just when people thought Reginald's fate was sealed on the main roster, Jax encountered Reginald and implied that she had something in store for him.
Nia Jax thought that Reginald was "kinda cute". He could also be "kinda" effective when the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions will face Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair at Fastlane.
#1 Daniel Bryan vs. Roman Reigns will go down at WWE Fastlane 2021
Daniel Bryan cut one of the best promos of his WWE career to kick-off this week's SmackDown.
Bryan talked about how he had put himself on the back burner in recent memory. The leader of the "YES Movement" has created several opportunities for underutilized WWE Superstars, despite his own ambitions. But this time, Bryan wanted to motivate himself to get back into the spotlight.
Roman Reigns entered the frame and disagreed with everything that Bryan said on the microphone. Reigns created the narrative that Bryan needed the wrestling business, while the wrestling business needed The Tribal Chief. As a whole, it was a memorable back-and-forth segment between the two stars.
The opening segment perfectly set up the main event, where Bryan faced Jey Uso in a Steel Cage match. Reigns sat near ringside with Paul Heyman by his side, as the match went on.
At the end of their battle, Bryan was able to conquer Uso. The latter couldn't live up to his promise to The Tribal Chief, and one has to wonder if there will be consequences for him in the future.
As per the stipulation of the Steel Cage contest, Bryan will now face Reigns for the Universal Championship at WWE Fastlane.
Edge displayed a hint of insecurity upon Bryan's involvement in the Universal title picture last week. It would be interesting to see what The Rated-R Superstar has to say about the whole situation, now that Bryan has a confirmed shot at the Universal Championship.
Do catch Rick Ucchino and Sid Pullar III (SP3) on 'Smack Talk' in the video linked above, as they share their thoughts on all that went down during last night's WWE SmackDown.
