If you tuned into Tuesday night’s SmackDown Live hoping to find out who will be challenging Bray Wyatt for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania, you likely were disappointed.
The show ended with what was supposed to be a tied ending to the much-hyped battle royal, only it wasn’t as close as WWE were hoping for. Luke Harper most definitely did not hit the ground at the same time as A.J. Styles and WWE now has a full week to contemplate how they’re going to fix this mess.
The ending could rightfully be called a botch so it is featured in this round of gifs.
In addition to the wacky main event ending, other moments that are showcased ahead include a Kalisto catch by Dean Ambrose that doesn’t work out like he planned as well as a brief moment of audible congratulations by Natalya, directed towards the woman she’s currently in a heated rivalry with.
SmackDown had some decent moments, but you can find those recaps elsewhere. This article is all about the stuff WWE probably wishes they could take back.
So without further delay, here are 5 of the botchiest and most outrageous moments of the night.
#1 No question, Styles lost
This wasn’t even a close finish. The battle royal to determine Bray Wyatt’s challenger at WrestleMania came down to A.J. Styles and Luke Harper. Luke performed a suplex in which he was practically hugging the apron and executing the move with A.J. going out of the ring.
Considering the nature of this match, the elimination of Styles was made in time to declare Harper the winner. Only that didn’t happen.
The officials and announcers tried to play it off as if both wrestlers’ feet had hit the ground at the exact same time but that was clearly not the case. Styles’ hit the ground well before Harper and it’s so irrefutable that WWE did their best to show as little of the replay footage as possible.
#4 What about Brock?
If you’re a fan of storyline continuity then you were likely screaming a vague mix of obscenities along with Brock Lesnar’s name after Daniel Bryan gave Naomi this heart-wrenching news.
The SmackDown Live Womens’ Champion had to relinquish here title because of injuries she suffered at Elimination Chamber even though there’s a Beast Incarnate-sized loophole in the 30-day defence rule.
This was a sad moment for Naomi, who’s spent so long with the WWE and finally reached a point where her talents are fully appreciated. Let’s hope that she’s still given a proper shot when she finally heals back up.
#3 Good job, Nikki
Of course, wrestlers are going to communicate during their matches, so it’s especially amusing when those quips get caught on camera. Nikki Bella and Natalya had a fun Falls Count Anywhere match throughout the arena when in this particular moment, Nikki had just finished connecting with a roundhouse kick off of the barricade.
She attempted a close near fall cover when these words of encouragement could audibly be heard.
There was a little more banter right after these two words from Nattie but they weren’t as easily heard. It’s nice that these ladies can still encourage each other even when they’re slamming heads through mirrors. They’re an example for us all.
#2 Guess who’s not winning?
Ten men got the chance to compete in a battle royal for a shot at the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. However, before the match had even started, many of the competitors could’ve been ruled out as definitely not having a chance at winning.
John Cena was first to the ring, then the show went to a commercial break. When they came back on the air, Baron Corbin was the next to get a full entrance. By the time he arrived at the ring, Cena was hardly alone. Kalisto, Dolph Ziggler, Apollo Crews, and Mojo Rawley were just kind of hanging out with The Face That Runs The Place.
Sure, nobody was calling for those four guys to win the match and it would’ve been a tad too long if everybody got an entrance but it was made perfectly clear to the TV audience who was the filler in this contest.
#1 Almost caught Kalisto
“Ambrose tried to block it, he did a pretty good job of it!”
That line was uttered by JBL after Dean Ambrose tried to catch Kalisto during the main event battle royal. It appeared that Dean tried to hold on to the Lucha Dragon while standing but then simply lost his footing and collapsed.
At least he just went with it and fell with the momentum. That’s logical enough. Audibles like this should be how mishaps are handled, unlike how things were handled during the ending...
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