It finally happened. Randy Orton officially turned himself against his former leader Bray Wyatt in the main event of SmackDown Live.
It was a memorable moment that made the eventual WrestleMania showdown all the more certain. This night of wrestling was slightly on the promo-heavy side, even kicking off with a very long MizTV segment featuring John Cena. None of this was a bad thing, though.
Whatever wrestling that was there was pretty good. Styles vs. Harper, Lynch vs. James in a 2 out of 3 Falls Match and Ziggler vs. Crews in a Chairs Match were pretty much it as far as the actual bell to bell competition went, but they were acceptable offerings.
As for the negatives of the night, there wasn’t an overabundance. This edition of this article series doesn’t have much to offer regarding botches but there were many outrageous moments including yet another Oscars reference and the blaze of glory witnessed as the show went off the air.
Each of the moments were strange in their own right and need to be broken down and dissected – and that’s exactly what I plan to do...
#5 Slight stumble on the mic
The Miz and John Cena opened up SmackDown, engaging in a lengthy MizTV segment. As it could’ve been expected, they knocked this segment out of the park.
The Miz ranted about how Cena had held him back for a decade while Big Match John gave his usual “been here since day one” spiel while adding in that you shouldn’t bring a knife to a gun fight stuff. It was all solid, however, there was one slip up...
The Miz had this very tiny word mix up on the mic. He started saying the word “fact” but decided mid-sentence to say “thing” instead but ended up saying them both as well. Is this a minute thing to point out? Yes, but the show was rather good.
The blue brand doesn’t put out negatives as much as other wrestling shows do.
#4 Obligatory Oscars reference
WWE can’t help themselves. Not only did they parody the botched envelope moment from the Academy Awards with New Day on Raw, they also gave Alexa Bliss an Oscars moment to reference, even if it got no crowd reaction at all.
Alexa Bliss used the name “Emma” to refer to a hypothetically bad question posed to Emma Stone.
While it is a little eye-rolling to see WWE reference the Oscars yet again even after the first attempt bombed, at least Alexa got through these lines without any hiccups. But then again, Alexa never has problems with promos.
#3 No Luke Harper in Mania main event
The story is far from over I’m sure, but this night of SmackDown appears to have effectively closed the door on any chance of Luke Harper getting into the WWE Championship Match at WrestleMania.
A.J. Styles beat him in the middle of the ring after this springboard 450 splash – fair and square.
If the first fall would’ve stuck when Styles pinned Harper but the ref didn’t see his foot on the ropes, there would’ve been far more hope for Luke. But thanks to a match restart by Shane McMahon, a far cleaner finish was given instead.
That’s a shame because Luke Harper fits perfectly into a Triple Threat Match alongside Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton.
#2 Blurring those heel/babyface lines
A quick reminder that Apollo Crews is the babyface in this rivalry and Dolph Ziggler is actually the heel. However, jumping The Showoff from behind as he made his way to the ring is hardly a tactic that a traditional crowd favourite would utilise.
But then again, this entire heel turn for Dolph has been received awkwardly by the crowd. There were times that Ziggler would get cheered for attacking Kalisto with a chair and he has had matches booked in which he’d be on the wrong side of a handicap situation.
Apollo Crews lost this match when he was crotched onto a set up chair - which totally makes sense as a heel move for Dolph. That was at least done right. WWE should be more consistent in how they present these guys.
#1 Straight up arson
Randy Orton won the 2017 Royal Rumble and briefly decided that he didn’t want to face his “master” Bray Wyatt for the WWE Championship. By the end of this episode of SmackDown, The Viper re-inserted himself into the main event at the Grandest Stage of Them All.
Outrageous is the best way to describe this closing segment of the show. There were creepy worms/maggots, talk of the deceased Sister Abigail, and of course a backwoods shack that was burned to the ground.
There’s always been an odd presentation to this rivalry and this segment furthered the pair’s strange story. Somehow, this works for them. It’s different, but in an intriguing way that makes me want to tune in to see what’s next.
Of course, the newly crowned Number 1 Contender A.J. Styles adds yet another layer to the WWE Championship drama. How will he play a factor in all of this? Also, is Luke Harper truly done with his title bid? WWE has my attention, for sure.
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