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WWE Elimination Chamber is less than two days away and SmackDown looked to build up some matches for the event this week. While it looked like Apollo Crews would get a shot at Big E’s Intercontinental Championship at Elimination Chamber, chances look slim after what went down on SmackDown.
Roman Reigns came face-to-face once again with Edge, while The Rated-R Superstar helped hype up the Elimination Chamber match for Sunday. However, WWE seems to have given too much away on SmackDown this week, and it’ll be interesting if fans get to witness a swerve on Sunday.
Sasha Banks, Bianca Belair, and Reginald teamed up to defeat Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler, and Bayley in an impromptu match. Banks and Belair will get a shot at the WWE Women’s Championships on Sunday following their victory.
Seth Rollins addressed the WWE Universe again and hinted towards who he’ll be targeting on SmackDown in the weeks to come. Tamina and Natalya teamed up to score a victory over The Riott Squad on this week’s show.
With so much happening on the episode, let’s take a look at the five things WWE SmackDown got right before Elimination Chamber.
#5 Edge showed up on WWE SmackDown
Instead of Roman Reigns, 2021 Royal Rumble winner Edge opened this week’s WWE SmackDown. WWE decided to build towards WrestleMania before getting done with Elimination Chamber first.
The Rated-R Superstar spoke about his future at WrestleMania 37 and who he’d chose to take on at The Show of Shows. Before Edge could go any further, Reigns arrived to interrupt the former WWE Champion.
Reigns made it clear that he was the main event, and that he deserved to be the main event at WrestleMania. Edge and Reigns got in each other’s faces before Sami Zayn appeared to continue filming his documentary.
Zayn refused to be disrespected before he was shut up by Jey Uso with a Superkick. The Tribal Chief then whispered something in Edge’s ear before walking away.
The segment was solid and helped build towards a potential big match at WrestleMania. However, is WWE giving away too much too soon?
Backstage, Edge caught up with Kevin Owens and showed his respect for The Prizefighter.
Edge put over Cesaro backstage on SmackDown and also came face-to-face with Daniel Bryan to give fans some hope of a dream match between the two men. SmackDown opened with some strong segments this week.
#4 Apollo Crews snapped on WWE SmackDown
Apollo Crews got a match against Shinsuke Nakamura this week on WWE SmackDown after interfering in his match against Big E last week. Big E joined the commentary team and complained about Crews demanding another shot at his Intercontinental Championship.
Crews showed his aggression early on and threw Nakamura into Big E outside the ring. This almost set off the Intercontinental Champion who calmed his nerves and did not attack Crews.
Shinsuke Nakamura and Apollo Crews traded some blows before Nakamura managed to get the better of the former United States Champion. He rolled up Crews to pick up a quick victory over the heel.
After the match, Crews lost his cool and attacked The Artist. Big E got in the way and took a beating from Crews. The heel followed it up with an attack on the Intercontinental Champion with the steel steps, and left him in a heap before walking out.
The Intercontinental Champion had to be stretchered out of the ring. SmackDown creatives have done well to build Crews and turn him into a convincing heel. Crews looked strong even though he was defeated, and WWE could book a match for him against Big E as early as at Elimination Chamber.
#3 Seth Rollins continued to target Cesaro on WWE SmackDown
Seth Rollins arrived on WWE SmackDown just when Big E was being stretchered out of the arena. The Messiah sympathized with the Intercontinental Champion and told him that he felt his pain and betrayal.
Rollins then addressed the WWE Universe and asked them to accept his vision. The Messiah was unhappy that his return to SmackDown was ruined last week. Rollins then turned his attention to Cesaro and warned him that he would feel the wrath of The Messiah every time he competed in the ring.
Rollins has always been good on the mic and he did well to deliver another good promo. SmackDown seems to be building towards a big rivalry between Cesaro and Rollins, and this could end up helping both men.
Since Rollins feels like he was robbed early on in his return, he could cost Cesaro the Elimination Chamber match on Sunday or the Universal Championship match. The angle would help their storyline grow and give The Swiss Superman a chance to not lose value on Sunday.
#2 Otis and Chad Gable push ahead on WWE SmackDown
Otis and Chad Gable took on Rey and Dominik Mysterio in a tag team match on WWE SmackDown. It looked like the two teams would engage in some friendly offense as both are playing babyface characters.
However, Otis snapped during the match and attacked Rey Mysterio continuously. The referee called for the bell and disqualified Otis and Gable.
Gable continued to encourage the aggression and Otis delivered a splash from the middle rope on Rey Mysterio while Dominik Mysterio was out of the ring.
After the dust settled, Dominik Mysterio had to help his father to the back. Otis had been a top babyface on SmackDown for some time and had a good build as part of Heavy Machinery with Tucker.
However, breaking up the two men did not make much sense to the WWE Universe. This new-found aggression could help Otis achieve what he couldn’t achieve during the Money in the Bank briefcase run.
Will Gable and Otis continue to push ahead on SmackDown and possibly become the SmackDown Tag Team Champions in the months to come?
#1 Six-man tag team match ended in chaos on WWE SmackDown
The final match on WWE SmackDown before Elimination Chamber was a big one. Kevin Owens, Daniel Bryan, and Cesaro teamed up to compete against King Corbin, Sami Zayn, and Jey Uso in a six-man tag team match.
Before the match, Cesaro and Bryan questioned Owens about his loyalty to ensure that they wouldn’t be betrayed during the contest. Edge joined the commentary team to hype up the big match for Sunday’s Elimination Chamber.
Cesaro was given a chance to show off his power and skills in the match as he swung Zayn and Corbin around for a long time. Uso decided to take Cesaro out of the equation and threw him into the announce table.
Paul Heyman joined the commentary and had a great exchange with Edge while the match went on. KO and Bryan took out the heels together before Zayn tried to make a comeback into the match.
Zayn hit a Blue Thunder Bomb and climbed to the top rope before Bryan took him down. The Yes Man earned the victory for his team by locking Zayn in the Yes Lock and making him tap out.
After the match, everyone went after each other to gain the upper hand for Elimination Chamber on SmackDown. Edge delivered a Spear to Uso, and The Tribal Chief did the same to Edge to end the night.
The final moments of SmackDown hinted towards the main event of WrestleMania 37. Will Roman Reigns retain on Sunday only to be challenged by The Rated-R Superstar for WrestleMania?
