'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The final episode of WWE SmackDown before Tables, Ladders, and Chairs (TLC) was expected to be a big one. Since TLC is the final pay-per-view of the year, WWE has worked hard to build some big matches for the event from both RAW and SmackDown.
Kevin Owens is looking to take down The Tribal Chief on Sunday, and he wanted to end things between himself and Roman Reigns earlier as he kicked off this week’s broadcast.
Bianca Belair looked to leave a mark on the brand by taking down the former SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley, while Carmella built towards her big SmackDown Women’s Championship against Sasha Banks.
The Riott Squad returned to the ring to bag a victory on the show, and Sami Zayn managed to win a few awards on SmackDown just before The Slammy Awards. Lastly, Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode tried to take down The Street Profits and win the SmackDown Tag Team titles before TLC.
With so much scheduled for one night, we will look at the 5 things WWE got right during WWE SmackDown this week.
#5 The opening segment of WWE SmackDown
Kevin Owens wasn’t looking to back down on WWE SmackDown and called out Roman Reigns. He demanded that the two men fight right away. Owens claimed that he’d told his family not to watch what he did to Reigns on Sunday. He called The Tribal Chief a poor example for his children.
Instead of Reigns, Paul Heyman appeared on the titantron and balmed KO for putting himself in the line of fire. KO didn’t seem too happy and decided to head to the back to find The Head of the Table himself.
While Adam Pearce tried to calm down Owens backstage, Reigns appeared in the ring and demanded that KO apologize to him. Owens decided to head back out but he was attacked by Jey Uso before he could do much.
While officials managed to save Owens once, Reign’s told his cousin to end things for good. This made Uso go out with a steel chair and attack KO once again while he was heading to the trainer’s room. Uso put KO through a table to end the segment.
This was a fine segment to build up further heat before Sunday’s big match. Reigns is unarguably SmackDown’s biggest villain, and Uso is fitting into his role very well. Owens is the perfect babyface who can sell Reigns’ character both on the mic and in the ring.
#4 WWE SmackDown leaves the door open to a rematch between The Street Profits and Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode
Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode got a WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship match against The Street Profits this week. The Street Profits have been cruising as the Tag Team Champions of WWE, and have held the RAW and SmackDown titles combined for almost 300 days.
Ziggler and Roode dominated the match early and worked on Montez Ford. Angelo Dawkins got the hot tag soon after and unloaded on the challengers. After the two teams exchanged some big moves, Ford hit a Frog Splash but was unable to cover his opponent soon enough.
Instead, Ford managed to roll-up Roode soon after and grabbed his tights to pick up the victory for his team.
After the match, the heels argued with referee Charles Robinson who went far enough to threaten the Superstars before ending the segment.
The action was spot on during the match, and we finally have two capable men who can dethrone The Street Profits. SmackDown could have done better than ending the match in a roll-up, but it seems like they’re looking forward to booking a rematch between the two teams as early as at TLC.
#3 Bayley takes down Bianca Belair on WWE SmackDown
It looks like WWE is looking to make Bianca Belair a top talent in the women’s roster for the coming year, and they’ve done the right thing by putting her in a rivalry against Bayley. The former WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion has played a great heel character all year, and she can do the job of giving The EST a major push.
Ahead of their match on SmackDown, Belair and Bayley were interviewed. Belair refused to consider Bayley a Role Model, while the former SmackDown Women’s Champion called her arrogant.
The EST of WWE used her strength to keep Bayley down, but the heel targeted Belair’s arm to get back in the contest. Belair was able to recover and planted Bayley with a beautiful suplex followed by a spinebuster.
While both women kept exchanging some blows, Bayley used her heelish tactics to set Belair up for a Rose Plant to pick up the victory. This was a good match between two incredible performers who can only do better next time.
It was also Bayley’s first victory in the ring since August 2020. While the veteran won the match, the result leaves the door open to a rematch between the two women at a later date. Bayley seems to be the perfect opponent for Belair.
#2 The Sami Awards light up WWE SmackDown
Sami Zayn is one of the best men on the mic on WWE SmackDown today, and the company did a great job by using him to hype up the upcoming The Slammy Awards. Zayn yelled at an employee backstage for not polishing his trophies well while walking out to host The Sami Awards on SmackDown. After Zayn left, Big E appeared to look at the trophies and cue cards.
Zayn spoke highly of himself before presenting the Comeback of the Year award to himself. He followed it up by awarding himself the Match of the Year award for his victory over AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy at WWE Clash of Champions.
However, when he came to the Superstar of the Year award, he found that the cue cards had been switched and he announced Big E as the Superstar of the Year. Big E appeared to give a big thank you speech before The Liberator pushed him away. The two got into a brawl that ended with Big E taking Zayn down.
This was a fun segment to lighten up the mood on SmackDown. Zayn is great on the mic, and his rivalry with Big E could turn out to be big for both Superstars. SmackDown did well to give these two men some significant airtime.
#1 Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns end WWE SmackDown on a high
The final segment of WWE SmackDown before TLC saw Roman Reigns walk out to the ring with a big smile on his face. He questioned Paul Heyman on why a Superstar would waste the opportunity to fight him for the WWE Universal Championship, taunting Kevin Owens in the process.
While he thought that the threat of KO was over, The Prizefighter limped down to the ring and faced a two-on-one beatdown in the process. He was blasted with steel chairs and thrown through multiple tables by Reigns and Jey Uso. The two heels buried KO under tables and ladders before The Tribal Chief delivered a few more thunderous chair shots.
Kayla Braxton arrived to question The Tribal Chief, but KO got back up and laid down a final warning. He told Reigns that he would win the Universal title at TLC or die trying.
While SmackDown could have ended things on a high after the opening segment between Reigns and Owens, they decided to go for the overkill. It worked in certain ways as The Prizefighter has shown that he will not give up, come what may.
Reigns needs big babyfaces to push his character forward, and KO is doing the perfect job at the moment.
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
