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With WWE Fastlane just over two weeks away, events from SmackDown led to some big matches for the pay-per-view. This prompted WWE creative to book a Steel Cage match between Jey Uso and Daniel Bryan for this week. With a Universal Championship opportunity on the line, Bryan was ready to go to any extent to earn a shot at Roman Reigns’ title.
Meanwhile, Apollo Crews worked on his new character and built towards a Championship match for himself. Crews has impressed the WWE Universe with his performances over the past year, and he’s doing well to remain in the limelight.
Bianca Belair tried to carry on with her momentum en route to her big match at WrestleMania. Sami Zayn and King Corbin failed to get on the same page again, and it was good to watch two heels struggle to find common ground.
Carmella fired Reginald during SmackDown, while Seth Rollins' old recruit resurfaced on the Blue brand. Let’s take a look at the five things WWE got right on SmackDown this week.
#5 Daniel Bryan’s passionate promo kickstarted WWE SmackDown; Apollo Crews further built his character
WWE SmackDown has revolved around the Universal Championship over the past several months. Once again, the opening segment of the show was regarding the title. Daniel Bryan came out and cut a passionate promo to hype up the Steel Cage match later in the night.
The Yes Man spoke about what a shot at the Universal Championship meant to him. Roman Reigns came out soon after and told Bryan that he did not have the drive to deserve a shot at his title.
The Tribal Chief and Bryan traded some words and Jey Uso tried to take a shot at his opponent for Friday. However, Bryan threw him out of the ring, and Reigns did not bother to help his cousin out.
This was a good way to kick off another episode of SmackDown. Both these men are good on the mic, and Bryan has the WWE Universe behind him thanks to the work he’s done in the past.
Later on, Apollo Crews also cut another passionate promo while embracing his Nigerian heritage. The SmackDown Superstar came out with a couple of guards and demanded another shot at Big E’s Intercontinental Championship.
It’s great to see the difference in Crews’ attitude over the past year. While he was used as an undercard talent for a long time, he has now become a convincing Superstar who can headline weekly shows.
#4 Dominik Mysterio scored a victory on WWE SmackDown
The rivalry between The Alpha Academy and The Mysterios continued on this week’s WWE SmackDown. Instead of another tag team match, fans got to watch a singles match between Dominik Mysterio and Chad Gable on Friday night.
Gable's heel persona built momentum early on in the contest. The SmackDown Superstar once again showed off his superior technical abilities and continued to keep Dominik down for the early part of the match.
While Dominik did make a comeback in the match, Gable tried to keep control and keep him grounded. A hurricanrana from the middle rope brought Dominik back into the match, but Gable soon took him down with a suplex.
Even though the match could have continued for longer, Dominik was able to roll-up Gable to pick up the victory. WWE needs to give Dominik more convincing victories on SmackDown to build him as a threat to the roster.
However, it was good to watch Dominik pick up a victory himself, which brought some new energy into this rivalry. Hopefully, all four men involved in this storyline will head towards something bigger that can help build their careers.
#3 Bianca Belair defeated Shayna Baszler on WWE SmackDown
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax arrived on SmackDown this week, and Baszler got a match against Bianca Belair. While NXT fans have watched these two women compete a few times in the ring, it was good to have them compete on the main roster against each other.
The chemistry between the two women was evident as they started the match with some good exchange of counters. The EST of SmackDown got to display her power well in this match as she has been booked better than Baszler on the main roster.
Baszler used her good old tricks and tried to injure Belair’s arm. After some more action in the ring, Belair pushed Reginald down outside the ring. This resulted in chaos which led to Jax taking down the SmackDown Women’s Champion outside the ring.
A Kiss of Death inside the ring helped Belair pick up the victory over Baszler on the Road to WrestleMania 37. WWE could have booked this match for a bigger stage, but it was good to watch The EST emerge as the more dominant star on SmackDown.
#2 Cesaro took out Murphy on WWE SmackDown
WWE SmackDown's creative team decided to dig up some past rivalries and alliances. They surprisingly teased a reunion between Seth Rollins and Murphy. Rollins was seen giving an interview backstage when Murphy approached him and offered to help him deal with Cesaro. Rollins wasn't too keen on reuniting with his former disciple.
Murphy came out for a match against The Swiss Superman later on SmackDown, and Rollins decided to join the commentary team for the contest.
It was good to see Murphy back in the SmackDown ring, but Cesaro was the man to look out for during the match. Both men exchanged some good moves and continued to try and one-up the other.
Late in the match, Murphy hit a Meteora but was unable to put Cesaro away. The Swiss Superman caught him with an uppercut soon after and then took him for a ride on the Cesaro Swing.
He then trapped The Juggernaut in a Sharpshooter and made him tap out. Cesaro seems to have transitioned away from his usual finisher and is now looking to make his opponents tap out.
It’s good to see Cesaro picking up some victories and pushing ahead well on his singles run. This victory will help him in his rivalry against Rollins, and fans can expect the two men to lock horns as early as at Fastlane.
#1 Daniel Bryan booked his ticket to Fastlane on WWE SmackDown
Daniel Bryan and Jey Uso were locked inside the Steel Cage for the final match on WWE SmackDown. Uso tried to escape the cage early and then took the fight to Bryan straight away. He pushed The Yes Man while Roman Reigns scouted both stars from outside the cage.
Uso tried to escape the cage several times, but Bryan kept on getting him back into the ring and hit some good moves to keep him down. Both men reached the top of the cage and moved back to the ropes after exchanging some strikes.
Uso caught Bryan with a superkick and a splash, but could not pick up the victory. The two Superstars continued to beat each other down before Bryan was able to hit a suplex from the top rope and then lock in the Yes Lock. Reigns watched on in disappointment as Uso tapped out, which allowed Bryan to secure a Universal Championship match for Fastlane.
The match was great and showed just how much Uso has improved as a singles performer. Uso's latest loss will also help SmackDown build a story between him and Reigns on the Road to WrestleMania 37. For now, fans can look forward to a potentially great match between two of the finest wrestlers on SmackDown - Reigns and Bryan - at Fastlane.
