5 Things WWE SmackDown got right this week (Dec 4, 2020)

WWE SmackDown opened up with a tribute to Pat Patterson this Friday night. The first-ever WWE Intercontinental Champion helped the company to create several top matches and was seen as Vince McMahon’s right hand by many.

After the tribute, SmackDown got right down to action and started the build towards the Tables, Ladders, and Chairs (TLC) pay-per-view. Otis and Kevin Owens were scheduled to team up during the night to compete against Roman Reigns and Jey Uso.

Natalya competed against former SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley in a match that was heavily influenced by Bianca Belair’s presence. It seems like SmackDown is building towards a rivalry between Bayley and Belair for the Blue brand.

Former and current Intercontinental Champions teamed up for a six-man tag team match to pay tribute to Pat Patterson, while King Corbin seems to have formed a new faction on the brand.

Apart from that, the show helped develop the rivalry between SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks and Carmella. In this article, we will look at the five things SmackDown got right during this week’s show.

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#5 Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, and Roman Reigns give WWE SmackDown a strong start

Last week’s WWE SmackDown ended with a match between Kevin Owens and Jey Uso that ended up being very chaotic. After Uso brought in a steel chair to beat down The Prizefighter, he found himself on the receiving end of some chair shots before KO sent a warning to Roman Reigns.

This week, Reigns, Uso, and Paul Heyman kicked off SmackDown. Kayla Braxton interviewed The Tribal Chief in the center of the ring and asked him if he feared Owens. Reigns almost laughed off the question before KO made his way down to the ring.

The Prizefighter did not hold back and challenged Reigns to a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match at the TLC pay-per-view scheduled for December 22. Before Reigns could say much, Uso jumped in and accepted the match on his cousin’s behalf.

The Tribal Chief wasn’t happy with Uso’s antics and refused the engage his foe before walking out of the arena. This was a great segment to kick off the show and immediately heat up the new rivalry for the Universal Championship.

KO seems to be the perfect babyface loudmouth who can take Reigns down with his words before the big match. Reigns, on the other hand, seems to be ready for any big challenge on SmackDown but does not seem happy with the way Uso is following his orders.

#4 Carmella manages to overshadow Sasha Banks during WWE SmackDown

Before WWE Survivor Series, Carmella had attacked Sasha Banks on a couple of occasions to make a bold statement. Banks got back at Carmella last week on the Blue brand and it seems like the two women are ready to engage in a rivalry for the SmackDown Women’s Championship.

Michael Cole hosted both the women in a split-screen interview during this week’s SmackDown to help build their rivalry heading into Tables, Ladders, and Chairs (TLC).

The talk started normally and soon turned into a war of words between the two Superstars. Carmella accused Banks of being jealous of how smoothly she’s cruised through in her journey to become a WWE Superstar while Banks had to struggle to become a Champion.

The Boss, on the other hand, threatened Carmella and warned her that she’d never met a competitor like her to build further heat between the two women ahead of the TLC pay-per-view.

WWE did a good job by having the two women speak their minds without getting physical in the ring. The Princess of Staten Island last competed in April this year, and she’ll need to shake off the ring rust when she competes against The Boss for the SmackDown Women’s title.

#3 A fitting tribute to Pat Patterson by Intercontinental Champions on WWE SmackDown

After Jake Atlas’ tribute to the late Pat Patterson on WWE NXT, SmackDown decided to pay tribute to the legend by having a Six-Man Tag Team Match featuring Intercontinental Champions on both sides.

Daniel Bryan, Big E, and Rey Mysterio teamed up to take on Shinsuke Nakamura, Dolph Ziggler, and current Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn. With so much experience and talent combined, this was one of the best matches on the card for the night.

While there was no real story behind the two teams, SmackDown did well to book this match in a way that former rivals continued to share the ring together throughout the contest.

Zayn proved to be the most energetic and entertaining Superstar in the match, and he continued to distract his opponents and try some sneak attacks.

Bryan worked on Zayn for a great portion of the match, and it seemed like WWE is planning to build a rivalry between the two men for the Intercontinental Championship. After Bryan won the match for his team, we watched the babyfaces deliver their signature moves to Ziggler to end the segment.

This was a fun match that allowed SmackDown to pay a rich tribute to one of the greatest minds in sports-entertainment history. Patterson helped WWE in several ways during his life, and we needed to watch some of the top men in the industry today show some respect to the late Superstar.

#2 Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake join King Corbin on WWE SmackDown

Murphy defeated King Corbin on last week’s WWE SmackDown with some help from the Mysterios. Immediately, Corbin had demanded a rematch, and he got just that during this week’s SmackDown.

While Murphy walked out for his match with the Mysterios by his side, Corbin came out with two men cloaked in black hoodies.

The men kept causing some distractions to help Corbin during the match, and Corey Graves soon revealed that the two men were Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake, the former members of The Forgotten Sons.

Late in the match, Cutler and Blake attacked Rey and Dominik Mysterio and the distraction allowed Corbin to hit the End of Days on The Juggernaut to pick up the victory.

While the match wasn’t too great, it allowed Cutler and Blake to finally return to SmackDown after several months away from the ring following Jaxson Ryker’s tweet that landed the faction in trouble.

Corbin needs to rebuild his heat, and he can take the help of his recruits to do just that in the months to come. Murphy will likely team up with Rey and Dominik Mysterio to give us some six-man tag team matches on SmackDown.

#1 Roman Reigns owns his character on WWE SmackDown

The final segment of WWE SmackDown was a big one for both Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns. Owens teamed up with Otis to compete against Reigns and Jey Uso in the final match of the night. Reigns had warned Uso earlier that his actions will have consequences after he accepted KO’s challenge on Reigns’ behalf.

During the tag team match, Uso managed to hold his ground until Reigns exploded into the action. The action spilled over to the floor where The Tribal Chief slammed Otis into the announce table and then into the steel steps.

After the two heels tried to focus on KO on SmackDown, Reigns asked Uso to tag him in. Instead, Uso ate a Stunner from Owens and Reigns had to break up the pin following which he trapped KO in the guillotine to draw the disqualification.

Uso brought steel chairs to the ring and the two men exploded on The Prizefighter before Reigns delivered a chair shot to Uso and beat him down. He threatened KO before leaving the ring to close out SmackDown.

This was a good match following which Reigns showed his great heel character once again. He was able to deliver a message to KO while ensuring that Uso met with the consequences for his actions earlier on SmackDown. This was one of the best ways SmackDown could have allowed The Tribal Chief to gain more heat while building towards his match against The Prizefighter.