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The most recent episode of SmackDown revolved around the tag title unification storyline as RK-Bro kicked off the show and accepted The Usos' challenge.
Weirdly enough, WWE did not follow up on The Bloodline's attack on Shinsuke Nakamura, as the superstar was nowhere to be seen this week.
While reviewing the episode on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk, Dutch Mantell revealed that he was never a fan of Roman Reigns' reported feud with Shinsuke Nakamura. He said that the Japanese star might not appear on TV for the next few months:
"Nope, and that didn't hurt anything (WWE not following up on Shinsuke Nakamura's beatdown). I didn't understand that Nakamura segment anyway; we talked about that last week. They are excising him for a while, I think. We may not see him for three months," revealed Dutch Mantell. [49:00 - 49:12]
While WWE did mention Roman Reigns' name, The Tribal Chief was another top name who missed the latest SmackDown as the company focused on building up the match between RK-Bro and The Usos.
Mantell was surprised that Reigns did not make a live appearance despite his presence being felt on SmackDown:
"We didn't see him. We saw the name! We saw the name, and we said, 'Okay, he's coming out,' and they never said that," stated Mantell. "But you saw the name, and they go in and talk to Roman, so you naturally assume we're going to see him later, and then all of a sudden, the show's over, and he doesn't come out." [48:15 - 48:41]
"It looked like they kicked it in high gear" - Dutch Mantell on SmackDown's presentation
Unlike most weeks, this week's episode featured a few fresh faces, and Dutch Mantell was happy to see the likes of Randy Orton and Riddle perform on the blue brand.
The RAW and SmackDown tag team champions are the two biggest attractions currently in WWE, and Mantell said that it was a good change of pace from the company's usual setup:
"But I thought the show, to me, WWE tonight on SmackDown, was a totally different presentation," continued the former WWE manager. "It looked like they kicked it in high gear. They had some things on here; at least you had some different talent. It's not the same talent over and over and over again. Of course, we're only two weeks into the new season. I like the interchange between RAW and SmackDown. Those are your two main deals (RK-Bro and The Usos) right now, and they are helping each other. At least, I don't think they've improved their bench. You know, we talk so much that they have no bench, but now RAW can give them a boost. I don't know how long this would continue, but it helped tonight. It really did." [49:34 - 50:40]
SmackDown had some significant developments ahead of WrestleMania Backlash. A massive Winner Takes All tag team match involving The Usos and RK-Bro has been announced for the Premium Live Event.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling and embed the YouTube video.
