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Last night's edition of SmackDown was the biggest in a long time. The Road to WrestleMania is in its home stretch and Daniel Bryan is officially along for the ride, as he was finally cleared to return to the ring.
And what a segment he returned to!
With only two episodes left before WrestleMania, who got hot and who was left behind?
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura
At first, I rolled my eyes, thinking that this would be a repeat of last week's angle, only in reverse. It would be typical SmackDown. That wasn't quite the case this time.
When Shinsuke Nakamura was attacked, AJ Styles was far more hesitant to come to his defense. It didn't matter though, as Nakamura fought Rusev and Aiden English off without the champ's help.
Later on, some friendly backstage barbs seemed to show the audience that Nakamura is starting to get under Styles' skin. Will we see some further villainous tendencies from the WWE Champion in the next two weeks?
Loser: Baron Corbin
Baron Corbin defeated Tye Dillinger in a heatless bout between two men in the Andre the Giant Memorial Royal. For Corbin, it was the icing on the cake of lost opportunities or straight up bad luck he's seen in the last year.
It was a filler match from top to bottom.
Winner: Charlotte Flair
Unlike Asuka's match last night with Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair was in top form. She looked great against Natalya in a hard-hitting match, and very much like the champion heading into a marquee WrestleMania match.
She didn't win, but that only came through Carmella's shenanigans, which reminded the audience of her existence.
It was a reminder we'd rather not have. She shouldn't be anywhere near the Charlotte/Asuka match.
Winner: The Bludgeon Brothers
Harper defeated Jimmy Uso in a hard-hitting match, answering the champion's valiant effort and swatting him away.
It was a great way to establish The Bludgeon Brothers as even bigger monsters heading into WrestleMania. Expect the match between them, the champs, and the New Day to be made official next week.
It's another welcome addition to WrestleMania's stacked card. The Bludgeon Brothers enter as the favorites.
Losers: Randy Orton, Bobby Roode, and Jinder Mahal
In SmackDown's most uninteresting angle, we learned that Jinder Mahal was officially added to the title match, but his addition certainly didn't add any heat to a dull rivalry. The angle continues to be a pale imitation of Raw's mid-card angle between The Miz, Balor, and Rollins.
With Orton and Roode both miscast and Jinder doing the same promo he's been doing for the past year, is there anything to really hook fans?
Winners: Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn
Daniel Bryan's return to the ring instantly made an angle which has long overstayed its welcome, into the most exciting in the entire company. The ovation was thunderous as Daniel Bryan fought back, and the boos deafening when Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens put him on the shelf. They actually felt like SmackDown's top heels should feel.
It looks like we'll now get an unsanctioned tag team match at WrestleMania, and Daniel Bryan returning as the conquering hero feels so much better than Shane McMahon doing it.
