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The go-home episode of WWE SmackDown before TLC 2020 was quite an interesting one. We saw the title rivalries gain a lot of hype ahead of the pay-per-view. The SmackDown Tag Team Championships were also on the line this week. Overall, the show was engaging for most of its duration. It is worth mentioning that the Universal Championship feud ended up stealing the show by the time it ended.
In this article, we will take a look at WWE Superstars who impressed us on SmackDown this week and those who didn’t. So, without further ado, let’s dig right in.
#1 Impressed on SmackDown: Roman Reigns
WWE Superstar Roman Reigns has been brilliant since his heel turn. Tonight's episode of SmackDown showed how he great he has been while transforming into The Tribal Chief. Roman Reigns was called out by Kevin Owens this week as the latter is set to challenge Reigns for the Universal Championship at TLC 2020. From calling him a hypocrite to labeling him as a coward, Owens' words certainly stung the Universal Champion, and he vowed that KO wouldn't even get to the pay-per-view.
Reigns was quick to tell Jey Uso that the latter needs to 'end' Kevin Owens. Annoyed of being called out by Owens each week on SmackDown, Roman Reigns had to ensure that The Prizefighter paid for the disrespect. During the two-hour-long show, Reigns ordered multiply attacks on KO and the latter kept getting back up. Finally, Reigns decided to take matters into his own hand and went inside the ring to address Owens' 'stubbornness' during the closing minutes of the show.
Reigns was cutting a rather compelling promo during which he talked about how he can't understand why people would sabotage their chance to feature in the main event alongside none other than The Tribal Chief. He was then interrupted by Kevin Owens, who wanted to have a direct conversation with Reigns. Instead, the latter unleashed hell on his challenger. He buried KO underneath multiple tables and chairs and continued hitting him with multiple chair shots. Reigns also put Owens through the tables twice before he started talking about how he is the most dominant name on SmackDown right now.
Roman Reigns is arguably the best heel in the business right now. He is absolutely nailing his role, which is huge, considering that he has been paired with one of the best performers in the entire business today. It's not an easy task to go toe-to-toe with Kevin Owens when it comes to engaging with him in a war of words. But an impressive Roman Reigns has managed to hold off on his own. If they end up translating this intensity in their feud into the in-ring action on Sunday, then it will certainly be one of the best WWE storylines on SmackDown in 2020.
#1 Flopped on SmackDown: Tamina
This week on SmackDown, Billie Kay teamed up with Tamina to take on Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan. This match on the Blue brand was quite underwhelming, and Tamina ended up looking the weakest performer inside the ring. The lack of chemistry was evident, and there was nothing that made this encounter a must-see. Last week, we saw Natalya in the same position, and unfortunately, Tamina ended up looking worse during this in-ring battle.
During this SmackDown match, there were sporadic moments which saw Tamina dominate her opponents. However, they did not account for a convincing performance. She struggled throughout this match despite being booked as the strongest Superstar out of the four women. Ultimately, The Riott Squad ended up picking a victory as Tamina was unsuccessful in finding a breakout moment.
Billie Kay is a talented Superstar who deserves to be a part of good matches on SmackDown, but she seems far away from that opportunity. Even today, her comedic timing and expressions were the only saving grace for her team throughout this match. On the flip side, The Riott Squad are gaining momentum, and they could eventually challenge for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships. As for Tamina, the creative can try to include her in Roman Reigns' clan where she can try to find her redemption.
#2 Impressed on SmackDown: Kevin Owens
For one reason or another, Kevin Owens had to spend a lot of time on the sidelines. But since it's him, KO would manage to make his rivalries seem interesting at all costs. Now that he finally got a chance to after the Universal Championship on SmackDown, Owens has left no stone unturned in creating one of the most entertaining WWE feuds this year. In fact, his performance tonight would simply make you wonder why he has been away from the main title picture for so long.
On SmackDown, Owens went after Roman Reigns with everything he had and was successful in riling up the Universal Champion. He called out Reigns for his hypocrisy and then chased him throughout the duration of the show. Unluckily for him, Owens was blindsided by Jey Uso who hit him multiple shots from a steel chair backstage. Owens was brutalized, but he still managed to go back inside the ring and stand in front of his nemesis.
Back inside the ring, KO ended up taking a lot of punishment at the hands of Roman Reigns. The latter wanted to make a statement as both him and Jey Uso ganged up on Owens while Paul Heyman watched from the ringside. The trio then went backstage, and in a shocking turn of events, KO managed to crawl back up despite the brutal beatdown that he received.
He sat on a chair, took a mic, and said that he would either take away the Universal Championship at TLC or die trying. This was a great and impactful way to close SmackDown - with KO emerging as one of the best babyfaces in WWE today.
#2 Flopped on SmackDown: Shinsuke Nakamura
Last week, we saw Otis and Chad Gable team up and they took on Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura. Cesaro and Nakamura ended up winning while Gable blamed the entire thing on Otis inside the ring. Otis then got a chance to redeem himself on SmackDown this week as he locked horns with Nakamura in a singles match. Unfortunately, this match felt extremely flat and as shocking as it may seem, Nakamura's performance was underwhelming in this match.
Right from the opening bell, both Superstars looked off their game on SmackDown. There were a few good moments but overall, this match was quite disappointing. Nakamura looked far from usual charismatic self while Otis tried his best to look strong. In the end, the latter ended up picking a victory that and Gable did not miss a chance to hype up his new-found ally.
It is understandable if the creative wanted to make Otis look strong inside the ring. However, they didn't have to make Nakamura look average to make his opponent look good. He is an industry veteran and can easily work with anyone even when he needs to get someone over with the fans. However, if Nakamura himself is booked in a lackluster fashion, then anyone who picks a victory would hardly get any credit in the first place. Hopefully, something like this will be avoided from SmackDown in the future.
#3 Impressed on SmackDown: The Street Profits
On this week's episode of SmackDown, The Street Profits put their titles on the line against the team of Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode. Ziggler and Roode got a shot at the tag team championships after the challengers managed to pin the champions in the weeks leading up to tonight's show. The match ended with Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford successfully retaining their championships after delivering an impressive performance.
All the four Superstars worked well to ensure and took turns to dominate the match. The chemistry between both the tag teams was entertaining, which was a huge reason why the flow of the match was brilliant from start to finish. The SmackDown tag team champions also took multiple of hard-hitting bumps which made them look extremely strong and worthy of being the title-holders.
Finally, the match ended with The Street Profits successfully defeating their opponents to remain the SmackDown Tag Team Champions and extend their run with the gold on the main roster. Both Ziggler and Roode also deserve credit for giving it all to make the champions look strong during the title match. It will now be interesting to see what's next for The Street Profits on SmackDown.
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