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WWE SmackDown had an exciting show lined up for the fans. The creative teased a potential title match for Fastlane that would see Roman Reigns put his Universal Championship on the line against Daniel Bryan. The show confirmed that Bianca Belair would challenge Sasha Banks for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship match at WrestleMania 37.
In this article, we will look at Superstars who impressed us on WWE SmackDown and those who didn’t.
#1 Impressed on WWE SmackDown: Roman Reigns
In the opening segments of WWE SmackDown, we saw a conflicted Roman Reigns make his way to the ring alongside Jey Uso and Paul Heyman. The Universal Champion addressed the viewers and stated that his title defense at Elimination Chamber was ‘nearly perfect.’ However, The Tribal Chief was not happy with Edge hitting him with a Spear.
The best part about this segment on WWE SmackDown was how Roman Reigns carried himself on the mic. Tonight, he more than convinced everyone about how good he can be on the microphone if he is not instructed to stick to phony dialogues. Instead, he relied on his instinctive responses that made the entire segment look all the more genuine.
We also saw Daniel Bryan interrupt Reigns and call him out for the advantage he had during their title match at Elimination Chamber. Hence, Bryan decided to challenge Reigns for the Universal Championship match at Fastlane. That did not go down well with Jey Uso, who decided to step up to Bryan on WWE SmackDown.
A match was booked between Bryan and Jey Uso for later in the show. Jey Uso was instructed to beat Bryan so that the latter can’t challenge Roman Reigns for the title. This match on WWE SmackDown ended in a double count-out, following which Reigns decided to attack Bryan and make a strong statement.
Roman Reigns had the strongest presence on WWE SmackDown this week, even though he did not compete in a match. This is working great for his heel persona, especially as we move closer to his match against Edge at WrestleMania. This is precisely how a match between the biggest heel and the biggest babyface should be booked.
#1 Flopped on WWE SmackDown: Liv Morgan
The Riott Squad were being booked as a relentless force on WWE SmackDown not so long ago. Both Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan had started to gain momentum as a tag team until they lost a series of matches due to Billie Kay’s interference. Unfortunately for The Riott Squad, their struggle is nowhere close to an end on the Blue brand.
This week on WWE SmackDown, Liv Morgan locked horns with Tamina in a singles match. While Morgan had a few spots where she looked dominant, she struggled to capitalize on her momentum. While it's understandable on one or two occasions, it certainly looked odd for someone who is as much potential as Morgan.
The blame for this majorly lies with the creative. The women’s tag team division is in desperate need of better storylines. The teams should be booked strongly on WWE SmackDown, especially if they are to pose a serious threat to Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler’s title reign by the time WrestleMania arrives. Hopefully, both members of The Riott Squad will soon find redemption on the Blue brand.
#2 Impressed on WWE SmackDown: Apollo Crews
WWE SmackDown has teased Apollo Crews’ heel turn for quite some time now. Last week, his brutal attack on Big E forced the Intercontinental Champion to leave the arena on a stretcher. This week, he embraced his villainous side completely and cemented the beginning of his run as a heel on the Blue brand.
Crews talked about his heritage and stated that he is proud of everything he has achieved. He is now focused on getting his hands on more opportunities – the ones that he has deserved for a long time on WWE SmackDown. Soon after that, he faced Shinsuke Nakamura in an impressive singles match that ended with his victory.
This bout between Crews and Nakamura helped the former in showing his ruthless side in a well-balanced battle. Nakamura did not look weak at any point in this match, making Crews all the more brutal inside the ring. Ultimately, his convincing victory and the overall match on WWE SmackDown gave us enough reason to believe that the two Superstars should engage in a good storyline going forward.
#2 Flopped on WWE SmackDown: Rey Mysterio
For the third consecutive week on WWE SmackDown, Rey and Dominik Mysterio lost a tag team match. The duo faced Otis and Chad Gable in an exciting match, and it did more than enough to establish The Alpha Academy members as the heels on the Blue brand. That said, the creative should have done better with the booking tonight.
After a rather impressive start, both Dominik and Rey Mysterio fell prey to Otis and his more aggressive maneuvers. While the latter is undoubtedly benefitting from the turn of events, it is also harming the Mysterios. They desperately need to pick themselves up and regain momentum on WWE SmackDown.
If the creative are not planning on creating a rift between Rey and Dominik Mysterio, they should book the duo strongly in order to establish them as a legitimate threat in the tag team division. They can then feud with other tag teams and make their opponents look good, giving WWE SmackDown other options to select the next challengers for the tag team champions.
#3 Impressed on WWE SmackDown: Jey Uso
In the main event of WWE SmackDown, Daniel Bryan faced Jey Uso in an intensely brutal match. Bryan's victory would have earned him the opportunity to challenge Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at Fastlane. Even though the match ended in a double count-out, both Jey Uso and Daniel Bryan deserve credit for delivering a stellar performance inside the ring.
While Bryan is rightfully acknowledged as one of the best in the business, his opponent on WWE SmackDown was equally impressive tonight. Jey Uso has been on a great run ever since he feuded and eventually allied with Roman Reigns. Despite being a part of Reigns’ entourage, Jey Uso is slowly carving a respectable legacy for himself.
Tonight, on WWE SmackDown, he was brilliant in the match against Bryan. His heelish antics employed 'to get the job done' paid off well because ultimately, he didn’t allow Bryan to win the match. It is expected that he will have to do the job once again on WWE SmackDown while also looking out for an old enemy, Kevin Owens.
