WWE SmackDown Live: Analysing and grading each segment (27 February, 2018)

The penultimate WWE SmackDown Live before Fastlane took place in Los Angeles, California on Tuesday night.

There was a lot of pressure on the blue brand heading into the show, which featured the SmackDown return of John Cena, after several underwhelming episodes in recent weeks.

Four matches took place, all linked to either the WWE title, SmackDown Women’s title or SmackDown Tag Team titles, while the upcoming United States title match between Randy Orton and Bobby Roode was only highlighted in a brief backstage interview.

In this article, we take a look at all six major segments that took place and analyse what was good and bad about the show.

#1 John Cena opens the show

Storyline: John Cena is without an opponent for WrestleMania 34 after losing Sunday’s Elimination Chamber match. He revealed on Raw that he asked to face The Undertaker in New Orleans but was told “it’s not possible”, so he announced that he would switch to SmackDown Live to find a new road to WrestleMania.

Segment: Cena declared that he wants to earn a spot in the Fatal-5-Way WWE title match at Fastlane. Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan then appeared to grant him the opportunity, with Bryan announcing that he will need to defeat AJ Styles in the show’s main event to qualify for the title match.

Verdict: If the crowd chants “Rusev Day” this frequently every week, as they did again during the opening segment, WWE might just have the new “Yes Movement” on their hands. We’ve seen some tedious opening promos on SmackDown recently but this was good from Cena, who had the crowd reacting to everything he said (when they weren't chanting "Rusev Day"!).

Grade: B-

#2 Baron Corbin def. Sami Zayn

Baron Corbin did not like the presence of Kevin Owens at ringside

Storyline: Baron Corbin was defeated by AJ Styles in the main event of SmackDown Live last week but he stood tall at the end of the show after laying waste to Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.

Segment: Dolph Ziggler, the fifth man in the Fatal-5-Way, blind-sided co-commentator Owens with a superkick, allowing Corbin to get the win on a distracted Zayn with the End of Days. Ziggler then sent a message to the rest of the challengers by hitting Corbin with a Zig Zag. Throughout the match, Shane McMahon complained to Daniel Bryan backstage that Owens should not be allowed at ringside, then he politely agreed to let Bryan go home to see his baby (yes, really).

Verdict: This was another throwaway SmackDown segment that didn’t really add much to the Fatal-5-Way storyline. Ziggler stood tall, just like Corbin last week, and now all four guys look equally likely to win (or lose) at Fastlane. The Shane-Bryan ‘rivalry’ is getting tiresome, in all honesty, so let’s just hope this all leads to a huge ‘Mania pay-off.

Grade: C

#3 Ruby Riott def. Naomi

Storyline: It was announced last week that Ruby Riott will challenge Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s title at Fastlane. This week, Ruby (accompanied by Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan) warmed up for the match by going one-on-one with long-term rival Naomi (accompanied by Charlotte and Becky Lynch).

Segment: Ruby followed up her recent win over Becky by defeating Naomi with a Riott Kick in a decent, but relatively short, match. Despite the presence of the four women at ringside, there was hardly a confrontation between them and Ruby emerged with a clean victory.

Verdict: Purely from a storyline perspective, the SmackDown women’s division could really do with the addition of Asuka on the road to WrestleMania. There hasn’t been a truly memorable one-on-one SmackDown women’s feud since Naomi vs. Alexa Bliss and that was a whole year ago. Ruby vs. Charlotte is bound to be a great match but the build hasn't featured many memorable moments.

Grade: C

#4 The New Day & The Usos renew their rivalry

Storyline: The New Day defeated Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin last week to earn themselves a SmackDown Tag Team title match against The Usos at Fastlane. Kofi Kingston caused a distraction towards the end of the match but Gable & Benjamin’s complaints were ignored.

Segment: The New Day and The Usos engaged in a heated war of words which centred around both teams’ past WrestleMania experiences. While Jimmy and Jey complained that they have never featured on a ‘Mania main card, an intense Big E reminded them how they were eating catering at last year’s 'Mania while New Day was hosting the event. The Bludgeon Brothers then emerged and both teams escaped to the back.

Verdict: The comedy version of Big E is great, but intense Big E is even better. The Usos were brilliant on the mic, as ever, and this was one of the best New Day promos we’ve seen in many months. The ‘Mania tie-in to this storyline really added to the Fastlane match, which will almost certainly steal the show.

Grade: B+

#5 Shinsuke Nakamura def. Aiden English

This was Shinsuke Nakamura's first televised match since January

Storyline: Rusev has not appeared on SmackDown Live for the last two weeks. During a backstage segment earlier in the show, Aiden English complained about this to Shane McMahon and Rusev’s side-kick was granted a match against Royal Rumble winner Shinsuke Nakamura.

Segment: If there was any doubt, Rusev and English were cemented as heels when the latter informed the crowd before the match that they “don’t deserve to celebrate Rusev Day”. Rusev kicked Nakamura in the head when the referee’s back was turned but the Rumble winner still walked away with the win after connecting with a Kinshasa on English.

Verdict: The crowd reaction Rusev and English received at Clash of Champions is among the loudest and most passionate you’ll hear from a WWE audience, yet Rusev continues to be portrayed as a bad guy. The show started with fans chanting his name but disappointed jeers broke out when he tried to get involved in this match. The only positive? Nakamura was actually on SmackDown!

Grade: C-

#6 John Cena def. AJ Styles

AAAAAAA — AJ Styles will defend his WWE title against five men

Storyline: It was announced earlier in the show that John Cena would face AJ Styles in the main event of SmackDown, with a place in the Fatal-5-Way WWE title match at Fastlane up for grabs if Cena could win.

Segment: After a back-and-forth match where it genuinely looked like either man could win, Cena defeated his former rival with his third Attitude Adjustment of the match (one sent Styles through the announce table) to pick up the victory. A six-man brawl ensued after the match, with Cena standing tall after hitting Ziggler with another AA.

Verdict: Cena vs. Styles stole the show at SummerSlam 2016 and Royal Rumble 2017, and it did so again here (granted, that wasn’t difficult!). The WWE title storyline has felt very underwhelming throughout 2018 so far, so this match definitely helped inject some much-needed life into the Fastlane main event.

Grade: A

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