'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
WWE Royal Rumble winner Edge was expected to complete his victory lap this week with an appearance on SmackDown. After getting in the face of the WWE Champion and the NXT Champion, Edge was looking to come face-to-face with the Universal Champion.
He wasn’t the only Royal Rumble winner scheduled to show up this week, as Bianca Belair too made an appearance after her impressive victory on Sunday. Belair looked to target SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks for WrestleMania, but Carmella too wanted to become part of the decision-making process.
Big E was scheduled to defend his Intercontinental Championship in a Triple Threat match against Sami Zayn and Apollo Crews. Bayley, on the other hand, continued her climb on SmackDown with a victory over Ruby Riott. However, it’s the storyline between Billie Kay and The Riott Squad that’s been making things more interesting.
Trending
After an action-packed week of wrestling, let’s look at the five things WWE SmackDown got right on this week’s episode.
#5 Roman Reigns sent a warning to Edge on WWE SmackDown
Roman Reigns kicked off another episode of WWE SmackDown with Jey Uso and Paul Heyman by his side. It was good to see Uso return after he’d been missing for the past few weeks.
The Tribal Chief made it clear that he hates recapping, and directly targeted the Royal Rumble winner, Edge. Reigns called himself the main event and claimed that Edge wasted everyone’s time on RAW and NXT instead of just begging The Head of the Table for a place on the Island of Relevancy.
The Universal Champion ordered Edge to appear in the SmackDown ring, but the Royal Rumble winner did not appear. The Tribal Chief got angrier and questioned whether Edge thinks he’s a fool and why would he play mind games with him.
Reigns ended the segment by telling the Royal Rumble winner to give him his decision by the end of SmackDown.
The Tribal Chief has been the top heel in WWE, and he did well to build up a story between himself and Edge. Reigns’ not-so-subtle threats keep the story alive and give Edge a chance to use his phenomenal mic work to great effect.
#4 Dominik and Rey Mysterio exacted revenge from King Corbin on WWE SmackDown
Dominik and Rey Mysterio have found themselves in a rivalry against King Corbin on WWE SmackDown after Seth Rollins. The father-son duo has been building on this rivalry for several weeks, and Dominik got another match against Corbin this week.
Corbin attacked the two babyfaces before the match on SmackDown and threw Rey off the stage to take him out of the equation. The heel then worked on Dominik early in the match and punished him. Even when Dominik attempted to make a comeback, Corbin grounded him with a Deep Six and left his father worried.
While it looked like Corbin would pick up another victory this week, Dominik sent him into the announce table late in the match. As The King tried to return to the ring, Mysterio caught his leg from under the ring and allowed Dominik to hit the 619 followed by a top-rope frog splash to pick up a big victory.
The victory allowed Dominik to improve his position on SmackDown. The young Superstar has been struggling in WWE for a long time even though it was expected that he’d become a major player. Hopefully, the victory will improve his fortunes on SmackDown.
#3 Cesaro picked up another victory over Daniel Bryan on WWE SmackDown
Recent reports suggested that Cesaro was close to a push on WWE SmackDown before his contract situation became unclear. In fact, it was Daniel Bryan who wanted to see the man push ahead on SmackDown and was hoping to take him to the next level.
Cesaro defeated Bryan a few weeks ago in a one-on-one match, and the two men got in the ring for another match this week. Bryan was looking to turn his fortunes around this time.
The Planet’s Champion was aggressive and vented his frustration on The Swiss Cyborg. Constant attacks opened up a wound on Cesaro’s head.
However, Cesaro battled on and looked to bag another victory over the former WWE Champion. He countered a running knee attempt and took control of the match. The Swiss Cyborg then caught Bryan with the Cesaro Swing and applied a Sharpshooter to make Bryan tap out.
This was another massive victory for Cesaro on SmackDown. It looks like Bryan wants to see the Superstar succeed and is willing to put him over. Hopefully, SmackDown will allow him to carry on this momentum and possibly reach the main event scene.
#2 Big E retained his Intercontinental Championship on WWE SmackDown
Big E has had a great time on WWE SmackDown since splitting up with The New Day. The Intercontinental Champion was scheduled to defend his title in a Triple Threat Match against Apollo Crews and Sami Zayn on this week’s SmackDown.
Crews gained the upper hand early and look to win the title from the babyface. Zayn was the smallest man in the fight, and he used his brains more than his brawn to stay in the contest.
Big E fought back and delivered a suplex to Crews, after which he took out both challengers with a big splash. A big overhead suplex flattened both his challengers and he tried to stay on top before Zayn gained some momentum.
After Crews wiped out Zayn, Big E caught him with the Big Ending to pick up the victory and retain his title on SmackDown. The match was great and allowed all three men to shine. Zayn has been a phenomenal character on SmackDown, while Crews is growing in his new heel role. Both men will likely target Big E for some time.
#1 Edge surprised Roman Reigns on WWE SmackDown
Edge hit the ring in the final segment of WWE SmackDown to mark his fourth appearance this week on WWE TV. The Rated-R Superstar had to answer to Roman Reigns, who had given Edge a deadline at the beginning of this episode.
While Reigns is The Tribal Chief in WWE today, Edge has been the master manipulator and Ultimate Opportunist for a long time. Before Edge could choose which Champion he would challenge at WrestleMania, Reigns once again made his way out to the SmackDown ring.
Edge taunted Reigns for bringing backup in the form of Jey Uso and Paul Heyman, and the Universal Champion sent them to the back immediately. The Head of the Table told Edge to acknowledge him as the main event of WrestleMania, but Edge had other plans in mind.
Kevin Owens appeared out of nowhere and dropped Reigns with a Stunner to close out the show. This was unexpected as Reigns had once again defeated KO at Royal Rumble in a Last Man Standing Match.
KO appeared on time to take back his place in the rivalry against Reigns, while the main event of WrestleMania remains wide open. The segment was good and allowed Edge to come face-to-face with the biggest Superstar of this generation. Who will Edge challenge at WrestleMania?
Meet Randy Orton's lovely wife HERE
