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From an Intercontinental Championship open challenge contest to Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan's contract signing segment, this week's edition of WWE SmackDown featured many contrasting moments.
As usual, the Blue brand delivered an entertaining episode. There were some newsworthy aspects to this week's show, which made it a worthwhile experience as a whole. Most title feuds on SmackDown included some interesting plot developments as well.
Which show was better this week, RAW or SmackDown? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Here are the five biggest news stories from this week's episode of WWE SmackDown (March 12, 2021).
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#5 Reginald and Nia Jax's shopping spree aired during WWE SmackDown
Nia Jax warmed up to Reginald after the latter was dumped on by key members of the SmackDown women's division last week. Now, it certainly appears that WWE has a controversial storyline in place for both of them.
During the most recent edition of RAW, Reginald's distraction helped Jax and Shayna Baszler retain their WWE Women's Tag Team Championships against Lana and Naomi. As a result, Carmella's former sommelier was rewarded during a silly segment that aired on this week's SmackDown.
Jax and Baszler accompanied him to an expensive clothing store, and Reginald was allowed to get whatever he wanted. He tried on various outfits in front of an enthusiastic Jax, as Baszler looked conspicuously bored throughout their shopping spree.
Sure, this is a wrestling show, but WWE intended to air this silly segment to create some buzz. Clearly, their strategy worked as not only are people talking about it on social media, but this segment has also received the first-slide treatment in this weekly column.
Towards the end of their fashion show, some inappropriate undertones were implied between Jax and Baszler, much to the audience's surprise. It seems like their relationship is a two-way street.
Despite the silliness of it all, Reginald's affection for the women's division falls in line with his character traits. Meanwhile, Jax's quid pro quo mentality adds more to her unlikeable nature in WWE.
#4 Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair were not on the same page ahead of their WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match
Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair has been made official for WWE WrestleMania 37. However, they could be heading into that match as WWE Women's Tag Team Champions.
The two will face Jax and Baszler for the tag team titles at Fastlane. This week, Banks and Belair appeared on The Kevin Owens Show during WWE SmackDown. The Prizefighter tried his best to stir the pot between both women, and this strategy worked to a certain extent. Belair seemed unhappy with Banks enabling Reginald's infatuation with the latter star.
Despite their differences, The EST of WWE and The Legit Boss teamed up together to face Natalya and Tamina. Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler (w/ Reginald) were in the ringside area, and Reginald proved to be a distraction once again.
This distraction indirectly led to Belair being pinned by Tamina. Although this was an important victory for Tamina and Natalya, Reginald's significant involvement in the women's division hasn't pleased a lot of fans.
Later backstage, Belair and Banks argued over their differences. So the question remains, will both of them manage to resolve their conflict before the Fastlane pay-per-view?
#3 Seth Rollins and Shinsuke Nakamura's showdown was teased during WWE SmackDown
On this week's SmackDown, Seth Rollins said that Cesaro had to be the "biggest waste of potential" in WWE. He made the statement in a backstage interview with Kayla Braxton.
Rollins conveyed that he was embarrassed by The Swiss Superman when the latter rejected his offer to "embrace the vision" more than once. The Messiah became interested when it was revealed that Cesaro and Murphy would face-off in a rematch from last week's episode.
As expected, Rollins came out for the contest between his former disciple and The Swiss Cyborg. Soon, he interfered during the match and brutalized Cesaro to send a defiant message to the latter star.
Rollins hit Cesaro with two curb stomps and grabbed a chair to set it up around Cesaro’s head. The Messiah may have upstaged Cesaro this week, but he was met by Shinsuke Nakamura backstage. Both stars faced-off briefly before Rollins walked away.
It's quite apparent that Seth Rollins and Cesaro will wrestle each other during WWE's WrestleMania season. Before that happens, Nakamura could avenge his former tag team partner by fighting against The Messiah on SmackDown or at Fastlane.
#2 Big E cut an intense promo and hosted a WWE Intercontinental Championship open challenge
Big E returned during this week's edition of WWE SmackDown. The Intercontinental Champion tried to bait Apollo Crews to face him in the ring.
He cut an intense promo about how Crews crossed the line when he brutalized Big E not too long ago. According to Big E, there is no turning back for Crews as the latter has now opened Pandora's box. Big E's emotional demeanor was a great response to Apollo Crews' equally intense promos.
The Intercontinental Champion called out his current rival but didn't receive a response. As a result, he laid out an open challenge to anyone from the SmackDown locker room.
While King Corbin came out to accept the challenge, he was cut-off by Sami Zayn at the last minute. Zayn and Corbin's recent interactions have been entertaining, and their latest interaction wasn't an exception to this pattern.
WWE's resident conspiracy theorist thought that his documentary could have a great finale if he defeated Big E to become the new Intercontinental Champion. Unfortunately for Zayn, he couldn't overcome Big E this week. His documentary crew will stick around for a while.
After the match, Crews finally entered the scene and blindsided Big E. He used the steel steps to attack the Intercontinental Champion once again.
Big E vs. Apollo Crews will go down at Fastlane, even though it's safe to say that the match deserves a big stage like WWE WrestleMania 37.
#1 Daniel Bryan attacked Edge after an interesting stipulation was announced at the end of WWE SmackDown
This week's WWE SmackDown kicked-off with a segment between Edge and Daniel Bryan. Both men respect each other, but they won't compromise to let the other man headline WrestleMania 37 against Roman Reigns.
In the final segment of the night, Bryan and Roman Reigns appeared in the same ring to sign the contract for their match at Fastlane. When Reigns assumed control by refusing to sign on the dotted line, Bryan pushed his buttons and tried to make him feel small. This was a good way to break down The Tribal Chief's superiority complex, as he immediately signed the contract after Bryan provoked him.
Jey Uso stepped up to Bryan and pitched that he should become a special guest enforcer for the Universal title match at WWE Fastlane. However, Edge came out and expressed interest in the special enforcer role as well. As a result, Edge will wrestle for the first time in 11 years during next week's SmackDown against Uso. The winner will become the special guest enforcer for Bryan vs. Reigns at Fastlane.
A brawl immediately broke out between Uso, Reigns, Edge, and Bryan. While it began as a two-on-two situation, Bryan attacked Edge with a running knee at the end of this week's episode. It looks like WWE has created enough scope for a feud between Edge and Bryan somewhere down the line.
Earlier in the night, Edge tried to pull Jey Uso away from the dark side. But clearly, The Rated-R Superstar's approach didn't work. As for next week's WWE SmackDown, Edge should secure the special guest enforcer role at Fastlane. The Ultimate Opportunist is relatively unbiased between Reigns and Bryan, unlike Uso, who has set his priorities straight and won't be conflicted about turning the tables in Roman's favor.
Do catch Rick Ucchino and Sid Pullar III (SP3) on 'Smack Talk' in the video linked above, as they share their thoughts on all that went down during last night's WWE SmackDown.
