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WWE SmackDown wasn’t loaded with a large number of matches this week. Instead, Friday night was set to hold one of the biggest matches of all time.
Roman Reigns put his Universal Championship on the line in an attempt to end Daniel Bryan’s SmackDown career. The Tribal Chief laid out the challenge to Bryan himself, and it looked like he had a plan in mind to end The Planet’s Champion’s run on the Blue brand.
Bianca Belair teamed up with Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford to take on Bayley and the SmackDown Tag Team Champions in a six-man tag team match. The WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions also found themselves in a non-title match against Natalya and Tamina.
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Apollo Crews was set for another Intercontinental Championship defense against Big E. However, the match did not end the way many fans would have liked.
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Aleister Black continued to deliver cryptic messages backstage before his inevitable return to the SmackDown ring. Take a look at the five things WWE got right on this week’s episode of SmackDown.
#5 Bianca Belair and The Street Profits picked up a win on WWE SmackDown
Bianca Belair kicked off this week’s episode of WWE SmackDown. She made her way to the ring and introduced the audience to the show. Before Belair could introduce The Street Profits, the SmackDown Tag Team Champions interrupted her.
The Street Profits came out next, followed by Bayley who got in the face of the SmackDown Women’s Champions. The EST smacked her to the mat, leading to a six-man tag team match between the two sides.
Belair and Bayley started and tried to keep each other down with some basic moves. Angelo Dawkins exploded into the match soon after and took out Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode with ease.
Montez Ford took the SmackDown Tag Team Champions out with a suicide dive outside the ring to keep the pressure on. The heels managed to take control of the match for some time and isolate Ford.
Once Dawkins made his way back into the match, the babyfaces took control once again. Belair hit Bayley with the KOD, while Ford took out Roode with a Frog Splash to pick up the win.
The match was decent and helped WWE build towards two championship matches at once. While multi-person tag team matches are slowly getting too predictable, it is still the quickest way to set up major rivalries.
Bayley does not seem like the perfect match for the SmackDown Women’s Champion at the moment. However, she could prove to be a good first opponent for the new champion.
#4 Apollo Crews retained his Intercontinental Championship with the help of Azeez on WWE SmackDown
Big E and Apollo Crews made their way out on WWE SmackDown for yet another Intercontinental Championship match. Crews appeared overconfident as he was accompanied by the massive Commander Azeez.
Big E exploded early in the match and dominated Crews for some time. A big splash on the ring apron helped him keep control of the match. making Crews regret his previous actions.
The Intercontinental Champion took back control and dropped Big E at ringside. He delivered a moonsault to Big E on the floor to punish him further.
The separated member of The New Day tried to fight his way back and keep the pressure on the champion. A big splash nearly earned him the victory before he added a top-rope splash.
Big E came close to picking up the victory with the Big Ending, but Azeez pulled him out and sent him into the ring post. Kevin Owens arrived to make the save, but Sami Zayn appeared to nail him with a Helluva Kick.
The heels attacked Big E, and Zayn eyed the Intercontinental Championship before handing it to Crews. This ticked off Azeez who delivered a Nigerian Nail to Zayn to end the segment.
The angle will allow KO and Zayn to continue their rivalry before one man progresses to the Intercontinental Championship scene on SmackDown.
It also shows that Crews is vulnerable, and only holding onto his title thanks to Azeez. How long will SmackDown allow him to hold the title before Big E wins it back?
#3 Aleister Black cut another backstage promo on WWE SmackDown
Current SmackDown star Aleister Black made an impressive but not-so-successful move to the WWE main roster a couple of years back. SmackDown is now trying to right the wrongs and give The Striking Man from Amsterdam a run that could change his career.
Last week on SmackDown, Black appeared in a backstage segment with a slightly different character. He read from "Tales From The Dark Father." This week, the former NXT Champion appeared once again to deliver another cryptic message.
Black spoke about the facade that is the path to success and happiness. He spoke about his time in high school, and how things have shaped him. The Dutchman stated that he now knows how to break through, but refused to reveal any more.
This was another decent segment that helped build towards Black’s return to the ring. He has been missing for over six months, and his fans would like to watch him come back and enter a major rivalry.
It would be good to see if Black takes out Seth Rollins or Apollo Crews upon his return before building further. The man has a hige amount of talent, and SmackDown should look to utilize that to build an even stronger brand.
#2 Roman Reigns ended Daniel Bryan’s stay on WWE SmackDown
The biggest match of WWE SmackDown was scheduled between Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan. Reigns put his Universal Championship on the line in an attempt to end Bryan’s run on SmackDown for good.
The bulk of the show featured videos and promos to help build hype for the match. The Tribal Chief debuted a catchy new theme, revealing a little too much about the result of the match.
Bryan and Reigns then locked up and delivered some big moves to keep each other down. Several near falls helped make this match very exciting. Bryan nearly picked up the victory with a running knee and some Yes Locks.
The Planet’s Champion also did a lot of damage to Reigns’ right arm and tried to take the guillotine out of the equation. Reigns lost it towards the end of the match and hit Bryan with powerbombs.
He pounded the former WWE Champion and then locked him in a guillotine choke. Reigns used his left arm to keep the pressure on and pick up the victory to end Bryan’s incredible run on SmackDown.
The match lived up to the hype, and both men delivered an epic performance. Bryan has been flawless over the past few months, while Reigns has proven why he’s The Head of the Table in WWE. It’ll be interesting to see if Bryan shows up on RAW or NXT next week.
#1 Cesaro continued to build towards his next program on WWE SmackDown
Roman Reigns wasn’t done with Daniel Bryan after he defeated him on WWE SmackDown. Reigns wanted to do further damage to the former WWE Champion and ensure that he would not be able to compete on any brand after his loss.
The Tribal Chief grabbed a chair and went to continue his assault before Cesaro showed up on SmackDown. The Swiss Superman unloaded on the Universal Champion with European uppercuts before Jey Uso interfered.
Uso hit Cesaro with a Superkick before tying him up in the ropes. Cesaro was then forced to watch as Reigns hit Bryan with a con-chair-to before the show went off the air.
SmackDown did incredibly well to immediately build towards the next Universal Championship rivalry on SmackDown. While Edge has been away since WrestleMania 37, Cesaro has seen his stock rise.
Cesaro’s fans have been waiting for him to get some top chances in WWE, and now could be the time. The Swiss Superstar has a date with Seth Rollins next week. After that, will The Swiss Superman get a shot at Reigns and his title at WrestleMania Backlash?
