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FOX hosted a special throwback edition on WWE SmackDown this week, just a few days before WrestleMania Backlash. The episode was headlined by a WrestleMania rematch between Cesaro and Seth Rollins.
Roman Reigns expectedly appeared on the show and talked about his victory over Daniel Bryan. The Yes Man’s SmackDown career came to an end last week after he lost another Universal Championship match against The Tribal Chief.
The throwback episode saw Carmella pick up a victory over Ruby Riott to gain some momentum. Bayley and Bianca Belair also had an interesting exchange on SmackDown. The Role Model took down the SmackDown Women’s Champion to end the segment.
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Apart from that, a few other matches also took place on this week’s SmackDown. Take a look at the five things WWE got right on the throwback episode of SmackDown.
#5 Jimmy Uso returned to acknowledge Roman Reigns on WWE SmackDown
The special throwback episode of WWE SmackDown kicked off with Paul Heyman, Jey Uso and Universal Champion Roman Reigns making their way to the ring. Reigns defeated Daniel Bryan a week earlier and ended his SmackDown career in the process.
Heyman eulogized Bryan's career before Reigns took over. The Tribal Chief stated that he was a man of his word as he defeated The Yes Man last week.
Reigns then claimed that someone else had returned to replace Bryan on SmackDown. This opened the door to Jimmy Uso’s return to the Blue brand. This was the first time Jimmy had appeared on television in the ring since being choked out by Reigns at Hell in a Cell in October 2020.
Jimmy embraced the men in the ring before Cesaro came out to talk about the idea of anyone replacing Bryan in WWE.
Just then, Rollins came out to attack Cesaro before Teddy Long made his way to the middle. Long revealed that he had the authority to make decisions on SmackDown before making a big announcement.
Long offered Cesaro a shot at the Universal Championship at WrestleMania Backlash if he defeated Rollins later in the show. This was a good way to begin this special edition of SmackDown.
It was good to see Jimmy return to the ring after being out with an injury for so long. It’ll be interesting to see what Jey’s twin brother brings to this storyline. Allowing Cesaro another chance to prove himself was another good call to make. The Swiss Cyborg had a busy night ahead of him.
#4 Cesaro picked up a big victory over Seth Rollins on WWE SmackDown
Seth Rollins attacked Cesaro before their scheduled match on WWE SmackDown and sent him shoulder-first into the steel steps. This allowed The Messiah to take control of the match early as Cesaro nursed the injury.
Rollins tried to take Cesaro out quickly but The Swiss Superman exploded back into the match with uppercuts and a clothesline that flattened him.
A great superplex from the top rope followed by a Falcon Arrow earned The Messiah another near fall. SmackDown fans watched the two superstars trade some big moves before Jey and Jimmy Uso tried to intervene.
Rollins argued with Jey and refused to accept help from him. Jimmy rocked Rollins with a superkick before Cesaro took out the returning superstar with a dive.
Back in the ring, Cesaro hit the Neutralizer and pinned Rollins for the win. Backstage, Reigns was extremely unhappy with how the match turned out.
It was a good contest that allowed these two top superstars to shine again. Rollins played a great heel once again and helped put The Swiss Superman over. Cesaro deserves a shot at the Universal Championship.
He will get just that at WrestleMania Backlash, and the experience could help him grow and remain in the top title picture for some time.
#3 Dominik Mysterio defeated Dolph Ziggler on WWE SmackDown
Earlier on Friday, WWE announced that Rey and Dominik Mysterio would challenge Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania Backlash.
Later in the night, Ziggler and Roode made their way into the ThunderDome. Ziggler mocked Dominik and laughed at the idea of him wrestling on the level of his father.
Dominik wasn’t too happy with Ziggler and challenged him to a match on SmackDown. The Show-Off did not waste any time and accepted the challenge. Ziggler took control of the match but Dominik managed to counter a suplex. He rolled Ziggler up to pick up a surprise victory just in time for WrestleMania Backlash.
Dominik hasn’t made much of a major impact since his WWE debut. He is a great performer in the ring, but his character and work haven’t helped him get ahead.
This victory will give Rey and Dominik a chance to walk into WrestleMania Backlash with the upper hand. This could finally be a chance for the father-son duo to win the SmackDown Tag Team titles together.
The only downside was not seeing Rey compete during the throwback episode of SmackDown.
#2 The heels of WWE SmackDown defeated the faces in a multi-man tag team match
WWE SmackDown saw Sami Zayn, Chad Gable, King Corbin, Otis, and Intercontinental Champion Apollo Crews team up to battle Kevin Owens, Big E, Shinsuke Nakamura, and The Street Profits.
The multi-man tag team match was booked by Teddy Long to ensure that many more superstars got a chance to perform on the special edition of Throwback SmackDown. The heels took control of the match early and worked over Montez Ford for some time.
A huge brawl broke out soon after that ensured that the match got some big spots. Crews and Owens had a nice exchange soon after and the two men delivered some big moves. KO kept the pressure on before tagging Nakamura into the contest.
The Artist and Zayn teed off soon after and had a good exchange. The action broke down again and nearly all ten competitors hit their signature moves on each other. Ford took down nearly everyone at ringside with a suicide dive, but Corbin picked up the victory with the End of Days to The Artist.
This was a standard multi-man tag team match that had several big spots. Gable was great during the contest and showed that he deserves a big singles run that could turn him into a top star.
SmackDown ensured that the rivalry between Big E and Crews did not get tense once again, while Zayn seems to have his eyes on the Intercontinental Championship. Corbin getting the pin also signifies that he could once again get into a major storyline on SmackDown.
#1 Roman Reigns gave Jimmy Uso an ultimatum on WWE SmackDown
Seth Rollins wasn’t happy with The Usos costing him his match against Cesaro on WWE SmackDown. He confronted Roman Reigns backstage and threatened him. Rollins told The Tribal Chief to take care of his family before he did so himself.
Later on, Jimmy Uso told The Tribal Chief that he won’t be talked to like his brother. The returning superstar made it clear that he wouldn’t act like his brother on SmackDown.
Roman Reigns made his way to the ring at the end of the night with a stern ultimatum. He asked Jimmy to fall in line or head back home.
Jimmy struggled to decide as he did not know whether he should bow down and join Reigns and his brother or stand on his own.
Soon after, Cesaro came out of nowhere and attacked Jey and the Universal Champion. Jimmy entered the ring to defend his brothers, but Cesaro took him down as well to make a statement. The Swiss Superman stood tall as SmackDown came to an end.
This was another great segment that will likely lead to a couple of interesting storylines. Cesaro was able to get the better of all three men before his big match against Reigns. While it’s unlikely that he will defeat The Tribal Chief, the angle will give him an opportunity to make it to the next level.
Jimmy will likely try to influence Jey’s choice in the weeks to come. It could result in major problems for Reigns later on in the year and possibly lead to him losing his Universal Championship.
