WWE SmackDown 31st January, 2014: 5 Talking Points

It was another good episode of SmackDown as Christian returned to action, the final two participants of the Elimination Chamber match were revealed, Prime Time Players broke up, The Shield’s members had another argument, a NXT star joined the main roster and the Wyatt Family delivered another great promo.

Here are the talking points from this episode of SmackDown:

1. Ambrose and Reigns get into an argument, how long will The Shield stay together now?

It was the opening segment of the night as The Shield issued a challenge to the Wyatt Family , but for a moment they didn’t look like the ‘team’ they used to, last year. Again two members of The Shield got into an argument on SmackDown, this time they were Ambrose and Reigns.

Ambrose was talking about what would have happened if The Shield were in the Elimination Chamber match and he asked Reigns if he “thinks” he would have won the Elimination Chamber match to which Reigns replied that he “knows” that he would have won the match, the two then got into an egotistical argument until Rollins separated the two, acting as the pacifier.

Then he mentioned the Wyatt Family, and Ambrose challenged the Wyatt Family for a match. Triple H entered and told The Shield (several times) to let it go, before finally giving in and declaring a match between The Shield and the Wyatt Family. The Shield got what they wanted, but the question is will they be able to perform together as a team against the Wyatt Family or will it be the last time that we would see The Shield together?

2. Antonio Cesaro gets a long awaited push

CM Punk was going to be an entrant in the Elimination Chamber match, but because (apparently) he left the WWE, they had to replace him with someone talented enough to pose a serious threat to the other five guys. So, a Elimination Chamber qualifier between WWE’s two most-talented superstars, Dolph Ziggler and Antonio Cesaro, was set up and the two delivered a great match.

After Ziggler’s return and win on Raw this past week, fans were thinking that WWE would continue Ziggler’s momentum by giving him a spot in the Elimination Chamber match. But much to everyone’s surprise, Cesaro (deservingly) won the match to earn the fifth spot in the Elimination Chamber match. Despite Ziggler losing, it was good to see Cesaro win the match, who is equally talented and has delivered several great matches last year. It looks like Cesaro is finally getting the push he deserves.

3. Alexander Rusev gets promoted to the main roster

The talented Alexander Rusev and his valet Lana made their debut on SmackDown, as Rusev defeated Tyson Kidd in a dark match. A vignette hyping the forthcoming debut of Alexander Rusev and his valet Lana was also aired on SmackDown. The (WWE’s first) Bulgarian has been a standout performer in NXT and he also appeared in the Royal Rumble match, where it took a joint effort by 4 men to eliminate him from the match. Because he was a standout performer in the NXT, he has been promoted to the main roster and it looks like the mid-card is going to be much more stronger after Rusev officially debuts.

4. Christian returns and grabs the final Elimination Chamber spot

Christian made a return to in-ring action after five months as he took on his old ECW rival Jack Swagger, with the final Elimination Chamber spot up for grabs. With his fellow Real American, Antonio Cesaro, already qualified for the match it became more important for Swagger to win this match. He came short to Christian who finished the match with a Frog Splash and booked the final spot in the Elimination Chamber match. This is going to be Christian’s first Elimination Chamber match. With guys like John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, Christian, Antonio Cesaro and the champion, Randy Orton, this Elimination Chamber match is going to be a cracker.

5. The Wyatt Family promo

Prior to the main event match between The Shield and Daniel Bryan,Sheamus and Rey Mysterio (which The Shield won), the Wyatt Family interrupted The Shield’s entrance with a promo that even saw Luke Harper and Erick Rowan issuing threats. Wyatt said that he likes war, that’s his favorite game, Harper followed by saying that The Shield have picked a beautiful hill to die on, to which Wyatt added by telling The Shield to be careful when inviting the devil into their backyard because he may just like it and decide to stay. Rowan, with his lamb mask on, had just one word to say: “Run.” It was the Wyatt Family’s best promo in the WWE so far, and they easily sold their match to the fans, who are excited to see a much-awaited feud between The Shield and the Wyatt Family.