WWE SmackDown: 5 things we learned from this week’s episode (February 05, 2019)

SmackDown Live has made it a habit of dishing out good show after good show, and has managed to become the better show from WWE. This has allowed more of their superstars to get noticed and resulted in their top superstar making regular appearances on Raw.

SmackDown once again opened up with Becky Lynch making an appearance and being a part of an A-grade segment.

The night also saw a great match between Randy Orton and Mustafa Ali, while Jeff Hardy and Daniel Bryan also put on a good show before they were interrupted.

Samoa Joe ensured that he wasn’t forgotten amidst all the action, and made his presence felt more than once during the night. The women’s division, on the other hand, failed to make an impact in their only match of the night and only worked on furthering an already stale feud.

Overall, SmackDown did a good job in continuing some feuds and build up towards the next event successfully.

Take a look at 5 things we learned from this week’s SmackDown Live, and share your favorite moments from the show below!

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#5 The Good Brothers will be used as doormats

The Good Brothers are to SmackDown what The Ascension is to Raw. One of the most active and competitive tag teams in WWE are now being wasted in the lower card without any good matches.

R-Truth beat both Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev last week, which caused both superstars to attack the veteran. The result was The Good Brothers facing off against Rusev and Nakamura and getting a match this week.

The makeshift team was successful in beating two immensely talented wrestlers who moved over from New Japan Pro-Wrestling in 2016 in search of success.

It’s a shame to see the two men being used as doormats to put over makeshift teams of superstars who were rivals just a week ago. The Good Brothers deserve better and could jump ship to another promotion sooner than later if WWE continues to keep them down.

#4 WWE will try to build Charlotte using Becky Lynch

Just like last week Charlotte showed up to talk down Becky Lynch, she did so again this week in the opening segment of the show.

While SmackDown should be focusing on its own Women’s Champion and the championship, which has surely lost some value and focus since it changed hands, it seems as though SmackDown is more interested in building Charlotte. The possible reason for that is to include her in the match between Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch at WrestleMania.

Lynch has already established herself and her place for the WrestleMania, but Charlotte still needs a ladder to climb up to the event, and she is using Lynch as her ladder.

Even though the field for the SmackDown Women’s Championship is wide open, with most of the top female superstars involved in the tag team championship match, it is surprising that SmackDown is focusing more on Ronda Rousey and the Raw championship than Asuka.

#3 SmackDown has a better build-up towards Elimination Chamber

SmackDown Live will have its WWE Championship defended at Elimination Chamber, which has required the brand to put in some hard work to build on.

They have done that extremely successfully, and have managed to get the WWE Universe involved in the match which will involve six of its top superstars. The creatives have managed to schedule at least two matches each week to build up the hype and get all the participants of the Elimination Chamber match involved.

Other than that, they have also done well to keep the SmackDown Tag Team Championship match in the spotlight and highlight their participants for the Women’s Tag Team match, which will take place at the event.

On the other hand, Raw has not managed to do the same well enough and seems to be focusing more on the WrestleMania 35 matches, which will involve both of its top superstars in championship matches.

#2 Randy Orton is the perfect superstar to put talent over

Randy Orton and Mustafa Ali battled in one of the best matches of the night where the veteran and the newcomer showcased their skills throughout quite well.

While Mustafa Ali impressed throughout the match, he finally fell to the RKO by The Viper to lose the match. However, Randy Orton made sure that the result did not take anything away from the fast-rising superstar.

Throughout the match, Orton’s facial expressions and body language showed that he was surprised by Ali’s skills and offense. He showed that taking the newcomer lightly was a mistake and had to quickly change his tactics during the match to come out on top.

Orton’s final acknowledgment of Ali after defeating him made Ali’s fight seem even better than it actually was, as he gave one of WWE’s biggest stars a run for his money.

#1 Daniel Bryan’s promo skills as a heel are far superior

There is something about Daniel Bryan talking down the WWE Universe which really fits with his image and character. This was once again confirmed during his promo on SmackDown last night.

The current WWE Champion has been trying to make a point for some time now and has really hit a home run as “The New” Daniel Bryan. He once again came out this week before his match with Jeff Hardy and reminded the fans that he planned on staying champion forever.

The Planet’s Champion may not have the size or strength of men such as Brock Lesnar to draw heat towards him but has a golden mouth which can make the crowd cheer for him or boo him at will.

It remains to be seen how far Bryan manages to take his new character, as the options seem limited at the moment. However, one thing is for certain that his promo skills as a heel are far superior to his promo skills as a babyface.