Sami Zayn starts the show, Sami Zayn VS Baron Corbin
After a recap of the main event of Elimination Chamber, Sami Zayn came out to discuss how he was feeling. Zayn said thank you to everyone for the reactions that he received this past weekend before he also said he felt a lot of guilt over the fact that he just wasn’t quite able to beat Roman Reigns. He then made it clear that he knows now that the only way to take the Bloodline down is to work together with Kevin Owens so he asked his old buddy to come down to the ring. KO came down to the ring and made it clear that what he did at the end of Elimination Chamber was for himself and Sami’s family, not Zayn himself. He then made it clear that he doesn’t want anything to do with Sami and said that “if you want help tearing down the Bloodline, ask your friend Jey”. I liked this as it now clears up why KO didn’t come out to help during the Reigns-Zayn main event. I just hope that KO doesn’t change his mind and he stays away from Zayn as that’s a more interesting storyline than the two eventually teaming up.
Grade: B-
As Sami Zayn was standing in the entranceway, Baron Corbin attacked him from behind. When we came back from an ad break, Baron was trash-talking Zayn and Canada whilst Sami was being checked on by medical personnel. This ended up with the two having a match after Adam Pearce allowed Sami Zayn to go and stick up for himself. This match actually got a decent bit of time which I was surprised about and you could tell that Sami was still hurting from his match with the Tribal Chief on Saturday. Baron Corbin got a lot of offense in, but he just can’t buy a victory at the moment and that rang true in this match as he lost after Zayn connected with the Helluva kick. I thought this was a solid start to the show, particularly as the crowd are so into Sami.
Grade: C+
Dolph Ziggler VS Mustafa Ali, Asuka VS Nikki Cross
Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio were doing a sit-down interview with Byron Saxton backstage and Rhea Ripley made it clear that she doesn’t want to talk about what happened at the Elimination Chamber. She then said that she is the best female wrestler in WWE right now before she said she is going to show Charlotte Flair on Friday why she’s going to beat her at WrestleMania. Dominik Mysterio also said that he was going to come to SmackDown to wish his father Rey Mysterio good luck for his match. Cathy Kelley then interviewed Austin Theory and the United States Champion was not happy that despite his amazing performance in the Elimination Chamber, all the headlines were about John Cena’s return in two weeks. Theory said he’s going to make a headline of his own when he beats Edge later on tonight.
We then got a match between Dolph Ziggler and Mustafa Ali. Both of these men have been feuding with each other for quite a while now, but this was the first time they were going to go one on one in the squared circle. Both of these men are excellent professional wrestlers so they put on a good show and you could tell that both men had something to prove. After a solid back-and-forth encounter, Mustafa Ali brilliantly reversed Ziggler’s famousser before he picked up the win with a rollup. The crowd was surprised, Dolph Ziggler was surprised, I was surprised and Mustafa Ali couldn’t believe it. I really hope he shows up in a suit next week and laughs at everyone because he’s on a winning run. That would be fantastic.
Grade: B-
Cathy Kelley was trying to interview The Miz backstage, but he was clearly more focused on Maryse. Maryse then handed Miz a golden envelope which he revealed that he was going to reveal what was inside it next week. I’m assuming it’s going to be that he’s the host of WrestleMania this year as that would make logical sense given they’re in Hollywood. Cody Rhodes then came out, but before he could speak, Paul Heyman showed up on the titantron. Heyman was wearing a neckbrace after the result of a stunner from Kevin Owens and he made it clear to Cody Rhodes that “if” he does beat Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, he’s very rarely going to spend any time with his wife and daughter. He then took another shot at Rhodes before the American Nightmare made it clear to Roman Reigns that he doesn’t want to see Paul again and instead he wants to see the Head of the Table. This was fine for what it was. We then got a match between two of the craziest competitors on the roster as Asuka battled Nikki Cross. Bianca Belair arrived at ringside to watch the match closely as Asuka took control early on. Both Asuka and Cross have done battles many times before so they knew what they were doing and I also appreciate the fact that they both liked each other's wacky personalities. In the end, Asuka got the victory by applying her submission maneuver before she stood face to face in the ring with the EST of WWE. I thought the match was solid and I really hope Asuka wins at WrestleMania.
Grade: C+
Seth “Freakin” Rollins VS The Miz, Ding Dong Hello, Bronson Reed VS Chad Gable
Carmella made it clear backstage that she wasn’t happy with Asuka before she said she was going to sort it out. Cathy Kelley then went over to ask Seth “Freakin” Rollins why he was so happy, given what happened inside the Elimination Chamber. Rollins laughed it off and said he was going to brandish out pain to The Miz tonight. MVP then cut a backstage promo where he called Brock Lesnar a coward before Omos laid out the challenge for WrestleMania. I’m sorry, but how the hell has Omos earnt a spot on the WrestleMania card? We then got the match between The Miz and Seth “Freakin” Rollins and it was alright. It was pretty back and forth, but you could tell that Seth was fighting with a bit more menace in this match than he has for a while. This was shown at the end of the match as he connected with the Stomp, but he didn’t cover his opponent. He then delivered a second and then a third stomp to the Miz and the referee ended up calling off the match as The Miz could no longer compete. I am more than happy to see a more vicious Seth “Freakin” Rollins as he’s so good at it.
Grade: B-
Carmella asked Adam Pearce for a match with Asuka and because Pearce was so surprised at how nice someone was being for once, he accepted and said that the match will happen next week. He then got a phone call from Chelsea Green who was angry over the fact that she had been sent to Ottawa, Illinois instead of Ottawa, Canada. The best thing about all of this is I can’t tell whether this was a complete accident or this was clearly done and Chelsea Green was just too dumb to realise it. Either way, it’s great. Pearce then left whilst in the background, the Alpha Academy were looking into a mirror and Chad Gable was not impressed with the fact that the Maximum Male Models rejected his offer last week. Bronson Reed then came up to them and laughed about how this was the way that they prepare for a match. It was then time for another episode of Ding Dong Hello and Bayley’s guests were her Damage Control buddies Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky. They talked about how they are the greatest Women’s Tag Team Champions of all time before they were interrupted by Becky Lynch. Lynch made it clear that she wants to walk into WrestleMania holding the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles and she brought out her “partner” Lita. The Hall of Famer and the Man then went on to goad Bayley into accepting the match for next week on Damage CTRL’s behalf. I’m guessing Lynch and Lita are going to win otherwise this makes no sense. Also, Dakota Kai genuinely looks injured so I don’t really know how they’re going to do that match.
Grade: C
Candice LeRae was backstage and she said that Johnny Gargano is hurting after the Elimination Chamber, but he will be back. She then saw Nikki Cross and asked her why she’s been following her for months. Cross responded by saying that all of her friends have left. We then got the match between Bronson Reed and Chad Gable and the “Cruiserweight Killer” lived up to his name. Bronson dominated for the most part, but the Master used his brilliant brain to keep himself in the match. The most ridiculous spot of the night occurred when Chad Gable hit his nasty suplex onto Bronson Reed! However, he then got distracted by Otis who was on the outside talking to Maxxine Dupri and this resulted in the Big Aussie getting the win with the Tsunami. Totally fine and I like everyone involved.
Grade: C+
United States Championship: Austin Theory VS Edge
After a quick segment that saw Bobby Lashley beat up Elias, the United States Championship was on the line as Austin Theory defended against the Rated-R Superstar Edge. This was a good match between two very talented individuals at completely different stages of their careers. The crowd were fully behind Edge and he looked like he was in a position to win the match before Finn Balor arrived and caused interference which allowed Austin Theory to hit the A-Town Down to retain his United States Championship. Finn Balor then attacked Edge after the match and hit the Hall of Famer with two Coup de Grace’s. It’s a shame that Theory couldn’t win on his own and it’s even more of a shame that this stupid Edge-Judgment Day feud is still going on.
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