United States Championship: LA Knight VS Andrade
Friday Night SmackDown this week kicked off with a Championship match as LA Knight put his United States Title on the line against Andrade! This was a fine way to start the show, Andrade always puts on a good showing, and I thought his moonsault this week was particually great! However, it also felt a little clunky in places, and the ending was a bit sloppy after LA Knight slipped a couple of times on the top rope. In the end, Knight scored the win with the BFT before the two men shook hands.
Grade: C+
Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns Come Face-to-Face, Apollo Crews VS Giovanni Vinci, Kevin Owens Promo, Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton VS Bayley and Naomi
Nia Jax warned Tiffany Stratton of what could happen if she loses in their Tornado Tag Team Match before Andrade got into a brawl with a “very cocky” Carmelo Hayes. We then headed to a College Football Field in Atlanta for a Face-to-Face confrontation between Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns! Roman claimed that Atlanta was his City which Cody laughed off before Reigns brought up in the interesting point that for the first time in a long time, he has nothing to lose! Cody again disagreed with The Head of The Table before both men agreed to have each other’s backs for one night only. The segment then ended with Rhodes walking in front of Reigns which is when Roman responded “You’re in my way... in life!” I have no idea who came up with this idea, but this was the most WrestleMania thing I have ever seen! This very much felt like a movie scene, and Disney should really starting taking notes! Also, the fact that Roman Reigns showed up with 7 cars is perfect!
Grade: A-
Kevin Owens had no interest in sharing his thoughts with Byron Saxton before a more serious Giovanni Vinci arrived to go one-on-one with Apollo Crews. This more “serious” attitude allowed Vinci to control the proceedings, and it also meant he didn’t lose after 6 seconds! However, just one move from Apollo (a roll-up) was enough for Crews to get the win before Vinci attacked him after the match. Honestly, this is doing nothing for either guy, I really don’t understand what WWE is trying to achieve!
Grade: C-
After being bugged a second time by Byron Saxton, Kevin Owens headed down to the ring to talk about his thoughts regarding the partnership between Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns. Before KO could say anything, however, The Bloodline appeared and surrounded the ring, only for DIY to show up and even the odds. This led to Nick Aldis appearing and booking a 6-Man Tag for the Main Event.
Grade: C
It was then time for an important match in the SmackDown Women’s Division as Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton teamed up to take on the duo of Bayley and Naomi in a Tornado Tag Team Match! The stipulation for this was whoever got the winning pinfall for the Babyfaces would earn a shot at Nia Jax’s WWE Women’s Championship. However, if Nia or Tiffany won, whoever got pinned would have to leave SmackDown permanently! This was okay, there were some good double team moves throughout, but it also felt like Naomi was even more off than usual! In the end, it was the good guys who won, but both Bayley and Naomi pinned Nia Jax which was what I thought would happen.
Grade: C
The Bloodline VS Kevin Owens and DIY
After a strange Chelsea Green video and Nick Aldis booking a Number 1 Contender’s Match between Bayley and Naomi for next week, it was Main Event time as Kevin Owens teamed up with DIY to take on The Bloodline. Well, that was what was meant to happen, but The Bloodline attacked Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano backstage which meant The Street Profits took their place. I wasn’t best pleased, and the match itself was fine, it was the standard SmackDown Main Event if I’m being totally honest. Oh, and the ending was stupid as the referee called for the bell after Kevin Owens was thrown into the steel steps! A massive brawl then took place which resulted in DIY returning before Cody Rhodes finally made the save at the end. Interestingly, the show went off the air with Cody and KO hugging, but you could tell that Owens wanted to smash Rhodes with the steel chair!
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