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Credit: WWE.com
With just a week before WWE Fastlane 2021 and WrestleMania 37 less than a month away, the road to WrestleMania was heating up. The March 12 edition of Friday Night SmackDown promised great clashes between the top stars.
Daniel Bryan won the opportunity to fight Roman Reigns in WWE Fastlane by defeating Jey Uso last week. He and the head of the table were forced to sign the contract for this week’s match, entering the same ring with hatred forming between them.
Kevin Owens invited the two women set to fight at WrestleMania 37 on “The KO Show”, Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair. Before the battle at The Show of Shows and even before they came together to face Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax in Fastlane, the two women had a chance to talk about their future.
Apollo Crews allowed their true colors to shine, embracing their heritage, but also a relentless and selfish advantage. His first act was to seriously injure Big E, and the intercontinental WWE champion returned this week with plans for revenge.
The blue mark had no big games promised for the night, but anything could happen. Each of these segments had a chance to lay the groundwork for some of the biggest clashes of the year for WWE.
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Edge came over to talk about Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan. Superstar Rated-R told The Leader of the Yes Movement that he should never question his love for professional wrestling. This brought Bryan, who wanted to clear things up.
He explained that he respects Edge, but he would do anything to get his last chance at WrestleMania. Superstar Rated-R showed his own respect for The Leader of the Yes Movement, but he said that Bryan was better than these tactics for winning the world title. Edge walked off in disgust.
Grade
ONE
Analyze
This segment was almost too good for the good of WrestleMania, unless WWE wants to make a surprise turnaround. Bryan is a better face now than Edge, and it shows in his interactions. Fans are behind The Leader of the Yes Movement, and The Rated-R Superstar leaves working closely with him.
While Reigns vs. Edge is a game that needs to happen at some point, SmackDown needs to start building for that contest if it’s still the plan. It is becoming more difficult to sell as the main WrestleMania event each week with a better presented option.
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The heels attacked the face on the way to the ring, and the dirty tactics continued in the game. Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode did everything to keep a man isolated in the match. Dominik Mysterio was a victim of these tactics.
Rey Mysterio got a big hot tag and helped clean up the ring. Mysterios hit a double 619 on The Glorious One, which stole Otis. Montez Ford ended with an emphatic From the Heaven.
Result
Street Profits and Mysterios def. Roode, Ziggler and Alpha Academy by pinfall.
Grade
B-
Analyze
Everyone worked very hard on this match to make it work, although it was still very clear that WWE needs to do more to establish the characters of the talent involved. This is particularly important for Chad Gable and Otis. Alpha Academy has given direction to Otis, but it is not clear who he is as a heel.
Street Profits were kept away from Roode and Ziggler for two months, which is enough time to set up a final match between the teams. Taking more will not work. The two teams have fought many times to make it work as the WrestleMania angle.
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Seth Rollins was asked about Cesaro’s shot against him two weeks ago, and he lost his temper.
The Messiah watched at the top of the ramp while the Swiss Superman bypassed Murphy. Murphy jumped straight into Cesaro’s giant swing, which detonated Rollins. The Messiah attacked Cesaro to cause a disqualification.
Rollins planted Cesaro with The Stomp, then pinned his head to a steel chair, ready for Stomp again, but officials were involved to save him. Rollins found Shinsuke Nakamura backstage, who stared at him.
Result
Cesaro def. Murphy for disqualification.
Grade
C +
Analyze
It is a pity that Murphy was sacrificed to Cesaro again, but he made some nice moves first. He’s too talented for that, and unfortunately, it looks like he’s going to need to help Rollins back to get any kind of attention.
The positive is that Cesaro continues to dominate and Nakamura seems to still be working with his ex-partner in some way. Since they are both faces, they can be friends by WWE standards, and that can lead to some big fights on the road to WrestleMania.
Rollins vs. Cesaro was built as a great game for The Grandest Stage of Them All. Nakamura at WWE Fastlane.
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Credit: WWE.com
Nia Jax took Reginald on a shopping spree as the two approached and Shayna Baszler almost fell asleep in the background. Sami Zayn tried to get Kevin Owens to join his documentary to expose WWE from the inside. KO was more focused on his show.
“The KO Show” hosted Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair, who faced each other while trying to make it clear who was the best. Baszler and Jax arrived with Reggie to watch their future opponents face Natalya and Tamina.
Reginald got involved to prevent the referee from getting a clear victory from the faces, then in the action that followed, Tamina rolled the EST for a count of three. After that, Banks and Belair fought back to back over Banks’ treatment of Reginald leading up to this moment.
Result
Tamina and Natalya defeated. Belair and banks by pinfall.
Grade
Ç
Analyze
As a whole, this segment worked for the story to unfold. Banks and Belair have been friends for a while, but there needed to be more conflict for the WrestleMania contest. Although Reginald should not be involved, he is a minor inconvenience that will be overlooked in the long run.
What can have a more lasting impact was Tamina immobilizing Belair. EST has been very protected lately. Even with the many circumstances surrounding it, it is difficult to justify this result. The only way to make this work is if Natalya and Tamina are legitimately added to the WWE Fastlane fight.
The two veterans have done a lot for WWE for a long time. It can be a rare opportunity to reward their work, allowing them to add a new element to a family mix.
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Big E made a passionate promo about Apollo Crews, telling him that he would give the Crews one more chance at the title, but only to give him what he deserved. He offered him the ring, but the heel didn’t show up for the challenge.
And he decided to set up an open challenge, which was answered by King Corbin. The big guy took a while to get to the ring, speaking ill of the champion. Sami Zayn arrived, accepted the challenge and ran to the ring in front of the King.
The master strategist had a plan at the beginning, going after E’s ribs, but that only delayed the champion for a while. Once E started to move, he played Zayn with ease. The former champion tried to escape, but E caught him and put him back in the ring.
While Zayn seemed out of his element, he managed to regain control. He hit a flip powerbomb at sunset that almost sealed it. When E was kicked out, the master strategist lost his temper and slapped the champion repeatedly. This triggered E, which reached a great emphatic ending.
After that, Crews’ theme song arrived and he attacked the champion from behind. He hit an impressive pair of Olympic slams and then defeated the champion with steel steps in the face.
Result
And def. Zayn by pinfall to retain the WWE intercontinental champion.
Grade
ONE
Analyze
This has been a perfect segment since the moment Big E spoke. He did one of the best promos of his career at Crews, calling him for unraveling the dark side of the champion. He set the stage once again for how special this rivalry can be.
The match that followed was a very good job for two great players. Although The Master Strategist has been treated as a joke outside the ring, he is always allowed to bring him into the ring. He made the motivated champion look unstoppable, especially when motivated.
Finally, Crews once again maintained their momentum. The heel has been at an advantage over E for weeks. He needed to remain dominant. He and E can fight at any time, and it will be their best fight yet.
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Jey Uso wanted to speak to Roman Reigns, but Paul Heyman told him not to enter the locker room. Edge found Use behind the scenes and told him that he was wasting his talent working under the command of the head of the table.
Reigns told Daniel Bryan immediately that he had changed his mind. He didn’t want to give Bryan a game in Fastlane. The leader of the Yes movement called for the cowardice of the head of the table, and Reigns could not contain his calm. He signed the contract.
Usage threw the table out of the ring, not satisfied with Bryan invoking his name. Edge arrived and challenged Uso for a fight next week. The winner would be the special guest executor in Fastlane. A fight ensued where Bryan took Edge off with a running knee.
Grade
B +
Analyze
This was shorter than expected, but that is not a bad thing. Bryan and Reigns did a lot with just a few words. The way The Sim Movement Leader shook the Head of the Bureau was incredible. This showed how they are both selling a rivalry.
Just like in the early evening, The Rated-R Superstar seemed like the weak element of this segment. This segment could have been even better if Reigns lost control in Use as promised earlier in the evening. Instead, we received a generic announcement for the next week and a fight.