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Credit: WWE.com
With just over two weeks left until WWE Fastlane on March 21, management needs to light a fire under its own butt and start scheduling a few games.
Friday’s SmackDown was not announced much in advance. In fact, WWE announced just two segments before the show.
Daniel Bryan faced Jey Uso in a Steel Cage. The Yes Man has been in a rivalry with Uso and Roman Reigns for some time, and this week gave Bryan another chance to prove that he is one of the blue brand’s best.
We also saw Bianca Belair face Shayna Baszler. These two will be opponents in a fight for the female tag title at Fastlane, so Sasha Banks and Nia Jax could meet in the ring next week.
Let’s take a look at everything that happened on Friday’s SmackDown.
Make sure to update this page during the show for updated results.
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SmackDown opened with Bryan giving a long promo about his fight against the Usage and the possibility of facing Reigns in Fastlane if he wins the Cage fight on Friday. It was a long and passionate speech about why he wants this title fight so badly.
After a commercial break, Reigns and Paul Heyman were in the ring to respond. The Tribal Chief said he was confused by Bryan’s words because he doesn’t see the momentum needed to be a winner. Usage tried to give Bryan a cheap shot, but he was kicked out of the ring. Reigns didn’t even try to help his cousin.
Grade: B +
Analyze
This segment did not have to continue after the commercial break. Bryan’s long promotion was the best way to open the show. Having Reigns and Usage giving a quick response was unnecessary.
Bryan has always been great at doing this kind of promotion. He has a real passion for the business and it always shows when he speaks.
Reigns’ speech was good, but it was exactly the same thing we had heard him say for weeks. A separate answer at a different point during the show would have been better.
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We expected to see a rematch from last week, but King Corbin showed up and said he hated Sami Zayn and refused to be his tag team partner again. He launched a challenge for a singles match and Montez Ford accepted.
Ford used his speed to take control immediately, but a Corbin spinebuster almost kept him on the ground for a count of three. After getting a little more offended, Ford turned and hit a lunar jump for a near fall. Corbin hit End of Days for the victory thanks to a distraction from Zayn.
Zayn asked Corbin to help him in the same way, but after Angelo Dawkins took Zayn down on him, The King left him to fend for himself. We came back from a break to see the second game already underway.
The Grand Liberator managed to take control and strangled him against the middle rope while teasing Ford. Zayn was distracted when Ford was messing with his film crew and this allowed Dawkins to roll him up for victory. Zayn attacked his own team after the match and seemed dominated by his own conspiracy theories.
Grade: C +
Analyze
Corbin and Zayn not getting along was a good continuity. Just because two guys are heels doesn’t mean they should be friends. It was fun to see Corbin take the main road this time.
The king worked clean, but Zayn’s distraction helped him maintain his heel personality. It was perfectly in line with his character to leave Zayn alone after a small communication error.
Dawkins won the victory after his partner lost the tie, but he also did this whole sequence of events a wash. Both games were short, but had some decent action. It just wasn’t enough to make up for the lack of logic in how everything was reserved.
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After turning the jump recently, Chad Gable was looking to continue building momentum in a singles match against one of the men he and Otis defeated last week, Dominik Mysterio.
Gable demonstrated his technical skill with a quick fall, but Dom was able to send him across the ropes to the ground. Gable swung him down and started to focus on his leg.
Dom hit a hurricane from the middle rope and sent Gable to the middle stretcher. The former Olympic athlete turned a DDT tornado into a beautiful suplex tiger for a count of two.
After kicking out, Dom was able to use a beautiful combination of immobilization to score the victory.
Grade: B
Analyze
That was fast, but it also turned out to be one of the best technical performances we’ve seen from Dominik. It is no surprise that it was against Gable.
The Alpha Academy leader is among the best pure fighters the WWE has to offer. It can elevate anyone because it is very smooth in its delivery and execution. Pairing it with Dominik was a smart decision.
This is another example of a 50-50 reserve, but this feud is just beginning, so they can afford to negotiate wins until WWE decides which team will come out on top.
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The match started with a competitive exchange of counterattacks, while Shayna Baszler and Bianca Belair struggled to take control. Belair had the advantage of power, but Baszler’s experience gave her an advantage.
The Queen of Swords went after EST’s arm from the beginning to soften her and take away her power play. Baszler followed with a running knee for a count of two.
Contender No. 1 for the women’s title started to recover, but Baszler was able to send her through the ropes. Belair threw Reginald to the ground and he tripped over Nia Jax. She tried to run over him, but he moved and she hit Banks.
Meanwhile, Belair hit Baszler with his finisher in the ring for the win. Banks slapped Reginald after the match and told him to stay out of his business.
Grade: B-
Analyze
Baszler does so many little things to make his offense look painful. Whether she is manipulating the joints or putting on her attacks, she is always convincing.
The antics in the ring were unnecessary, but they did not diminish the action in the ring. Fortunately, this was the end of Reginald’s involvement, because he added nothing to this rivalry.
Banks and Belair get along, but they’re not acting like best friends, so there’s a good chance they’ll lose in Fastlane and turn against each other.
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At the beginning of the program, Seth Rollins was giving an interview when Murphy approached him and offered to help deal with Cesaro. Rollins told him to leave, but he ended up leaving to watch the game anyway.
Cesaro grabbed Murphy and dropped him in a waistband just after the bell. He caught Murphy in the middle of the jump and hit a backbreaker for a count of two. Murphy was able to get him out of the ring and take a huge dive to knock him down.
The Juggernaut hit an upper rope meteor for another near fall. Cesaro caught him with an uppercut to give him time to recover. The Swiss Superman swung Murphy by the legs for several seconds before pinning him to a Sharpshooter for the submission win.
Grade: B-
Analyze
If they had received double the time and had Rollins not distracting us in the comments, this could have been the game of the week.
Cesaro and Murphy showed great chemistry and used their skills to make each other look good. The only thing that could have done this better would be to spend more time with them.
Rollins did not seem impressed by Murphy’s efforts and made no effort to help him, so this may have been a unique interaction for the former allies.
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Corey Graves gave a special introduction to this Cage fight. Although it was unnecessary, it helped to make it feel that this was an important fight for both competitors.
Usage quickly took control and punished Bryan against the wall of the cage while Reigns watched and encouraged him to continue. Bryan prevented Uso from escaping through the door, but was unable to do much more.
Yes Man hit a missile dropkick and kicked Uso’s arm as if he were going for a field basket. He threw Uce into the cage and continued to work on his arm. Usage prevented him from leaving the cage and hung him on the tree of doom.
We came back from a break to see the two men on top of the cage. Bryan pulled Uso back into the ring and landed a series of kicks while they were on the top rope. Use countered with a superkick and a big splash, but almost fell.
Bryan and Uso defeated each other with attacks. Bryan hit a suplex from the top string and applied Yes Lock. Usage was forced to hit while Reigns looked on with a disappointed expression on his face.
Grade: B +
Analyze
Bryan and Uso beat each other meaninglessly and had a fun fight at Cage to end what was an uneven episode of SmackDown.
Both men looked great and used the cage intelligently. They weren’t constantly throwing each other at it, so it had more of an impact when they used it to their advantage.
Bryan vs. Fastlane reigns will be great, but the result is predictable. This week’s show had a bit of a fun fight, but it didn’t do much to promote the ongoing stories.