I didn’t get the chance to commend last week’s episode of SmackDown because c’mon, people. Last week was a hectic weekend for wrestling that your boy Ricky simply couldn't catch up with them all. I’m still behind on NXT, have yet to continue catching up on Dynamite, PWR Mabuhay ang Wrestling took most of my Sunday, and you couldn't simply work while watching this year’s Royal Rumble was just waiting around the corner. I am but one lazy man.
But I did watch last week’s SmackDown and it was awesome. For one, the Roman Reigns antics happened at the start of the show, so at least I was able to skip it immediately. Then John Morrison and Kofi Kingston actually headlined the show, followed by a 2edgy4me contract signing segment between Daniel Bryan and the Fiend—ultimately making it the best SmackDown show of 2020. Fast forward to this week, and we get this “super” episode.
I’m not really sure why this week’s episode was billed as “Super SmackDown.” Apparently, it's because it's the Super Bowl weekend, but all this "super" business just gives me flashbacks of the early 2010 SmackDown shows where they just lumped RAW and SmackDown Superstars in one show, effectively killing the brand split of that era. And you know what killed this week’s Super SmackDown? 30 minutes of Roman Reigns and King Corbin fighting over who gets to eat dog food. Great.
You’d think we’d seen the last of this ridiculously absurd storyline but nah, we had to endure one more week of the same main event. I didn’t, by the way, I just skipped to the end where Corbin finally got his comeuppance. And hooray for Roman Reigns and the Usos, I guess. Why is this nonsense storyline headlining SmackDown on a weekly basis? We didn’t even get a Bray Wyatt promo this week. I thought this was supposed to be a "super" show.
So can we finally move on from this bullshit and start crafting a more compelling Roman Reigns storyline? This is exactly why I have never liked a Roman Reigns angle. WWE is too afraid to put their golden boy in a precarious situation that most of his rivalries end the same way: with him emerging victorious and unscathed. If getting doused with dog food was Creative’s best idea of making Reigns look vulnerable, then I, therefore, conclude that Creative is comprised of thirteen-year-old teenagers. Daniel Bryan received nasty lashes on his back, by the way.
The less I talk about Roman Reigns, the better. Instead, let’s talk about the best parts of the show. Braun Strowman is the Intercontinental Champion, y’all! To be honest, I don’t really care that much. I’m more excited that someone finally unseated Shinsuke Nakamura. Let’s face it, Nakamura's too busy surfing and making money as a bit player in WWE to elevate the damn title anytime soon. It’s best to just let someone take the belt to new heights, and if that’s Braun Strowman, you won’t hear any complaints from me. Next!
How about that four-way tag match? If you think about it, John Morrison and The Miz didn’t really need to go through this. They have pinfall victories over the tag champs! But nah, JoMo and Miz are such ballers that they went ahead and faced three other teams to earn their title shot. And it was a fun brawl that saw the best tag team of the 21st century work hard for the win. Miz even teased dishing out an outside dive. That’s bonkers, yo.
But all jokes aside, this match easily gets the nod for match of the night. The Lucha House Party is always a delight to watch and the Revival also did their stuff. Add Tucker and Otis to the mix and you’ll get a four-way tag that won’t let you rest for even a second. And in the end, the flawless teamwork of JoMiz solidified their claim for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships. Again, let me remind you that they didn’t have to do this. Relentless.
Otis didn’t really lose anything this week because he probably won the biggest prize in WWE, a date with God’s Greatest Creation, Mandy Rose. Biscuits and Gravy right here did it the old school way despite his nerves getting in the way. Otis shot his shot and although he may have missed at first, he eventually got a sweeter deal because his date with Mandy will fall on Valentine's Day! Man, this storyline gets sweeter and sweeter by the week and I love it.
SMACKDOWN RUNDOWN: Nothing super about this show, really. Instead, what we got was yet another Roman Reigns show and his nonsense and never-ending beef with King Corbin and his court. We did get some super moments like Braun Strowman winning the Intercontinental Championship, the four-way tag match, and our boy Otis got himself a Valentine's date—all of which are a lot more compelling than Reigns and Corbin fighting over dog food. Here's hoping next week will be better.
Show Grade: C+
RunDown CutDown
- John Morrison’s Spear from the second rope was probably a botch, but it ended up looking awesome. How can you not love John Morrison?
- Is it weird that I’m now annoyed when someone interrupts Elias’ song? Creative really did a great job making everyone care about an Elias performance.
- Sheamus going over twice in a row makes sense, but I hope Shorty G gets some shots in during this rivalry. You can't really build up Shorty G only to have him get kicked in the face by the Brogue guy week after week. You gave the man a silly name, for fuck's sake!
- Can someone dethrone Bayley already? She’s starting to annoy me as much as Roman Reigns’ plot armor and I hope the addition of Naomi to the SmackDown roster will do the trick. Also, love the fishbowl LED helmet!
*****
: Super Boring Dog Food Saga){kind=link}