Smackdown Review 01/24/2020

Its the Wrestling Classic aka Justin Dhillon back here for this weeks review of Smackdown. Its the go-home show to the Royal Rumble and Smackdown is the last stop before the show. Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt sign the contract to their strap match this Sunday. Roman Reigns and The Usos face off against Corbin, Roode and Ziggler. Will Lacey Evans have another run in with Sasha Banks and Bayley before this Sunday? Will others claim a spot in either the mens or women’s Royal Rumble? What is next in the love story between Otis and Mandy Rose? Lets find out.

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Live from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX.

Michael Cole and Corey Graves are our announce team for the evening.

Roman Reigns & The Usos def. King Corbin, Bobby Roode & Dolph Ziggler
In a main event caliber six man tag match Roman Reigns and The Usos defeated Corbin, Roode and Ziggler after chaos ensued and Jimmy hit a Usos Splash on Roode for the three. Jimmy was taken out of the match early on with an injured knee but made the heroes return in the closing stretch to even the odds again.
My Thoughts
This was good match but just felt really long. It was the first half hour of the show and I feel like there is going to be other people who won’t be on the show that could have if this just went 20 minutes. I’m not a huge fan of six or eight man tags on Raw and Smackdown but this one made sense. It was a nice touch that Reigns and Corbin went fought around the arena as they are in a falls count anywhere match this Sunday.

– They hype up the contract signing for Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan tonight.

– They show Lacey Evans backstage getting pictures taken of her as we find out that Lacey will be interviewed by Michael Cole when we come back from break.

Lacey Evans Interview
Michael Cole is on the stage with a microphone. Cole introduces Lacey Evans and out she comes. Cole asks why Evans first questioned the leadership of Bayley and Sasha Banks to start the feud. Evans says because they are bullies. She got tired of watching them do what they do, so she called them out as bullies. Cole asks about Evans having a rough upbringing. She gets emotional as she talks about her father losing his battle with addiction and depression. She goes on talking about being a role model for fans and showing them that they can make it. Fans cheer and Evans continues getting emotional. Cole brings up how she went into the Marines and she says that led to her being here in WWE. Cole says Evans will have to be a leader herself if she beats Bayley. She says she will be a leader that shows you can accomplish anything if you keep pushing, no matter what’s happened or where you’ve been. She will continue to set that example because that’s what the world needs, and she will be that champion. Cole brings up Evans’ daughter being a fighter and shows us a replay of what happened last month when Banks and Bayley taunted her daughter at ringside. Evans says watching that makes her angry but she’s glad her daughter stood up to bullies. She talks about how fans didn’t see her daughter crying backstage. She had to explain about this being her job. She says Banks and Bayley stood in between she and her daughter when her daughter was trying to support her. Evans says she put Banks on the shelf and come Sunday, she will put Bayley… Bayley suddenly attacks from behind and drops Evans. Bayley yells at Evans, asking where is her daughter now. Officials pull Bayley away from Evans as Evans recovers and gets back to her feet.
My Thoughts
This was a good way to really get Evans over as a babyface that Americans could get behind. The tears and emotion during her promo felt genuine. Bayley attacking her behind was a good way to hype up the match this Sunday since prior to last week the feud seemed to be Sasha and Lacey but now they got to make Bayley seem relevant here.

– Backstage Kayla Braxton is with Carmella and Dana Brooke to talk about the Royal Rumble. Mella says she’s the odds on favourite to win because she won the Wrestlemania battle royal, was the first ever Mrs Money in the Bank and first one to successfully cash in. Also reminds the people that they shouldn’t forget that Mella is Money. Dana Brooke says that we’ve all seen Mella’s wikipedia page and goes on talking about how she knows she’s the underdog. Lacey and Bayley break into the scene still brawling. Mella and Dana go to break it up as we go to commercial.

Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. Fire & Desire
Both teams get full entrances. We get a backstage segment from earlier today between Mandy and Sonya making amends about what happened last week with Sonya taking the blame for trying to make it Fire and Desire with Otis. The bell rings but Lacey and Bayley brawl their way to the ring. The match is a no contest as all six girls brawl.
My Thoughts
This is where I go back to the first match and want to say if it wasn’t 30 minutes maybe we could have gotten at least 5-6 minutes of a match here before Lacey and Bayley came to crash it. Thus far, every other women’s segment on this show has been crashed by Lacey and Bayley. There was no follow up on the Otis and Mandy angle tonight and this felt like filler. – Elias is backstage strumming his guitar until Strowman walks up to him and asks him if he’s ready to take care of business.

Elias 
Elias sings another song taking jabs at other wrestlers in the Royal Rumble match and then introduces Braun Strowman to come out to sing with him. The moment Braun starts to sing Cesaro’s music hits.
My Thoughts
This really seemed like filler or they could have even cut time on this. They could have had both Braun and Elias already in the ring coming back from commercial but it was what it was.

Braun Strowman & Elias def. Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura w/ Sami Zayn
In a competitive match where Zayn tried to interfere to help his guys, Strowman and Elias still defeated Cesaro and Nakamura after Braun hits a big bodyslam followed by flying elbow by Elias onto Cesaro for the win.
My Thoughts
This was a good match for what it was. I would have sort of likes Nakamura and Cesaro to go over as it seems like they haven’t picked up many important wins as of late and Nakamura is the champion. However, Elias seems to have found his groove again and it was good stuff.

– We see Bryan preparing for the contract signing.

– Big E is backstages greasing himself up and a random person comes trying to pick him up. Kofi walks up and asks E what he’s doing. Big E says if your boy is greasy eliminating him won’t be easy. He kisses the random person on the forehead and sends him off. Kofi and Big E talk about the Royal Rumble and how lit its going to be. Kofi says it doesn’t matter what number they come out at because they got the power of positivity. Kofi asks E if he’s ready to climb that mountain again and E says yes but this time they’re doing it for their boy Xavier. They start doing the “New Day Rocks” chant. This was funny and solid.

– Kayla Braxton catches up with King Corbin and asks him about his match this Sunday. Corbin said he just stood toe to toe earlier tonight against Roman. He asks Kayla what she’ll be doing this Sunday and he stops her before answering stating she’ll prolly be asking more dumb questions. He goes on talking about how he’s going to beat Roman Reigns this Sunday in a way nobody has ever seen before and then going to win the Royal Rumble moving forward to headline Wrestlemania.

– They finally air one of their badass Royal Rumble by the numbers to hype up the event. This was followed by The New Day making their entrance.

– They air a Sheamus promo where he talks about returning to Smackdown to get rid of squeaky little vermin rats and the one he found was the loudest rat…Shorty G. He says the rat bit back and at the Royal Rumble that he is going to destroy that little rat. 

John Morrison w/ The Miz def. Kofi Kingston w/ Big E
In a tremendous back and forth match with some outside distractions, John Morrison defeated Kofi Kingston after hitting the starship pain moonsault.
My Thoughts
This was personally my favourite match of the night and coincidentally the only singles match on the show. These guys have great chemistry together and the right guy went over. Morrison has just returned and its smart to build him as a threat to everyone. I wish they would put over the fact that Morrison just pinned a former WWE Champion but I guess we’re supposed to just forget that.

– Bryan is heading to the ring for the contract signing.

Daniel Bryan & Bray Wyatt Contract Signing
Michael Cole goes over the stipulations of the match and introduces the challenger Daniel Bryan to the ring. Once Bryan makes it to the ring the Firefly Funhouse music his and Bray Wyatt appears on the tron saying he’s been trying to fax the contract to Bryan all day but can’t get it to work. He then calls Bryan mad for wanting to strap himself to HIM. Bray starts calling customer service. Bryan tells him to cut the crap, calls him a sick man and tells him to come out here. Bray says that he actually has never been better and shows off his belt. He then says his attorney Mercy the Bird advised him he should stay back there. Bryan says he gets Brays games and how he likes to live in his fantasy world but all he really does is run from his past and mistakes. Bryan goes on saying this Sunday he will be tied to the Fiend and he won’t be able to run. Bray says mistake is the word of the day and this is all about Daniel’s big mistake for betraying him in the past. Bray says its time for Bryan to pay. Bray then mentions how Bryan won’t be facing him this Sunday so it’s only fitting that HE comes to sign the contract.
The lights go out and The Fiend appears in the ring. Bryan goes at him but the Fiend gets the mandible claw on Bryan taking him out. The Fiend then rips off Bryans shirt and whips him in the back with the leather strap multiple times before sitting down to sign the contract but instead stabs the pen in his hand. He then marks the contract with his blood and throws it at Bryan. The fans chant “you got issues.” The lights go out and when we’re back The Fiend is gone and we see Bryan trying to get back to his feet as the fans chant “Yes!”
My Thoughts
This was a fun way to close the show. Of course we know contract signings in wrestling never go smoothly so I was waiting to see how this would all unfold. The red light doesn’t bother me for segments like this but it is annoying for matches. This was nice little preview of what Bryan will be dealing with this Sunday but also showcased the resiliency of Daniel Bryan. Bryan still is the only one who doesn’t seem to be changed by The Fiend but we’ll see if that changes after this Sunday. The fans chanting you have issues was funny.

Final Thoughts
I enjoyed Smackdown but it did feel a step down from weeks before. I think the opening match was way too long and it really hurt other angles that could have been showcased on this episode. For example, after weeks of Otis there was no Otis this week. This is similar to them giving Mella back to back wins only for her to be gone for two or three weeks. On that note, besides trying to make Bayley seem relevant against Lacey since the feud was really against Sasha Banks. the women really got shafted on this episode. The hype for the Women’s Royal Rumble is still very minimal. They did a good job trying to hype the mens Rumble and I appreciate them finally dropping one of their Rumble by the numbers video packages but the overall hype is lowest it has been in years. There were two really good matches on this show and good closing segment so its definitely worth a watch but still think it was a step down from last week.