Smackdown Review 02/28/2020

Its the Wrestling Classic aka Justin Dhillon back here for this weeks review of Smackdown. The review is late again because I was still in California last week and extremely busy. I actually didn’t get to watch Smackdown until I got back home a couple of days ago. However I still wanted to give my thoughts on the follow up show of Super Showdown. Goldberg is the new Universal Champion after shockingly defeating The Fiend Bray Wyatt. John Cena is making a return to WWE in his hometown in Boston. Things are heating up as we get closer to Wrestlemania so lets see how it went.

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Live from the TD Garden in Boston, MA.

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

Goldberg Promo
Greg Hamilton introduces the new WWE Universal Champion Bill Goldberg. WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg comes out to a mixed reaction, but mostly cheers and chants of his name. Cole talks about how Goldberg defeated “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt for the title at WWE Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia. The music stops and the boos get louder as Goldberg grabs a mic. Goldberg says do not be mistaken, it’s not about who was last, it’s all about who’s next. He drops the mic and the music interrupts. Out comes Roman Reigns. Reigns marches to the ring as fans cheer them on. The two men meet in the middle of the ring for a staredown. Reigns says, “I’m next.” Reigns drops the mic and makes his exit to the back as his music starts back up. Goldberg paces the ring as Cole and Graves wonder what this match would be like if it happens at WrestleMania 36.
My Thoughts
It’s official. It doesn’t seem like we’re getting Roman versus The Fiend at Wrestlemania. It also seems like the rumoured number one contender elimination chamber match is scrapped too. This was a simple yet effective way to set up the match. I’m with it even though I wish The Fiend never won or lost the belt in the first place.

– Cole and Graves hype tonight’s show, including John Cena’s return in his hometown. Cole says we will take a look at moments from Cena’s career throughout the night. We get a look back at Cena’s debut on June 27, 2002 with WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle. Cole says Cena will be here live tonight.

Naomi def. Bayley
Before the match officially starts, Bayley takes the mic after the bell rings and says this is ridiculous. Bayley said she should not have to be here tonight, especially in front of these idiots. Bayley said she already made history last night when she beat Naomi, but she’s here for one reason and one reason only as she introduces a future Grammy winning artist, who is better than Beyonce or Cardi B, the one and only Sasha Banks. Sasha Banks makes her way out to support her friend. In a quick match that never really got underway Naomi defeated Bayley by DQ when Sasha Banks got involved.
My Thoughts
I am excited that my favourite Sasha Banks is back. I couldn’t be happier. I hope she plays a bigger role heading into Mania and eventually separates herself from Bayley. This match served its purpose to lead to the next match.

– After the bell, Naomi gets double teamed by Bayley and Sasha Banks. The music hits and out comes Lacey Evans. Evans rushes the ring but Banks and Bayley double team her. Evans gets involved and they all continue to brawl. Referees hit the ring to break things up.

Naomi & Lacey Evans def. Sasha Banks & Bayley
In a solid tag match, Naomi and Evans defeated Sasha Banks and Bayley when Naomi catches Bayley with a roll up. My Thoughts
I really thought Sasha Banks should have picked up the big win in her hometown on the night of her return but that wasn’t the case. The babyfaces pick up the upper hand right off the bat.

– We see The New Day backstage walking. They greet NFL player Josh McDaniels of the New England Patriots. They then walk up on Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler for a staredown.

Robert Roode def. Kofi Kingston
In a competitive match, Robert Roode defeated Kofi Kingston after catching a distracted Kingston with a roll up. My Thoughts
This was the second match tonight that ended with a roll-up which was kind of annoying but the match was really good overall for the finish to fully ruin it for me.

– Otis is backstage, thinking about Mandy Rose and Dolph Ziggler. Tucker comes in and says sometimes the good guy doesn’t get the girl, sometimes Ziggler gets the girl. Tucker thinks Otis needs to let Mandy go. Tucker says next week they’re going to get Otis back out in front of the WWE Universe. Tucker tries to get Otis hyped up and it looks like it might be working.

– Renee Young is at ringside as the crew sets the ring up for a contract signing, for Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Braun Strowman at Elimination Chamber. Back to commercial.

Shinsuke Nakamura & Braun Strowman Contract Signing

Renee Young welcomes us to the signing and he plugs next Sunday’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. Renee then introduces Shinsuke Nakamura first. Out comes Nakamura with Sami Zayn and Cesaro. Following that out comes WWE Intercontinental Champion Braun Strowman.
Strowman lays the title over the table and takes a seat. The others are standing but Nakamura also sits as Renee asks him to sign first. Strowman stands back up as Sami stops everything. He tells Strowman to grab a seat. Strowman actually grabs it and tosses it out of the ring. Sami wants to review the contract first because they’ve all been treated badly, an injustice he says. Sami goes on until Strowman yells at him to shut up. Strowman says everyone is sick and tired of hearing Sami b—h and moan. Strowman doesn’t care what’s in the contract because at the end of the day, he knows he will have to fight these three clowns and he’s fine with it. Strowman goes on and signs the contract first.
Sami says everyone just heard Strowman say he’s willing to fight all three of them. Strowman asks if he’s really going to spin it like that. Sami asks Strowman if he’s going to go back on his word. Sami adds a rule amendment to the contract and they all sign. Sami tells Renee to take this to the notary in the back. Sami says it’s official – this will now be a 3-on-1 Handicap Match. Strowman stares them down and nods. Sami says Strowman is going down at Elimination Chamber. Strowman slowly picks the table up and moves it out of the way. Sami says at the pay-per-view, nothing happens tonight. Strowman asks Sami what makes him think he’s making it to the pay-per-view. Strowman drops Cesaro and Nakamura with big right hands. He looks to go for Sami but Cesaro and Nakamura attack him, taking it to the corner. Sami with a low blow kick. They hold Strowman in the corner again as Sami delivers a Helluva Kick. Nakamura with the Kinshasa next. Cesaro and Nakamura suplex Strowman in the air as Sami delivers a Helluva Kick to put him through the table. Fans boo as Cesaro, Sami and Nakamura stand tall before exiting the ring.
My Thoughts
No contract signing ends civilly and this was no different. The numbers game is something Strowman will have to overcome but we’ve seen Elias and others help him in past weeks. It’s been really hard for me to get into this feud even though most weeks it has been really entertaining.

Daniel Bryan def. Curtis Axel
Drew Gulak was on commentary for this match. In a solid match, Daniel Bryan defeated Curtis Axel after making him tap out to the labell lock.
My Thoughts
Its nice that every week Bryan is having matches on television with guys that don’t often get television time. I also really appreciate that he’s heading into Wrestlemania in a feud with someone as talented as Drew Gulak. Hopefully, Gulak can prosper off this rub.

– Backstage, we see SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Miz and John Morrison backstage doing their championship photoshoot.

The Miz and John Morrison
The new SmackDown Tag Team Champions, John Morrison and The Miz make their way out. We get a brief look at how they defeated The New Day at WWE Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia yesterday.
Miz asks why there are no “you deserve it!” chants and says they do deserve it. Miz says they proved the haters wrong and they can choke on their pancakes. They go on bragging about the title win and then call for Miz’s music to hit. The referee is at ringside talking to Greg Hamilton. Hamilton announces that Miz and Morrison’s first tag team title defense will be against The New Day, Heavy Machinery, Lucha House Party, Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler, and The Usos. That match will take place inside the Elimination Chamber.The Miz and John Morrison react to the news with anger. Apparently they throw a mic at Hamilton. The music interrupts and out come The Usos for a non-title match.
My Thoughts
It’s great to see The Miz and Morrison as tag team champions again. I’d rather them be champions over The New Day. This is the replacement for the rumoured Elimination Chamber match to claim the number contendership for the Universal Championship at Wrestlemania. This will be a good highlight for the stacked tag division on Smackdown.

The Usos def. John Morrison & The Miz
In a competitive tag team match, The Usos defeated Morrison and The Miz after Jimmy hits a super destroyer on Morrison from the top rope followed by a huge splash by Jey Uso sealed the victory for The Usos.
My Thoughts
This was a great tag match between four talented dudes. However, Miz and Morrison continue to pick up more L’s than W’s even though they are the tag team champions. As much as I like many of the teams involved in this Elimination Chamber including The Usos, I do hope that Morrison and Miz carry the belts to Mania.

John Cena
John Cena come outs to a big hometown pop. Fans go wild for Cena as he takes the mic in the ring. Cena say she came to talk to the people tonight but they’re talking to him now, his heart is beating out of his chest. Cena goes on and asks what is he doing here? Well, it’s WrestleMania 36 Season. Cena says he will always be a WWE Superstar and this is home. He says he’s doing something different this year because he knows how hard everyone in the back works. He goes on and says he will always first listen to the biggest WWE Superstar of all – the fans. He talks more about listening to the fans and hearing them each week. Fans chant “Cena!” again.
Cena mentions WrestleMania again and says he’s doing the right thing this year. He says this year WrestleMania should go on without him. Fans boo. Cena says he hears them. This is not goodbye, but it is goodbye for now and it’s the right thing to do. Cena says like us, he believes in the future of the company and he respects what the talents do every night. He says WrestleMania spots should be earned, not given, and this year the show should go on without him. Fans boo again. Cena knows that makes WrestleMania kind of sour, he understands, but that also makes tonight a bit more special because he’s not sure when he will be back. He wanted to make this special announcement in front of his loved ones, his family, at a place he calls home. Cena gets the crowd hyped up some more and they chant his name again.
Cena says the chants mean more to him than we will know. He puts the mic down and exits the ring as his music hits. Cena greets some fans at ringside and heads to the stage. Cena turns around and salutes the crowd but we hear the familiar sounds of “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt as the lights start to go out. They come back up and Cena is frozen with the salute. He stops and turns around to see The Fiend staring him down on the stage at the entrance.
Cena and The Fiend stare each other down. The Fiend points up at the WrestleMania 36 sign as fans pop. Fans cheer louder and chant “yes!” now as The Fiend continues to point up at the WrestleMania banner. Cena looks around at the crowd, and turns back to The Fiend. Cena tips his hat and nods at The Fiend, apparently agreeing to the match. The lights go out in the arena as we hear Wyatt’s laughs echo all over. SmackDown goes off the air.
My Thoughts
The Fiend is Bray Wyatt’s alter ego who is taking care of everyone who had ever done Bray Wyatt wrong in the past and John Cena is one of Wyatt’s greatest rivals. There is a lot of us who believe Bray should have beaten Cena at Wrestlemania 30 and this might be the year he is finally able to redeem himself for that loss like he has over the likes of Finn, Rollins, and Bryan.

Final Thoughts
This was a very enjoyable episode of Smackdown that really set the tone for Wrestlemania on the Smackdown side of things. It almost felt like a new landscape for the blue brand with Goldberg and John Cena being there and I understand how their presence could be boosting the ratings and the hype for Wrestlemania. I also couldn’t be happier that Sasha Banks is back of course. Although, the finishes to a lot of the matches weren’t the best the matches were good. If you’re trying to get excited for Wrestlemania be sure to check out last weeks episode of Smackdown.