SmackDown Review 04/17/2020
Smackdown Review 04/17/20
Hello! Welcome back to this weeks Smackdown review. Tonight’s show coming to us from the WWE performance center is sure to be entertaining as we have The Miz, Big E & Jey Uso battle in a triple threat match for the tag team championships, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville finally come face to face & Sasha Banks goes head-to-head with Tamina. Plus, two money in the back qualifiers and more! So, lets get into it.
Live from the WWE Performance Center
Rest In Peace Howard Finkel.
A Moment of Bliss
A Moment Of Bliss with Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross kick off tonight’s show. Their guest is the WWE Universal Champion, Braun Strowman. They start off by talking about Strowman’s WrestleMania win. This leads right into conversation about Bray Wyatt. Strowman says that if Bray tries to come for him, he will get these hands. Suddenly, Braun see’s a present in the corner of the ring. Obviously, he assumes Alexa got it for him, but she denies. Braun opens it up only to find his old sheep mask inside, which was all beaten up and punctured with holes. Bray’s creepy laugh then rings through the arena as a photo of the black sheep Strowman flashes on the screen and we head to commercial
My Thoughts
It was a short segment, there really wasn’t much to it to begin with other than the ending, which I enjoyed. When Bray’s presence is felt, it always commands your attention and makes a impact and that’s what happened here. He saved this segment, so for that, good start.
⁃ They announce Braun will defend his championship against Bray Wyatt at Money In The Bank.
Sasha Banks vs. Tamina
Once this match start, Sasha immediately begged for forgiveness. She tried to give Tamina her shirt as a peace offering. But, Tamina didn’t fall for it. She pushed Sasha then threw the shirt at Bayley, is on commentary. Sasha then immediately went for a roll up pin, but was unsuccessful. She tried a few more times, but failed again, and suddenly Tamina was in control of the match. Coming back from a commercial break, Sasha was in charge. She did a good job at keeping Tamina grounded, trying for quick pins, and staying on her. Tamina started to fight back as the match spilled to the outside, but with a distraction from Bayley, Sasha got right back into control. Lacey Evans then ran down to even the odds and took Bayley out. Two super kicks later, Tamina gets the victory.
My Thoughts
this was a solid match. Not terrible, but not good either. It was just there. But, Tamina did win so that means she will get a championship match against Bayley, which i assume will be at money in the bank.
⁃ Jey Uso cuts a quick promo backstage, letting The Miz and Big E know that tonight he will come out victorious.
⁃ Lacey Evans was stopped by Charly Caruso. Lacey says that Sasha has been a thorn in her side, but she won’t stop until the mission is complete. She shows her hand, which has Sasha’s name on it but it’s crossed out.
Sheamus vs. Denzel Dejournette
Denzel tried to go for a quick roll up out of the gate, but failed. This only pissed Sheamus off, who then ran through Denzel. A couple ground strike elbows and knees, then finished him off with a Brouge Kick. Sheamus then went outside the ring and yelled at Michael Cole. He says he’s so dominant, but they immediately want to talk about Jeff Hardy. Sheamus says he will not be disrespected.
My Thoughts
This was aquick squash match, seems like they’re setting up a potential Sheamus vs Jeff Hardy feud for Jeff’s return, which id be into.
⁃ Up next we take a look at chapter 2 of Jeff Hardy’s redemption story. This went over his drug and alcohol issues. Multiple superstars, including Jeff talking about his struggles with his substance abuse and jail time.
⁃ Carmella confronts Dana Brooke backstage and asks her how she’s focusing on their upcoming tag titles match for next week, when she’s in a money in the bank qualifier match. Dana tells her not to worry, she’s got it under control.
⁃ Triple H 25th anniversary special will start next week.
Naomi vs. Dana Brooke (Money In The Bank Qualifier)
This was a pretty even match right from the start. Neither woman getting a solid upper hand, and it stayed that way for nearly the entire match. Once you thought Dana was in control, Naomi put a stop to it and vice versa. Naomi hit her rear view, but Dana surprisingly kicked out. Naomi then tried to follow it up with a leg split moonsault, but Dana moves, then turned a sunset flip into a pin to get a shocking victory!
My Thoughts
I really enjoyed this. Great back and forth competition all the way until the end, and it even ended in shocking fashion. I thought for sure that Naomi would win here, but i was wrong. Dana Brooke is going to Money In The Bank.
⁃ We take a look back at the story between Mandy Rose and Otis.
Sonya Deville confronts Mandy Rose
We were led right into Mandy and Sonya face to face. Sonya came out first and begged Mandy to come out, she said they’re best friends and she doesn’t want to throw that away. But she has something to tell her. She’s crying. Mandy makes her way down to the ring and says she really has nothing to say to her, but Sonya says that what she’s been trying to say is that Mandy is the most selfish human she’s ever met. She says this has to do with the fact that once she went with Otis, she was ready to kick her to the curb. Sonya says week after week they came out to Mandy’s music, the spotlight was on Mandy, and it was never about fire and desire. She said they could’ve won the tag titles together but she ruined it. Mandy is confused. Sonya says all she wants is to see Mandy hurt. She runs down Mandy’s looks and tells her she has no talent. She says she will show the world who the real champ of fire and desire is. Dolph makes his way out to the ring and says everyone went about this the wrong way. Dolph asks Mandy if she feels anything for her, Mandy pushes him away and Sonya attacks her. Otis rushes down to the ring and takes out Dolph. Mandy goes after Sonya before they run away. Otis and Mandy stand tall. Dolph tried to come back, but gets taken out by Otis again. Otis and Mandy Rose stand tall again.
My Thoughts
This took me on a rollercoaster, at first it made me feel that Sonya was going to “confess her love” for Mandy, but suddenly she turned on her. Seems like we will probably get a mixed tag match at money in the bank, I’m into that.
⁃ We see a tribute for the late, great, Howard Finkel.
⁃ Miz cuts a promo backstage talking about how tonight’s match is an injustice. But he will successfully defend his tag team titles tonight because he’s the Miz and he’s awesome.
Cesaro w/ Nakamura vs. Daniel Bryan w/ Gulak (Money In The Bank Qualifier)
The match started off red hot but was immediately interrupted with the weird “The Truth” thing that’s been coming up recently. The guy under a good says the truth will soon be heard, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Then that took us right into a commercial. I really didn’t like it interrupting the match like that, especially when it started off so physical. It came back to the match, which continued to be physical, with Daniel working the arm. As the match continued, it got better and better. This match was phenomenal and if you’re into a hard hitting, physical and technical match, check this out. Bryan ferociously picked apart Cesaro’s left arm like crazy, and wouldn’t let up. Cesaro was in obvious pain and kept clutching it, but that didn’t effect the pure power of Cesaro who manhandled Bryan around to get himself in control. A few more minutes of great back and forth action, which led us into Daniel Bryan catching Cesaro in the Yes Lock. Nakamura tried to get involved, but Gulak our a stop to that and Cesaro rapped out. Daniel Bryan qualifies for money in the bank.
My Thoughts
This was fantastic. For sure one of the best TV matches and recent memory. Daniel Bryan getting the win was interesting, we will now see how/if Gulak will play a role in the money in the bank.
⁃ They let us know that the Money In The Bank matches will take place at the WWE HQ.
⁃ Big E cuts a promo backstage about how he will also win the match, similar to the other participants.
⁃ Baron Corbin attacked Elias backstage and laid him out. We went to a commercial, and then came back to Corbin still beating you Elias. Corbin tells him he will bow down to the king, then broke his guitar over his back.
⁃ Next week Gulak vs Corbin & Sasha vs. Lacey in Money In The Bank qualifiers. Also, Alexa and Nikki will defend against Carmella and Dana.
The Miz vs. Big E vs. Jey Uso (WWE Tag Team Championship Match)
Big E came out of the gate on fire, taking out Jey and Miz. Quickly the match spilled out of the ring with Big E still in control, who then went and cleared off the announcers table. Jey caught Big E off guard with a super kick, and Miz followed it up with a big boot. The unlikely duo then teamed up to double Suplex Big E through the announcers table that cleared off. Talk about backfiring. Jey Uso then started to bring the fight, keeping Miz and E under control, a couple dives and corner splashes kept them reeling, but Miz took his place in control eventually, but Uso quickly turned it back in his favor. Lots of quick, fast pace action as you would expect in a triple threat, and it never let up. The tides turned multiple times between each opponent, but when Miz locked in the Figure four leg lock on Jey, it was seemingly looking to be the end. That was until Big E made his way into the ring and broke it up, then hitting the Big Ending on Miz, and picking up the victory. The New Day is the New WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions!
My Thoughts
As I mentioned earlier in this review, this match never let up and was on a good pace the entire time. I was really into this match the entire time and the turning of the tides kept me on edge of who would win, and when Big E won, that caught me by surprise. Miz and Morrison had a short reign, but a successful one in that time. Big E picking up the win was certainly a shock, but a good one.
Final Thoughts
Tonight’s Smackdown was pretty good. It started off on a slow note but picked up as the show went on. Cesaro and Daniel Bryan certainly stole the show, and the main event was the cherry on top. As we know, next week we will have another tag team championship match in the women’s division as Alexa and Nikki battle Carmella and Dana, as well as two more qualifier matches. So, it’s shaping up to be a good looking show. Especially with the qualifiers, every qualifier match so far has set a good bar for the upcoming matches to live up to, and I’m really looking forward to that. Thank you all for reading, I’ll see you next week!
