Simple theme for this SmackDown In A Nutshell…it’s time for WrestleMania decisions.
Neither Cody Rhodes nor Bayley made their decision on Monday Night RAW. You can check those results here.
Both left us with cliffhangers heading into this week’s SmackDown. Smart booking by the company, really.
RAW benefited from going right after, but WWE prolonging some things to give the blue brand (and FOX) some appeal as well.
With CM Punk’s injury, there is definitely some debate as to whether or not Rhodes might pivot to Rollins. Such a move would likely happen to allow for the Reigns-Rock dream match..
And, Rollins has made a compelling case, asking Cody if he’d rather be like Ric Flair (fighting champion) or Ultimate Warrior (not so much, I suppose).
As for Bayley, Nia Jax did what she could to scare the Damage CTRL leader from challenging Rhea Ripley. Perhaps her decision changes the future for her faction.
WWE’s WrestleMania 40 Card Up In The Air
So, the Road to WrestleMania continues, and it is time for…
SmackDown In A Nutshell: It’s Time For WrestleMania Decisions
Lets crack this one open and see what goes down!
Best Match of the night:
Going for two here.
Opening with Kevin Owens versus Austin Theory was strong. The match was good, and Logan being there just added to it.
Second, in her SmackDown debut, Tiffany Stratton taking out Michin. This one was effectively the main event, with Cody’s decision falling in the actual main event slot.
Talk about trust, putting the young Superstar in the main event match on her first blue brand show. And she looked right at home.
And a bonus? The true main event, the talking from Reigns and Rhodes just shows why they are the main event Superstars.
Just…not at WrestleMania.
Worst match of the night:
Not bad, but the six man match was a no contest. Curious if that was the plan, to string things out, or if they had some changes that needed time so they cut this one.
Crowd Chants of the Night:
No specific chants for the most part, but this was a nice crowd.
OK, fine, yes, they chanted like mad for Cody and for The Rock.
Star of the Night
Kevin Owens.
Logan Paul.
Tiffany Stratton.
Spot of the Night:
The Damage CTRL split, why not.
Or…get used to the prettiest moonsault.
Jobber of the Night:
IYO, Kairi Sane and Asuka took a lot of beating from a beaten down Bayley.
Upset of the Night:
Bayley was upset hearing her “friends” do her wrong.
Pleasantly surprised to see Dunne and Bate win the first qualifier to find out who fights Judgement Day for the tag titles.
Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:
Did anyone expect to hear IYO SKY declare that tonight Bayley goes down? And for Bayley to overhear.
Or, to have the group laughing as Bayley cut her promo.
Perhaps the implosion came sooner than I expected. Perhaps not as explosively as I had expected…but it was slick having her reveal she learned enough Japanese to know she was getting dissed.
It will be Bayley and IYO in Philadelphia and I am here for it.
The only complaint with it is that Bayley was beaten down and then a pipe + her was able to shut down three supposedly top Superstars.
This is one where I expected more of a beating, where perhaps the heels walk up the ramp and a defiant Bayley refuses to stay down. Gets up, declares she wants a shot at IYO, and done.
Reigns was there spitting fire at Rollins. Seth had some shots at the Tribal Chief on RAW, and for the first time I can recall, Reigns acknowledged them.
And no words needed, just an epic Samoan staredown.
Botch of the night:
Nothing worth calling out, unless you want to dive into the rabbit hole that is Cody not main eventing in Philly against Roman…
Commentary of the night:
Simple bit here. Wade Barrett with Corey Graves, one night in, was a good pairing.
Graves moving over to lead commentary did not feel bad.
LOL Moment of the night:
Logan Paul to Kevin Owens: You are too close to me and you stink.
Owens: I bathed in Prime before I came out.
Paul: Must not have been some cherry flavor (I missed it all) because that’s delicious.
I mean…if Paul is going to be around more, or at least around more on the Road to WrestleMania? He’s gold.
Noteworthy Moment:
Naomi officially is on SmackDown.
Tiffany Stratton is as well, and she wasted no time making friends.
All that time chatting up Bobby Lashley finally got somewhere, with B-Fab joining his trio and taking care of Scarlett during the six man.
Aldis and Pearce are having a bidding war for Bron Breakker, and possibly Jade Cargill too. Even though it is somewhat nonsensical, it still adds something to the shows, and I love it.
Overall lowlights:
The worst thing about the Bayley-Damage CTRL fracture is simply this. All signs are pointing to Sasha Banks heading to AEW as Mercedes Mone.
Because right now Bayley is 1 against 3. It seems likely that Dakota Kai sides with the trio, meaning it ends up 1 on 4.
And…a Kabuki Warriors foursome versus, say, the OG 4 Horsewomen at Survivor Series? Charlotte could be back by November, but without Banks, it would at best be a trio.
The way things were written, her return to save her friend would be perfect, but barring something most unexpected…it won’t happen.
Overall highlights:
Good open. Great close.
Solid and enjoyable from bell to bell. It was time for decisions, and decisions were indeed made.
Wish we’d see Rhodes beat Reigns at WrestleMania…but I did love the pivot, or rather, how they did it.
Of course, thinking deeper, it sucks for Rhodes, and for fans who got to see him go back to back, and know he was shuffled down because of Punk’s injury.
However, if it’s “best for business”, well, here we are.
Here’s my one silver lining to this. It would seem likely that at this point they want Reigns breaking Hogan’s run, at least.
Which would have meant Cody wasn’t winning in Philly. Because, love him, I don’t see Rock beating Reigns.
So, would you rather see Cody lose in a WM main event two years in a row, or would you rather see him get his win…just maybe not at ‘Mania, or not this ‘Mania?
Yes, I am ready to see Reigns lose. I just doubt they’ve drawn out his title reign this long, to be beaten by an all time legend and special attraction.
Reigns has to lose, either to Cody or someone younger and deemed the future of the company. Meaning, they can’t end this streak as badly as they did when Lesnar beat ‘Taker.
After the final bell:
We kicked this off saying it was time for WrestleMania decisions, and it sure seems like we got some WrestleMania decisions.
Whether you love them or hate them, or they work out? That remains to be see.
But, we have some WrestleMania matches locked in, it would seem. Time for WrestleMania decisions is over for some folks.
Bayley aims to take down IYO SKY. Seth Rollins talked himself into a date with Cody Rhodes.
And The Rock and Roman Reigns will be…well…epic. No words, just a stare down.
That goes back to when say, Undertaker and Triple H lined it up, with a simple stare or glance or point toward the ‘Mania sign.
Buckle up folks!
