WWE SmackDown Review (3/21): Who Won This Week's MVP?, AJ Styles, The Miz, Standout Moments
Standout Moments
1) He's Back!...Already! ? Well, that didn't take long to find out if Styles was actually fired as he opened the show by throwing it in back Daniel Bryan's face. Loved the not-so-subtle WrestleMania attire Styles wore as he trotted down to the ring to share his joyous mood. Despite destroying Shane McMahon, Styles continued to get cheered by the live crowd last night, a testament to just how over he really is. It's not like the people don't like Shane either, Styles is just loved immensely. He is literally putting people through windows and the crowd still celebrates him, it was pretty amusing to watch. For MMA fans, it felt like he was doing his best Conor McGregor impression when he said he wasn't apologizing to anyone. His confidence was so high he even let everyone know he would be waiting in the parking lot for Shane's arrival, more on that in a bit.
2) It's not paranoia... - Last week, SmackDown ended with what I considered a very pedestrian main event with American Alpha taking on The Usos after two weeks of silence from the tag division. Jimmy and Jey ended up getting the win last week in some questionable booking. This week, these two went at it again and had a fantastic match with two false finishes the fans thought for sure would have finished things. It's not a surprise AA and The Usos can put together a fine match, but the division has been in such a lull lately, I think we were just taken by surprise. I'm happy WWE decided to pull the trigger and let Jimmy and Jey snatch away the titles, maybe they have AA's number? I'm totally fine with that storyline going forward until WWE can figure out the tag division. At the very least, it will just shake up the division a bit and allow AA to go on the comeback trail, crowds haven't been fully connected to them, so hopefully this will help.
.@MaryseMizanin is amazing. pic.twitter.com/FSBYHLMWRF
? TDE Wrestling (@totaldivaseps) March 22, 2017
3) "Here we go!" ? Maryse as Nikki/Brie and Miz as Cena were simply "Perfect." Miz ended up doing his best robo-Cena, while Maryse had the sisters mixing up who was who in the first of two glorious segments. DDP Yoga DVD SET!
4) Breezy Bella ? That was scary, funny, but scary. A lot of people dressing up with Nikki this week.
5) Shane Did Something Crazy ? The final segment on SmackDown fell a bit flat for me, let's review. After tricking Styles out in the parking lot (because there aren't multiple entrances to a casino) Shane McMahon was able to find his way out to the ring. There he called out Styles, who then did the longest of walks (Goldberg style) to the gorilla position, where he almost turned away from. He eventually got in the ring and Shane instantly peppered him with some of the worst punching this side of the Mississippi. After some back and forth brawling, Shane lined AJ up on the table and did his classic top rope to table elbow drop. The initial camera angle made it look like he missed Styles completely, but it did look like a glancing blow from the other camera angles. I figured Shane would have to come out on top this week after getting destroyed last time, but for whatever reason, the segment didn't "Wow" me.
Trending Up
Baron Corbin ? Yes, he did fall for the tired Ambrose distraction, but Ambrose was way up high on a forklift, which would be distracting for most people. Yes, he also lost the match and got dropped by Ambrose aftwerwards, but Corbin did achieve his ultimate goal of getting an Intercontinental championship match at WrestleMania with Dean. He also had a first time match-up against Randy Orton and put on a fine performance as WWE continues to keep him near the top of the card. A championship reign seems very likely in the near future.
Trending Down
David Otunga ? With four people at the table, Otunga is not only heard less, but whatever he says usually gets lost in the general conversation. Last week, he was gone (as was Mauro) so we were able to experience what a two-man booth sounded like, and quite frankly, it was awesome. JBL and Phillips had a solid back and forth that I would not mind hearing going forward. This week, only Otunga returned, and only twenty-four minutes into the show, he's made it to this section. The problem isn't so much that he doesn't add anything to commentary, but it's his voice inflection, it's his delivery. Everything sounds like he's just reading off a piece of paper, it's not natural sounding. I know this is a scripted show, but true talent can deliver lines that come off sounding natural.
This Week's MVP
Maryse and The Miz ? They simply crushed John and Nikki this week with their pre-taped Total Bellas promos. They brought in themes of a fake relationship, Cena not wanting to get married, and the simple conversations Brie and Nikki tend to have on those shows. This has been a fun WrestleMania feud that either people have near the top or the bottom of the list. I don't mind it because I know it's not necessarily going to be a marquee match and it's at least something different for the upcoming PPV lineup. Nikki and John apparently were going to have an instant reaction on Talking Smack, but it's probably best for them to just let this one go, Miz and Maryse roasted them this week.
Overall Thoughts
Mauro Ranallo was "out sick," missing a second week in a row. He's also been absent from Twitter, where he is typically extremely active. Not sure what's going on with that situation, but hopefully Mauro is doing okay. We got another solid Luke Harper promo where he announced his match against Bray Wyatt next week. Fully expecting Orton to get involved (unless Bray's curse or whatever that was keeps him away) and help get Harper a much needed win. The overall show was solid; I think at this point I'm just ready for WrestleMania. With the lineup basically done, I don't need any more hype or back and forth between competitors, let's just get to the "Granddaddy of them all."
Grade (out of 10): 6.5 (Last Week: 5)