AJ Styles retains his WWE Championship but now must defend it against Shinsuke Nakamura. Shane McMahon makes huge Wrestlemania plans. What match will Smackdown Live’s commissioner make for the biggest show of the year?
Fastlane delivers a night of superb wrestling but leaves unfinished business. Shane McMahon must now explain why he cost Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn the WWE championship and a match at Wrestlemania. Will McMahon suffer the consequences? At whose hands? Meanwhile who will Randy Orton defend his newly acquired United States Championship against at the Show of Shows?
Smackdown Live comes to us from Indianapolis, IN this March 3rd, 2018.
The Stars Align
Smackdown Live started with a showdown between two legendary performers facing off. Shinsuke Nakamura would confront AJ Styles in a simple yet tense back and forth. Both superstars are confident in their superiority which makes this competitive friction real and compelling.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IuCkp0dVeU]
Rusev Challenges AJ Styles
Rusev continues to work his way up the card, finally getting a chance at the WWE Champion. This is perfect timing as the WWE races towards Wrestlemania.
He continues to deliver a solid in ring performance with AJ Styles on Smackdown Live. Both competitors look strong in this match. One of Rusev’s kicks was absolutely incredible as was a neck breaker from Styles. This lead to a great sequence of submission counters which was disrupted by Aiden English who was observing from ringside.
English causes the distraction for his leader and the two begin assaulting Styles. Shinsuke Nakamura arose from his position at commentary and paused to assess whether to assist his future Wrestlemania competitor. The Rock Star finally entered the ring to deliver dual knees to both English and Rusev. Styles would later confront and advise Nakamura that he does not need his help.
The cold, competitive side of Nakamura contrasts well with Styles who represents the “every man”. Both are elite wrestlers will undoubtedly put on a classic at Wrestlemania. The WWE has done a great job recognizing the intense desire for this match from its Universe. The unfinished business between these two has been articulated well and we are now seeing this begin to create more tension.
This should escalate nicely if Styles and Nakamura start to care more about beating each other than being WWE Champion.
The Bludgeoning Continues
Big E and Jimmy Uso are the only parts of their perspective groups left after an assault by the Bludgeon Brothers. In an interview the survivors bury their differences to team up and face their common enemy.
The Bludgeon Brothers used their entrance hammers to fight Big E and Jimmy who procured chairs from ringside before the match. Big E and Jimmy put up a fight but their injuries from Fastlane prevented them from defending against such physical opponents. The Bludgeon Brothers prevail and continue to look dominant within the Smackdown Live tag team division.
Now that Harper and Rowan are attacking the roster outside of matches this could be the WWE developing their character. Callous and now malicious describe the brutal duo. It is exciting to think about who they will target beyond their feud with The New Day and Usos.
The Queen, The Empress
Charlotte Flair called out Asuka and delivered a promo worthy of her wrestling heritage. Charlotte acknowledges that facing the Empress of Tomorrow is a once in a lifetime opportunity. However Asuka has never faced someone like Charlotte. Both have a valid claim on being the superior wrestler.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ttGxnH2V_8]
This match up is extremely exciting despite just starting to build. This is one Wrestlemania pairing that is occurring organically and has the added plus of being a singles match. It is great to see two female superstars given the opportunity to truly showcase their ability on the grand stage.
Orton Heads Probable Triple Threat Match
New United States Champion Randy Orton, Bobby Roode and Jinder Mahal seem destined to compete in a triple threat match at Wrestlemania. All signs from their promos can only lead to this conclusion this close to April. This is odd given that the Intercontinental Champion will also be decided between three Superstars.
Roode and Mahal would battle for supremacy and possibly some good standing in terms of Wrestlemania candidates. After defeating Roode, Mahal suffered an RKO from Orton immediately following the match. Orton stood tall over both would be challengers at the end of the segment.
WWE has seemingly placed the idea of “making it” to Wrestlemania above settling scores with rivals. John Cena is the best example of this. He using the Undertaker simply for a match on the program after losing several big matches.
Somehow great match ups have developed for the card despite great story lines being ignored. This is a testament to Superstars standing out and continuing to deliver.
Carmella Cash In Imminent
Carmella showed off some of a newly developed mean streak. She faced Naomi in a short match to basically highlight the Money in The Bank briefcase. Both Carmella and the announce team teased at a possible Wrestling cash in. The idea is all to enticing as this would be the first women’s cash in, possibly the longest held brief case and occurring at Wrestlemania. Using Namoi’s own momentum against her, Carmella was able to steal a victory by crushing her opponent’s head into the mat.
McMahon Steps Down?
Shane McMahon fired the first shot in this new phase of his rivalry with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. McMahon’s intentions are on clear display with his actions at Fastlane. Whereas before the commissioner has seemingly leveled the playing field in certain situations, he is now more intent on keeping Owens and Zayn down. This validates the accusations against McMahon and makes for some interesting plot development.
McMahon acknowledges he is unable to make unbiased decisions when it comes to Owens and Zayn. Therefore this Smackdown Live would be his last as commissioner. Before taking an indefinite leave of absence McMahon would make a final Wrestlemania match pitting Kevin Owens against Sami Zayn.
The two former best friends and now adversaries came out to each wish McMahon good luck in his future endeavors. Zayn initiated a sneak attack and Owens joined in beating McMahon down. McMahon suffered a chair to the throat and a power bomb on a piece of equipment backstage. The attackers seem to be working together even though they are at odds with each other constantly.
Can we expect a simple Owens vs Zayn match at Wrestlemania?
Daniel Bryan was announced for next week’s Smackdown Live and this can only mean that he will certainly address this savage attack and levy repercussions for Zayn and Owens. It is almost expected at this point that McMahon would participate in some sort of match against his two assailants. WWE has spent too much time on this rivalry to simply write Shane McMahon off at this point. Will Shane McMahon need a partner for said match? Could Daniel Bryan play larger role than originally planned?
This was an excellent night of positioning for Smackdown Live’s roster ahead of the biggest event of the year. It seems as though WWE is exceeding some of its previous builds to their annual blowout. The matches are stronger and have more in ring potential than in previous years. There is also still plenty of time to compel viewers. If the WWE can hold onto this momentum this could be a landmark Wrestlemania.
