Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon are thirsting for the blood of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Can Smackdown Live management put their tumultuous past behind them to overcome their rebellious employees at Wrestlemania?
The Smackdown Live superstars take their final places for the show of shows. Smackdown Live management draw the final line in the sand against their opponents. The Women’s Championship match is placed in jeopardy just days before Wrestlemania. The WWE Champion addresses the mind games played by his challenger. What shockers can we expect this Sunday?
With Wrestlemania drawing near, Smackdown Live comes to us from Nashville, TN this third of April, 2018.
United We Stand
McMahon admires Daniel Bryan for fighting to return to thing ring. The commissioner and general manager both acknowledge their differences and will put them aside to focus on the challenge they face April 8th. With no unresolved issues Bryan and McMahon are prepared to do whatever it takes to exact revenge on their rebellious employees.
The recent contempt for Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn is producing some graphic language from Smackdown Live management in describing how this match will go down. Bryan has previously hinted at his more vicious side and vowed to beat the “holy hell” out of his team’s opponents.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQfHth-Y0yU]
As highlighted by Bryan, he and McMahon have been victims of Owens and Zayn for the better part of a year. Whereas the feud sometimes seems to drag it has built more than credible animosity between the participants.
This match has one of the more solid backstories on the Wrestlemania card.
The Empress, The Queen and The Thief?
Natalya challenges Charlotte with less than a week before Wrestlemania on Smackdown Live.
Charlotte’s mindset is in question as she nears her encounter with Asuka. WWE continues to drop hints that Charlotte is struggling to maintain clear head ahead the biggest challenge of her career. Natalya is quick to exploit this perceived lack of confidence to her advantage as she has recently picked up a win over the Smackdown Live Women’s Champion.
Both competitors put on an exceptional match until they were interrupted by a failed Women’s Money in the Bank cash in.
Carmella ran to the ring to invoke her title match clause but was thwarted by Charlotte who would pick a victory shortly afterwards. It is hard to imagine WWE would spoil the finish of such a solid match up but a Carmella victory at Wrestlemania protects both Asuka and Charlotte.
Asuka also joined the party in a post match trash talking segment. The Empress of Tomorrow declared The Queen would bow to her at Wrestlemania. A fed up Charlotte snatched the mic from Asuka, asking the challenger if she was ready for the Champion.
This is one of those matches that will be a pure wrestling fan’s delight this Sunday. Both participants seem invincible and this is a close call for those attempting to anticipate match finishes. This rivalry has a simple foundation: The Royal Rumble winner challenging the champion. However the intrigue centers around the insane momentum both participants have enjoyed, arguably more so than the majority of the matches at Wrestlemania.
Rusevmania
Rusev is a last minute entry into the upcoming United States Championship match but first challenges Jinder Mahal in a singles match on Smackdown Live. Although he is a welcomed addition, the now fatal four way match seems cluttered at this point. Rusev can probably thank his recent popularity for being added to the match. It is great that Rusev is not being relegated to the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
Rusev would continue his recent string of victories by defeating Mahal. After the match Rusev suffered an increasingly predictable RKO from out of nowhere from Randy Orton. Aiden Enlgish would rush in to begin stomping Orton before Bobby Roode, previously on commentary, would even the odds. Roode assisted Orton with another RKO to English. Roode and Orton would conclude the segment with an in ring stare down as the crowd thunderously voiced their support for Rusev.
Although it seems like a long shot, Rusev stands a decent chance of winning the United States title match. Orton does not need the victory and the other participants are nowhere near as over as the Bulgarian Brute. It would not be out of the realm of possibilities at Wrestlemania to see Rusev walk away with the belt.
Andre’s Legacy
A cool down match featuring eight-man tag team action previews the annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
This match is getting harder to take seriously by the year. It has essentially become something for mid card superstars to do at Wrestlemania. All past winners seem to flounder and fail to capitalize on their success.
This is not necessarily the fault of the talent.
The WWE has continuously push this match down the card and now off the show itself. Most of the participants in the match rarely have anything relevant going on and there is no effort into building interlocking stories as with the Royal Rumble. It is easy to see this match no longer appearing on the show in the near future.
Ironically WWE dedicate this match to a legend who had an immeasurable impact on wrestling.
Hijacked
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn grabbed mics while storming ringside. They cut an insane heel promo against Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon as they hijacked Smackdown Live.
The best line from the promo came when they apologized to Bryan’s wife and daughter for the broken body they would send home after their match. Their cutting words matched the intensity we have seen from Bryan recently. Bryan and McMahon tried to follow up with some comebacks but fell short of the mic mastery displayed by Owens and Zayn.
This segment was a good final push before this Sunday. Fans invest in this feud because of the slow build and the execution of those involved. The caliber of performers promises to deliver a barn burner of a match.
The Final Fake Out
AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura must co exist as a tag team against the Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable before their face off at Wrestlemania. Nakamura continues to play mind games with his opponent even in the midst of their tag match against formidable opponents.
Styles seemingly continues to play right into the hands of Nakamura. Whereas Styles is a veteran of the squared circle, he continues to seem flustered by the lack of seriousness displayed by Nakamura.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twQGW1RyZEo]
Before landing the final blow for the victory, Styles would cast an intense glare at Nakamura who seemed unfazed.
After the match Benjamin attacked Nakamura from behind but was quickly dispensed from the ring by strong style knees. Nakamura would turn around as AJ Styles leapt over the ropes seemingly to deliver another one of his Phenomenal Forearms to his partner. Exactly as Nakamura had tricked Styles the previous week, Styles pulled back at the last second and instead delivered a pat on the head to his challenger at Wrestlemania. In this action Styles demonstrates that his emotions are certainly in check ahead of their match. Styles seems to be the confident, skilled champion that we have come to expect. He seems poised to deliver a six star match against Nakamura.
