Edge started the show saying he had some words for the two men having a title match at Fastlane.
He called Reigns and Heyman spin doctors and said that Reigns begged him to acknowledge the Tribal Chief. Then when he did, he made a U-Turn down “Daniel Bryan Boulevard” and Daniel Bryan went into business for himself.
He took offense to Bryan saying that he deserved to be in the main event of WrestleMania and not him. He listed all of his former opponents and stated that he’s back because like Bryan, he loves this.
That brought Bryan out and he called out the “Ultimate Opportunist” for getting worked up over Bryan going into business for himself. He felt demoralized after Elimination Chamber and if this is his last WrestleMania he wants to give it everything he’s got. He’ll do whatever he has to do to be in the main event.
Okay show of hands – who else now wants an Edge/Bryan feud? One, two, three… thirty eight, thirty nine, forty… eh let’s just say literally everyone reading this. Given both their similar retirement into grand returns, it would be amazing. We have a Roman Reigns problem though (and a good problem to have!) and the contract signing closed the show.
Before that though, we saw a bit of the tension starting again in the Family when Heyman denied Jey Uso access to Reigns. Edge went up to Uso and recalled memories of Uso’s past with his father. He mentioned that in 2015 he watched the Usos and was reminded of why he loved wrestling, but now he sees Jey walking with his head down as the subordinate to Reigns.
Bryan came out for the contract signing and Reigns said that even though he had agreed to this before, the answer is now no. And then Bryan dug deep. He said that he was surprised the Head of the Table wasn’t a man of his word, but he must have realized that last week changed for him because he did something Reigns could never do on his own – make Jey Uso quit.
Reigns got so mad he signed the contract and then Jey tossed the table out of the ring and got in Bryan’s face. Jey decided to make himself the special enforcer for their match, and Edge came down and suggested both he and Jey face each other next week for the right to be the enforcer. Adam Pearce made it official and they all brawled, but when Edge tossed Bryan aside, Bryan gave him the running knee to close the show!
WHO ELSE NOW WANTS AN EDGE/BRYAN FEUD? WE DESERVE THIS!
On a serious note, I loved Bryan getting his way by bringing us all back to Hell in a Cell last year when Roman had to nearly murder Jimmy in order for Jey to finally say “I Quit”. Brilliantly done. And next week’s match to decide who gets to be special enforcer will rule because everyone has a vested interest in it. Roman wants Jey, but he knows Jey usually can’t get the job done. Bryan wants Edge, but Edge should come to the conclusion that if he really helps Bryan, Bryan gets his spot at WrestleMania Edge says he doesn’t deserve.
Is it Friday already? I’m ready for this.
But like… give me Edge/Bryan pretty please?
Let’s get to the rest of the main hits and misses of this show. For a full rundown of SmackDown, check out the live blog by Rev. Claire Elizabeth!
“You’ll never be on my level!”
Seth Rollins was interviewed about Cesaro.
He said that he went out to help Cesaro because he saw the potential in him. But when he tried to help, he got embarrassed. He called Cesaro the biggest waste of potential in WWE.
Kayla Braxton said that Cesaro and Murphy would be having a rematch, and Rollins walked off delighted.
So Rollins walked out for the match and sat on the stage. Murphy hit Cesaro with a high knee (and slapped his leg! Oh no!) Cesaro superplexed Murphy from the apron to the mat. His strength is incredible. Cesaro started swinging Murphy and Rollins interfered.
He hit Cesaro with two curb stomps and grabbed a chair and set it up on Cesaro’s head. Jaime Noble jumped on Seth to stop him. What a cute reunion. The referees helped Cesaro up as Seth berated him.
Seth walked to the back and was greeted by an angry Shinsuke Nakamura! I would have like… attacked him but Nak just stood there. The segment and match were good and I’m liking the direction of Cesaro here. We haven’t seen him presented this way in a long time.
The “biggest waste of potential in WWE” line cuts a little deeper doesn’t it? It’s how a lot of us have felt WWE’s, specifically Vince’s, opinion has been of Cesaro for years. Time to prove ‘em wrong.
The Reginald division
Kevin Owens said that he needed some time away because of how physically exhausting the past few months were. He brought out Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair.
Owens said that they could potentially be tag team champions at WrestleMania but they have to beat Jax and Baszler first, which they haven’t been able to do. He addressed their underlying tension.
Belair said that Banks has been entertaining Reggie and that’s why he keeps coming out for her matches. Banks said she can’t help it if she looks this good, and said that the EST would be nothing without the bEST. They kept going at it, but then Jax, Baszler, Reginald, Natalya, and Tamina came out and that led to the tag match.
Of course Reginald distracted the referee when Belair was about to get the victory, and then he dove into the ring and Sasha went after him which distracted the ref again and Tamina pinned Belair.
I don’t like this at all. Reginald is the focal point of the WWE women’s division. He was even standing in the middle of everyone with the camera right on him at the end. Stop this.
Fashion show
So we have a… Sugar Mama situation going on.
Nia Jax took Reginald to an upscale suit place and told him he could get whatever he wanted.
Cut to every dressing room scene in any movie and television show you’ve already seen 100 times. Reggie came out in different suits to the delight of Jax, and the dismay of Baszler, who just sat looking at her phone the whole time.
At one point he came out in a gold suit with these cool looking shoes and honestly that should have sealed the deal. Dude looking hella good in that one. But in the end they both chose this gray one and then he sat in Jax’s lap and they basically alluded to sex.
So… huh. To be honest the segment wasn’t awful. Nia really just takes me out of it because I don’t really like her, but who doesn’t relate to Shayna here the most? We’ve all been there.
The Rest
Big E defeated Sami Zayn
Big E returned and said that now that Crews opened Pandora’s box, there’s no coming back. Now he has to go Old Testament on him. He told Crews to come down to get his opportunity, and no Apollo. E decided to make an open challenge and King Corbin came out to accept it. As he was about to, Sami Zayn ran out and accepted it instead. I’m loving the dynamic between Zayn and Corbin lately.
E screamed out Apollo’s name as he attacked Zayn. Big E won and continued to call for Apollo. Finally, Apollo’s music hit and he blindsided E. He threw the steel steps in the ring and hit E with them again. Maybe this will take Big E out of Fastlane so that their match can be for the Intercontinental championship at WrestleMania. This match certainly deserves to be a marquee match at WrestleMania. The ferocity of Crews in this heel turn has truly revitalized him.
Street Profits and Mysterios defeated Dirty Dawgz and Alpha Academy
The Dirty Dawgz and Alpha Academy attacked the babyfaces before the match started. Poor Rey got knocked right off of Dominik’s shoulders. Dawkins started with intensity and drop kicked everyone. Alphas double teamed Dom and Gable did a phenomenal suplex. I really want these two in an Iron Man. Roode grounded him but Dom did a tornado DDT that also looked great. Roode knocked Ford off the turnbuckle and he took quite a tumble to the floor. Rey came in and wow I couldn’t even keep up with him. Ford flew up 30,000 feet and hit the frog splash to win. This was a really fun match. Montez pinning Bobby Roode would mean be on the lookout for a tag title match soon.
Grade: A-
What were your thoughts, Cagesiders?