WWE fans were teased for two hours on SmackDown on Friday night with the prospect of Royal Rumble winners Bianca Belair and Edge announcing who they will each face in the championship games at WrestleMania. Ultimately, these statements did not occur due to outside forces inflicting their path to the process.
Belair came face-to-face with SmackDown women’s champion Sasha Banks, but an interruption by Carmella and Reginald led to a brief altercation instead of an announcement. Meanwhile, universal champion Roman Reigns was driven to rage by alleged contempt of Edge, only to be let down after a spectacle by Kevin Owens when he finally got Edge into the ring to close the show.
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Roman Reigns demands Edge’s respect
Roman Reigns opened the show with a promo and quickly pulled off his win over Kevin Owens at the Royal Rumble before shifting his attention to the Royal Rumble winner Edge. Reigns said that Edge, as Edge is going to challenge the world championship in the main event of WrestleMania, knows that he will come for the real mainstay. Reigns then stepped out in front of Edge for the first time that night, saying the Royal Rumble winner was disrespectful because he made him wait. Reigns demanded that Paul Heyman bring Edge to the ring, which Heyman tries to initiate only to hear that Edge was not in the building. An angry Reigns asked to know why Edge was ‘playing games’ and demanded that he make a decision by the end of the night.
Edge, who arrived at the arena earlier that night, ended the show by coming to the ring for a promotion. After discussing how his desire to regain a world title he never lost drove him to the Rumble victory, he turned his attention to the difficulty of choosing his WrestleMania opponent and said that everyone he ask him to give another answer. Reigns, Heyman and Jey Uso then interrupted the promotion and marched to the ring. Edge asked if Reigns was sweating on him, and that brought backup to the ring. Reigns fired Uso and said he would meet him at the bus stop. Reigns demanded that Edge acknowledge him as he walked forward while Edge grinned. Reigns was then turned around by Kevin Owens and struck with a shock that dropped Reigns when the show went off the air.
This was the first real case between Reigns and Edge, apparently scheduled to meet at WrestleMania. It was not entirely satisfying not to get an answer, but it will probably be dragged a bit with Edge used to get ratings across multiple brands as long as they can manage. Reigns and Edge do have good chemistry, and the involvement of Uso and Owens could allow for some tag actions or other ways to make the two feel each other in a live match. Reigns remains, as he has been for months, an excellent artist on the microphone. Grade: B
Bianca Belair calls WrestleMania almost shot
Bianca Belair was cast in an interview behind the scenes, in which she showed footage of her parents celebrating her victory at the Royal Rumble. Asked who she would challenge at WrestleMania, she said she would not listen to people who have to put up with her patience and that she would decide soon.
Belair came into the show later and said that if she really wanted to put the “EST” in WrestleMania, she would have to do it her way. Before she could announce her decision, she was interrupted by Reginald. Reginald suggested that Belair could beat Asuka, but that she could not beat Sasha Banks – or Carmella. Carmella then comes to the ring and points out that she has scored two wins over Banks and says she is confident she can do the same to Belair. This was revealed by Banks, who knocked Carmella off before drawing her attention to Belair and giving her credit for her Rumble performance. She said Belair might have everything, but she did not have the SmackDown championship. Reginald interrupts again and Belair beats him with her hair and ends the segment without Belair making a final decision.
It’s hard not to feel like it’s a real waste of time. Belair was ready to make her announcement – which very clearly matches Banks at WrestleMania – but the interruption of Reginald and Carmella halted it. It’s just unclear why, if she was so ready to name her shot, Reginald had to be sent quickly and easily, the segment had to end immediately with the teasing instead of the announcement. Belair’s talk about not wanting to wait and do things her own way was great, it would just have been better to see it actually play out. Grade: C-
What else happened on SmackDown?
- Dominik Mysterio defeats King Corbin via fall to a frog splash. Rey Mysterio hid under the ring before the end to help his son achieve the victory.
- Cesaro defeats Daniel Bryan via submission with a Sharpshooter.
- Bayley defeat Ruby Riott via fall with a head lock driver. Billie Kay, who was about to comment, tried to help Riott when she was caught in a submission. A consequent argument between Liv Morgan and Kay caused a distraction that Bayley won.
- Defeat Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler. Otis & Chad Gable via penval when Roode hits Gable with the Glorious DDT.
- Hulk Hogan appeared at a distance to briefly discuss the commemoration of his loss to Andre The Giant at The Main Event 33 years. Hogan also warned Drew McIntyre and Reigns that Edge is in trouble in WrestleMania.
- Intercontinental Championship – Large E (c) def. Apollo Crews and Sami Zayn via pinfall after beating Crews with The Big Ending. The match consistently had impressive and creative offense. Zayn thought he won the game after hitting Big E with a Helluva kick, but the pin was broken by Crews. Zayn felt he was being deceived as part of his ongoing ‘conspiracy theory’, but was thrown overboard by Crews. When Crews re-entered the ring, he was hit by a Big Ending for the end.