SmackDown was live this past Tuesday in New Orleans, Louisiana. At Elimination Chamber, Daniel Bryan escaped retaining the WWE Championship against five worthy contenders. What is next for the “Planet’s Champion,” the New Daniel Bryan?
SmackDown kicks off with Shane McMahon. This past Sunday, himself and The Miz lost the SmackDown Tag Team Championships to The Usos.
Shane announced that the NXT stars that debuted on Raw will be making their SmackDown debuts tonight. Before Shane could continue, The Miz came out.
The Miz was the one who was pinned at Elimination Chamber which cost them the Tag Team Championships. The Miz would go on to give a heartfelt apology to Shane because of the loss this past Sunday. The Miz reflected on everything that Shane has done for The Miz. The Miz admits his mistake and asks Shane to make the rematch for the Tag Team Championships.
The Usos come out to state there are no automatic rematches anymore. However, Shane is a McMahon. He gives The Miz the opportunity to rewrite the biggest wrong in his hometown at Fastlane. The Miz and Shane McMahon will battle The Usos for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships in Cleveland at Fastlane.
Aleister Black v. Andrade
Aleister Black made his successful debut on Raw defeating Elias. On SmackDown, he faces his once rival in NXT, Andrade. They do battle in the same building where they had their classic bout last April for the NXT Championship.
What a contest! These two always put together great matches and this one did not disappoint. The two went back and forth and each seemed to have the upper hand. However, it was Aleister who was able to close out the match hitting the Black Mass on Andrade for the win.
The Bar (Sheamus & Cesaro) v. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa
Last night on Raw, Gargano & Ciampa defeated the Raw Tag Team Champions The Revival. On SmackDown, The Bar looked to make sure the welcome is not the same for the NXT superstars.
Two of the best tag teams in all of WWE stole the show like many thought they would. The Bar being multiple time Tag Team Champions helped show the talent of Gargano & Ciampa, who are former NXT Tag Team Champions. Each team wanted to make a statement to the WWE Universe. On one side, The Bar wanted to show why they should still be talked about in the Tag Team Championship scene. However, Gargano & Ciampa wanted to prove why they belong on the main roster.
In the closing moments of the match, Gargano seemed to be defeated but a blind tag by Ciampa led to Ciampa rolling up Cesaro for the win.
Asuka v. Mandy Rose
SmackDown Women’s Champion Asuka does not care about the ongoing saga on Raw regarding Becky Lynch, Charlotte and Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey. Asuka states that she is still just as dominant as she ever was. She states she has put Becky and Ronda in the rear view mirror. Which opens the door for new competition.
Out came Mandy Rose stating she is going to take the opportunity which led to a matchup.
Just as the match began, Lacey Evans showed up and did what she has done for the past two nights. She strolled down the ramp and then back up.
Back to the match, Mandy tried to use the distraction to pick up and upset win, but it was unsuccessful. However, that did not stop her from trying. She faked an injury to her eye which allowed her to roll up Asuka for the upset win.
Ricochet v. Eric Young
On Raw, Ricochet shocked the world with his athletic ability in his tag match alongside Finn Balor. On SmackDown, he gets to shock the world on his own against the leader of Sanity. Ricochet made his debut in NXT in New Orleans last year and now nearly one year later, he makes his debut on SmackDown.
In a highly contested, Ricochet was able to showcase his ability, taking down Sanity and Eric Young after hitting his 630 for the pin and the win. The future is bright for the “One & Only.”
Samoa Joe, Randy Orton & Daniel Bryan v. Kofi Kingston, Jeff Hardy & AJ Styles
As mentioned earlier, Daniel Bryan retained the WWE Championship inside the Elimination Chamber. Now it is time to find a new challenger for Fastlane. In this 6-man tag, the 5 competitors get to show why they deserve that opportunity.
On a side note, congratulations to Kofi Kingston for his magnificent performance this past week in the gauntlet and then in the Elimination Chamber. What an unbelievable performance by the 11 year veteran and a huge boost to show why Kofi is still one of the best in WWE today.
This match was eventful from start to finish. But the star of the match was you guessed it, Kofi Kingston. KofiMania ran wild with momentum unlike he has ever had. Kofi was able to get the tag from his partner and hit the Trouble in Paradise for the win, pinning the WWE Champion Daniel Bryan.
Shane McMahon came out and stated that Daniel Bryan’s next challenger at Fastlane for the WWE Championship is, Kofi Kingston. Kofi’s 11 year career has brought him to this moment. Kofi gets the biggest opportunity in his career in 2 weeks at Fastlane. Can Kofi realize his dream?
Conclusion
Is there really needing to judge this episode of SmackDown? Because from a week to week basis, SmackDown knocks it out the ballpark. Great action in the ring, big news every week. The only downside to this week’s episode is the mistreatment of Asuka as Women’s Champion. All in all, yet another great episode of SmackDown.
David Jacobus
Staff Writer