WWE SmackDown aired from the Performance Center in Orlando. Goldberg and Roman Reigns signed the contract for their Universal Championship match at WrestleMania tonight.
WWE SmackDown Results (3/20)
- Rob Gronkowski suggested a match for WrestleMania
- Drew Gulak & Daniel Bryan def. Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura
- Paige announced Bayley’s opponents at WrestleMania
- Miz & Morrison def. Heavy Machinery via DQ
- Goldberg & Reigns signed the contract to make their Universal Championship match official
Here are 5 takeaways from this week’s show:
King Corbin Confronted Rob Gronkowski
Michael Cole and Mojo Rawley welcomed WrestleMania host Rob Gronkowski down to the ring to begin the show. Gronk stated that he has been watching wrestling since 2nd grade and was watching at the FCW arena to support Mojo.
Gronk joked that he was still hyped to be here in front of zero people and is ready for anything. Mojo told Gronk that he was here to watch Rob’s back. Gronk hit Mojo with a couple chops for fun before King Corbin interrupted.
Corbin told Gronk that he is setting himself up for failure if he is going to take advice from Mojo. King Corbin demanded Gronk to get his knees and bow down and Rob said he doesn’t get on his knees.
King Corbin brought up his NFL past and pointed out that we do not wear pads in WWE. Corbin threatened Gronk to fall in line like everyone else or he will make sure Rob’s little party is over.
Elias joined the party and said he has a new song for Corbin. Rob and Mojo danced behind Baron as Elias sang that Gronk is going to rip Corbin’s head off. Corbin interrupted and took off his robe. Corbin got in Gronk’s face and continued to threaten him.
Mojo set up behind Corbin and Rob shoved Corbin over. King Corbin walked towards Gronk but Elias intervened and sent Corbin over the ropes. Gronk suggested that Corbin and Elias have a match at WrestleMania.
Opinion: While I don’t have the slightest interest in Elias versus Corbin at WrestleMania, I thought Gronk handled himself well on the microphone tonight and was entertaining.
Gulak & Bryan Picked Up A Win
Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro squared off against Daniel Bryan and Drew Gulak tonight on SmackDown. Sami Zayn joined commentary for the match.
Match Recap: Bryan and Gulak controlled the match early and isolated Shinsuke in the corner. Nakamura battled back and Cesaro tagged himself in. Bryan knocked Shinsuke out of the ring and hit him with a Suicide Dive. Back in the ring, Bryan went for a Crossbody but Cesaro caught him and hit a Backbreaker. Cesaro knocked Gulak off the apron as SmackDown went to a break.
When SmackDown returned, Nakamura connected with a Snap Suplex and followed it up with a knee to Daniel’s face for a two count. Gulak tagged in Nakamura went for a Dragon Sleeper but Drew broke free. Cesaro tagged in and leveled Gulak with an uppercut but Bryan broke up the cover. Bryan tagged in hit a Sunset Flip into a roll-up for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Sami Zayn confronted Bryan and Gulak and claimed that they squeaked out a win. Sami told Bryan to start listening to him instead of a nobody like Gulak. Bryan told Sami that he was barely Intercontinental Champion. Bryan wanted Sami to defend his IC Title against him and Gulak at WrestleMania. Sami said if Gulak can defeat Shinsuke next week he will agree to the match.
Paige Announced A Six-Pack Challenge For The SD Women’s Title At WrestleMania
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley and Sasha Banks marched down to the ring as Paige was on the jumbotron via skype. Bayley told Paige to get on with what she was going to see so everyone can forget about her again.
Paige called Bayley and Banks bullies and added that they lack courage. Bayley bragged about being the most dominant SmackDown Women’s Champion in history and joked about Paige being forced to retire.
Paige acknowledged that her is career is over and her passion has been taken away from her. She told Bayley that she cannot wait to see who takes her title at WrestleMania and that she asked her friends at Fox if she could announce her match. Paige announced that Bayley will defend her title against Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans, Tamina, and Naomi.
Sasha Banks grabbed the microphone and called Paige a bitch. Paige announced Sasha Banks also be in the WrestleMania Six-Pack Elimination Challenge for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. So at WrestleMania, Bayley will defend the title against Sasha Banks, Lacey Evans, Dana Brooke, Tamina, and Naomi in s Six-Pack Elimination match.
Otis Lost His Mind
SmackDown Tag Team Champions John Morrison and The Miz came to the ring for an episode of The Dirt Sheet. Miz joked that they should ask the audience who they think they should face at WrestleMania for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships.
Miz and Morrison were shown dressed up as the New Day, The Usos, and Heavy Machinery in the crowd and poked fun of them. Miz and Morrison dressed as ham to portray Tucker and Otis. The Miz and Morrison concluded that they should probably just take WrestleMania off. Heavy Machinery interrupted as SmackDown went a break. When SmackDown returned, Otis & Tucker battled Miz & Morrison.
Match Recap: Otis shook his belly to start things off and Morrison responded with a boot to the gut. Tucker tagged in and planted Morrison with a Suplex for a two count. Miz tagged in and ran into an Arm Drag from Tucker. Otis got back in the action and leveled Miz with a shoulder tackle. Otis then Clotheslined Morrison to the outside and Tucker followed it up with a Cannonball off the apron.
Back in the ring, Morrison hit Tucker with an Elbow Drop for a near fall. Dolph Ziggler showed up on the entrance ramp and distracted Heavy Machinery and joined commentary as SmackDown went to a commercial break. The glitch appeared once again when SmackDown returned.
Otis did the Caterpillar but Ziggler interrupted. Dolph showed Otis some pictures of him spending time with Mandy. Ziggler told Otis better luck next time and Otis left the ring. Otis caught him at the barricade and slammed him to the floor. Otis grabbed a steel chair but Miz and Morrison attacked him from behind.
Otis slammed Miz’s face on the announce table several times before slamming Morrison into the ring post. Otis then drove Miz and Morrison through the barricade before grabbing another chair. Tucker pleaded with Otis to stop so they can win the match. Otis ignored him and beat the hell out of Miz and Morrison to end the match in DQ.
Opinion: It appears that this loss has eliminated Heavy Machinery from contention for the tag titles at WrestleMania. It was announced later on the show that New Day vs. The Usos will go down next week and the winners will face Miz and Morrison at WrestleMania. I thought this segment was very well done and I’d like to see Otis face Ziggler at WrestleMania. I’m sure Mandy will play a role in that match and maybe we will find out who sent Otis the text that caused him to arrive late to their date.
Reigns & Goldberg Signed The Contract
Goldberg and Roman Reigns had the contract signing for their Universal Championship match at WrestleMania in the final segment of this week’s show.
Reigns and Goldberg quickly launched their chairs out of the ring and refused to sit down. Goldberg said he was hoping Reigns would accept his challenge but didn’t think he would have the balls to face him.
Roman brought up all the greats that have chosen to face him before and that they have all lost to him. Reigns told Goldberg that he wasn’t going to be any different. Cole brought up a tweet that Reigns sent in January about Goldberg being stupid for slamming his head into a door during his entrance.
Reigns called Goldberg “a little bitch bulldog holding my title that he never earned”. Roman signed the contract and Goldberg did as well after declaring that Reigns is going to be his next victim at WrestleMania. The two got in each other’s face and had a stare down to end the show.
Opinion: I don’t think this segment convinced anyone to be excited for this match that wasn’t already looking forward to it. The promo was only a couple of minutes, so likely double the length of their match at Mania. Overall, I still thought this was a solid episode of SmackDown. WrestleMania is going to be odd this year with no audience but there is enough on the card to keep me tuned in both nights.
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