WWE SmackDown 03/13/18: I Don’t Deserve It, I Earned It
About Last Night is a quick reflection on the matches and segments, or random observations, from a wrestling show that sticks out to us the morning after we watch them. If you would like to get your comments featured, chime in below in our comments section or tweet us. You can also help support us on Patreon.
About AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura…
After Fastlane, we’re finally starting to build to the Wrestle Kingdom rematch of AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura at WrestleMania, and it’s pretty exciting. Styles’ promo to kick off SmackDown highlighted how crazy all of this is, that he’s defending the WWE Championship against Nakamura on the Grandest Stage. Nakamura did his best responding on the microphone, but the crowd doing the “what” chant for someone who is struggling with the language is kind of a dick move.
The problem though is that Rusev has been the punching bag/tool for these two to prepare for their match without being physical with each other. Rusev lost two straight matches (three if you count the Mixed Match Challenge) and it’s a real shame to see him treated like this right before WrestleMania when Rusev Day is one of the hottest things going in the company. I’m already fearful the crowd is going to give up hope as he is shoved into the Andre Battle Royal, and he deserves better. But I also don’t want him added to the title match, because there’s enough Triple Threats happening at WrestleMania. Why not give him another match with Randy Orton and we ignore all the bullshit currently going on with the United States Championship that no one cares about?
About BLUDGEON BROTHERS…
The Bludgeon Brothers have stopped just creepily walking past The New Day and Usos like they’ve been doing for weeks and is now wrecking their shit, and it’s really great. They ruined an awesome match at Fastlane between the two other teams and left them in a mangled mess. Now on SmackDown they’re having to fuse together to take out this new hammer-wielding threat. Big E and Jimmy Uso took the Bludgeon Brothers on, and since they’re still banged up from Sunday it did not go well.
I’m way into the idea of these three teams going at it at WrestleMania. Someone floated the words “Tables, Ladders, and Chairs” past me regarding this match, and I couldn’t think of a more perfect stipulation for this. Let’s hope this actually goes down.
About Carmella…
Carmella had pretty much disappeared off the face of the Blue Brand once the Riott Squad showed up to cause trouble for Charlotte Flair outside of a couple failed attempts to cash in. Now it seems like as of Sunday, the Riott Squad are taking a back seat on the bus to the WrestleMania Battle Royal while Carmella is on a hot streak. She pinned Naomi in the tag match with Natalya at Fastlane, and then she beat her again in a singles match on SmackDown. It’s clear this isn’t coincidence, because the expiration date on her briefcase is quickly approaching and she needs to get heated up if there’s a championship in her future. The question is… will she end Asuka’s streak to do it, or can this thing be cashed in on the red belt?
About Shane McMahon, RIP…
Shane McMahon had a big WrestleMania announcement to end this week’s episode, and that announcement was the least exciting part of the segment. He mentioned that he is giving full control of the show the Daniel Bryan was he takes a leave of absence due to how Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn have driven him to the breaking point, and the big announcement was his last act before leaving was putting those two in a match against each other at WrestleMania. Apparently this didn’t sit well with them, and they came out to berate Shane before beating the holy hell out of him. The attack was brutal, with them attacking any referees that tried to rush in, doing the chair around the neck and it getting slammed into the post spot, dragging Shane all the way up the ramp and to the back, and an absolutely insane powerbomb onto some metal equipment.
This was a brilliant way to write off Shane until WrestleMania where he gets his revenge on these two, as there is pretty much no redeeming quality to them after this attack. If anyone tries to mock Shane for the noises he made after the powerbomb, how about you take a hit like that and let me know how you’re doing afterwards. Those sounds were terrifying and disturbing and he may have broken his back, with his age not doing him any favors. I’m very curious how Bryan will respond to this next week, especially with him being at odds with Shane lately.
About 205 Live…
205 Live continues to be excellent in the Drake Maverick Era, and it seems the crowd is starting to get more lively for it. With the tournament starting to wind down, we’re seeing actual storylines form with Hideo Itami getting into it with Lince Dorado after their tag match and Jack Gallagher staring down Maverick during his squash match. But that’s not to say we should be ignoring the tournament, because Roderick Strong vs. Cedric Alexander was a damn great match. I say this all the time, but you should go out of your way to check out the main event of 205 Live. The intensity of this match was fantastic, and I bit on all of the near falls. Plus that spot I gif’d above was creative and devastating.
Next week is now the big test. Are they going to give the WrestleMania spot to the obvious choice Mustafa Ali or does Philadelphia get another shot at a championship this year with Drew Gulak?
What did you think of this week’s SmackDown? Let us know in the comments!
