06th Feb2019

WWE Smackdown Live – Feb 5th 2019: Results & Review

by Nathan Favel

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Welcome to this week’s Smackdown Live review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have more Wrestlemania build, as well as what’s to come for the Elimination Chamber Pay Per View.

Match #1: Rusev & Shinsuke Nakamura def. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson

The following is courtesy of WWE.com:

After they aligned for a joint attack of United States Champion R-Truth last week, Rusev & Shinsuke Nakamura teamed up despite some trepidation from each man, as well as Rusev’s wife, Lana, who has clearly not forgotten what Nakamura did to her and The Bulgarian Brute. Rusev & Nakamura looked to silence the men who called them out last week, Gallows & Anderson, who confronted The Super Athlete in the backstage area after his savage post-match attack on R-Truth. Despite each Superstar’s hesitancy, The Bulgarian Brute & King of Strong Style defeated the former Raw Tag Team Champions after Lana urged a downed Nakamura to recuperate and assist her husband. Her pleas inspired WWE’s Rockstar, who clocked Luke Gallows with a Kinshasa. Karl Anderson took out The King of Strong Style, but the door was open for Rusev to connect flush with a Machka Kick on Anderson for the win. After the match, The Super Athlete extended a hand to Nakamura, and with Lana right beside them, they both stood tall. Has SmackDown LIVE’s newest unholy alliance just blossomed before our very eyes?

My Take: 2.5 out of 5 – This was the standard sort of thing for a WWE tag team match. The wrestling was only what is required to make a match successful, but the finesse that these four have was restricted to just doing what they agreed upon with the agent/Vince. Nakamura and Rusev worked well together, but Anderson and Gallows are supposed to be the better team here. What’s funny is that Anderson and Gallows were booked to be feeble compared to two people who were not a team before this match. I’m still convinced that Anderson and Gallows will join All Elite Wrestling the first chance they get, especially if this is all that they are going to get from Vince in his wrestling league. Over-all, this was no more or less than what you’d think it would be, which is decent.

Match #2: Randy Orton def. Mustafa Ali

The following is courtesy of WWE.com:

With both Superstars slotted for the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber Match, Mustafa Ali and Randy Orton collided on SmackDown LIVE with the fateful match less than two weeks away. Orton brought the fight to Ali early, smothering SmackDown LIVE’s newest sensation with an array of brutal offense and dropping him back-first onto the announce table. Ali began to mount a comeback when he dropkicked Orton over that same table and launched himself head-first at The Viper, knocking him off his feet and raining down haymakers. In the pivotal moments, Ali faked out Randy to avoid an RKO, but when Mustafa looked for his signature 054, Randy grabbed his feet and yanked him off the ropes right into an awe-inspiring RKO for the win. After the contest’s conclusion, Samoa Joe suddenly appeared and locked Orton the Coquina Clutch to take him out. The Samoan Submission Machine had clearly not forgotten that Orton had struck him with an RKO out of nowhere two weeks ago, and he doubled down on the destruction by booting Ali right out of the ring. Satisfied with his handy work, Joe began to make his way back up the ramp when WWE Champion “The New” Daniel Bryan & Rowan arrived. Joe crossed paths with the environmentally conscious pair, and Bryan stood behind Rowan, as Joe, who seemingly would have been down to throw some more fists, ultimately carried on his way.

My Take: 3 out of 5 – The length was my only issue, beyond the regular complaint that Orton is still boring in the ring (but not bad). Ali looked excellent here and has been one of the best larks that Vince has ever pursued. I hope that Vince stays interested in Ali long enough for his time in the Elimination Chamber to be just more than a piece of trivia. Overall, this was a fun match that felt refreshing for the right reasons.

Match #3: Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville def. Naomi & Carmella and The IIconics

The following is courtesy of WWE.com:

With all three teams scheduled to participate in the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Elimination Chamber Match, Naomi & Carmella, Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville and The IIconics faced off in a Triple Threat match on SmackDown LIVE looking to claim a monumental victory before colliding inside the harrowing structure. With tensions still running high between Naomi and Mandy Rose, a tense atmosphere permeated the arena. Rose did everything in her power to avoid having to tussle with The Glow, but Naomi soon forced Mandy into the contest. After Peyton Royce also got in Naomi’s crosshairs, however, Mandy hoisted Naomi into the air and drilled her into the canvas to get the critical W for Fire & Desire.

My Take: 2.5 out of 5 – This was a big bowl of meat and potatoes with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Nobody did any-thing I thought looked bad, but you’d be hard-pressed to recommend this to any-one looking to start watching wrestling. The match was easy to watch, but there wasn’t too much to write home about.

Match #4: (Main Event) Jeff Hardy def. Daniel Bryan via disqualification

The following is courtesy of WWE.com:

Clearly still displeased with his WWE Championship being on the line inside the Elimination Chamber, “The New” Daniel Bryan looked to take out some of his frustrations on fellow Chamber competitor, Jeff Hardy. However, even with Rowan lurking at ringside, The Charismatic Enigma wasn’t interested in being a vessel for Bryan’s frustrations, coming at the WWE Champion with his dynamically unique offense in this non-title affair. Just when it appeared that Hardy was closing in on victory after connecting with the Twist of Fate and Swanton Bomb, Rowan intervened, pulling Hardy out of the ring and throwing him into the steel steps to prompt a disqualification. Bryan then locked in the LeBell Lock onto Hardy, but Samoa Joe quickly hit the scene to eliminate Rowan and trap Bryan in the Coquina Clutch. Randy Orton hit the ring and threw fists with Joe until Mustafa Ali showed up and cleared house until Rowan viciously hit him with the Claw Slam onto the announcer’s table. Up next, AJ Styles took out everyone except Bryan, who got out of dodge. The Phenomenal One eyed Bryan down, with Bryan insisting backstage that Rowan wasn’t there to protect him; he was there because they are intellectual peers and the planet needed him as WWE Champion. In less than two weeks, however, Bryan will compete inside the chamber, where Rowan won’t be able to assist him.

My Take: 3 out of 5 – This was pretty good, but the match always felt a bit stunted and when you merge it with the lame finish, you get a great pairing that is a few steps lower than it should be. It’s a shame that both are not being booked as faces for this, as the crowd would have been even more ravenous that they already were, but the wrestling was able to pick up the slack while they had the chance. These two had a very fluid, exciting bout for a good while, but you could sense that every move was hindered by the fact that the match was seen by Vince as only an advertisement for the Elimination Chamber match, rather than a chance for a great match on its own accord. Overall, this was good while it lasted, but it could have been great.

News Of the Night:

  1. Becky Lynch attacked Triple H for calling her a coward who was afraid to fight Ronda Rousey.
  2. AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy might be getting a rivalry of some kind, thanks to AJ questioning if Hardy was the right person to fight for the honor of the WWE.
  3. Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev are a team now.
  4. Daniel Bryan is still a hero despite Vince’s booking and it looks like Vince might be getting the message, as Bryan was allowed to be a face to his hometown crowd with very few exceptions.
  5. Shane McMahon and The Miz host Mc-Miz TV with their guests being The Usos, next week.

Final Verdict: 3/5

This was good, but not great. Vince had a good card to work with, but he wouldn’t let the matches have a chance to get interesting.

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