Friday Night Smackdown – March 13th 2020: Results & Review
Welcome to this week’s Friday Night SmackDown review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have a cheriff, which is Cher dressed as a cow-girl. Also, this show is happening with no crowd at the Performance Center due to the coronavirus frenzy, so get ready to hear wrestlers grunt for a while.
Match #1: Bayley & Sasha Banks def. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
While SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley & Sasha Banks awaited the arrival of Paige—who promised to set Bayley straight tonight—they were instead met Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross. The duo were still chomping at the bit to get an opportunity at The Kabuki Warriors and arrived to make a statement on the first-ever WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. Bliss & Cross brought the fight to Bayley & Banks, but The Kabuki Warriors wound up looming large over the contest, not just metaphorically but tangibly when Asuka hit the scene, took out Bliss behind the referee’s back and allowed The Blueprint to lock in the Bank Statement for a submission victory.
My Opinion: 2.5 out of 5 – This was okay, but they were adjusting to the lack of anyone there to watch. Without a crowd, it was glaringly obvious that Bayley/Banks are far better than either Bliss or Cross (Cross was good though). Trust me…watch this and get a rude awakening on how much the crowd reaction matters for wrestlers who are not devout technicians.
Match #2: Daniel Bryan def. Cesaro
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Months ago, Sami Zayn attempted to recruit Daniel Bryan into his collective of artists, but The “YES!” Man declined. Tonight, Zayn interrupted Bryan and his WWE Elimination Chamber Drew Gulak looking for any chance he could to gloat about becoming the new Intercontinental Champion. That tension almost escalated to a physical confrontation between Bryan and Cesaro, which led to this match being made tonight with Gulak in Bryan’s corner and Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura in Cesaro’s. As expected with two of the very best in-ring technicians in all of WWE squaring off, the action was equal parts physical and intricate with a barrage of fists, kicks and uppercuts flying in equal measure. After an unbelievable back-and-forth contest, Bryan caught Cesaro with a rollup for a victory. However, the action would not stop there with the two sides getting into it after the fact with Zayn and his crew ultimately using their numbers advantage to leave Bryan and Gulak laying… at least for tonight.
My Opinion: 3.5 out of 5 – This was quite good and was yet another reason why these two should always be at the top of the card. This was just good stuff that should have gone far longer. Hell, this would have been the perfect time to let these guys have a sixty minute classic, but you know how Vince is with long matches. You know this was good, so get after it.
Match #3: (Main Event) Jeff Hardy def. King Corbin
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Jeff Hardy made his long-awaited return to Friday Night SmackDown, taking on King Corbin in one-on-one action with Elias — who has been bickering with King Corbin as of late—providing guest commentary. The Charismatic Enigma looked as sharp as ever in his return to the ring, bringing his unique and unorthodox brand of offense right to the King of the Ring. In the critical moments, as King Corbin was mounting an offense, Elias began to play a tune at ringside, distracting the King and allowing Jeff Hardy to finish him off with a Swanton Bomb for the win. Advantage Elias.
My Opinion: 2.2 out of 5 – Jeff Hardy is back, so at least we have that. Jeff has been dealing with his alcoholism over the past few years, so his return still has some baggage, but I’m just glad that he is back. Corbin looked really bad next to Jeff, but how could he not? Thankfully, this only lasted a few minutes and the right guy won.
News Of The Night:
- Roman Reigns did a good interview about Wrestlemania where he did his “John Cena” pandering impression.
- Bray Wyatt taunted John Cena ahead of Wrestlemania.
- King Corbin and Elias are still feuding…why?
- The Tag Team Title Elimination Chamber Match was shown in its entirety on this show.
Final Verdict: 2.7/5
Vince and his freak show brigade just took the variety show format and put it in front of an empty crowd. Imagine watching Hamilton after the theater closes and you’ll get an idea of what it was like to watch this episode.
