Nerdly » WWE Smackdown Live – March 5th 2019: Results & Review

06th Mar2019

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

by Nathan Favel

Welcome to this week’s Smackdown Live review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and I have school in the morning, so let’s get to it. Chop, chop. Is that a cooking reference? Chop, chop? Who cares? Mark Hamill had to campaign to have a chance to talk to C3PO at the end of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. I’m not kidding. Rian Johnson didn’t want those two characters to talk to each other. The robots are what got Luke involved with the Star Wars stuff in the first place. “Hey, 3PO, thanks a lot @$$-hole. My dad, the charcoal grill with legs, chopped my hand off. I almost banged my sister. Also, my nephew is trying to kill me. To think, if you hadn’t come along, all of those things would never have happened.” Okay, let’s see if Becky Lynch gets mauled by Charlotte Flair, again.

Match #1: The Miz def. Jey Uso

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

With their SmackDown Tag Team Championship rematch at WWE Fastlane only five nights away, The Miz took on Jey Uso on SmackDown LIVE, but not before both teams continued to trade verbal barbs, which led right into a hot start for their one-on-one clash. As Shane McMahon and Jimmy Uso watched on from ringside, The A-Lister and Jey collided in a hard-hitting contest with pivotal Fastlane momentum on the line. It appeared that Jey was possibly closing in on a victory when he got an assist from Jimmy behind the official’s back, but Shane was quick to even the odds, dropping Jimmy and allowing The Miz enough leeway to connect with the Skull-Crushing Finale and secure the major victory right ahead of Fastlane.

My Take: 2.5 out of 5 – There wasn’t much here besides the standard moves of a match like this (tag team guys in a singles bout). Miz did good, but it was Jey who kept the people awake. Overall, these guys tried to make something of a match that wasn’t meant to be more than just a commercial for the tag title match for Fastlane.

Match #2: Samoa Joe def. R-Truth, Rey Mysterio and Andrade to become new United States Champion

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

After the success of his previous United States Title Open Challenge, R-Truth decided that, despite being exhausted after retaining the championship last week, he would give it another whirl Tuesday night on SmackDown LIVE. At first it appeared that the “Sassy Southern Belle” Lacey Evans was answering the call, but, as she often does, Evans simply was gracing the “nasties” of the WWE Universe with her presence. From there, who actually answered the call was Samoa Joe … and Rey Mysterio … and Andrade. Fatal 4-Way Match, anyone? The action was furious, with all four Superstars showing out in hopes of leaving with the historic United States Championship. In the height of the action, Mysterio was able to break up a Coquina Clutch that Joe had locked on Truth by connecting with a picture-perfect 619 on both Superstars. This led to a melee that saw all four Superstars land on the outside, with Andrade brutally powerbombing Mysterio onto the floor. Then, behind the referee’s back, Zelina Vega struck Truth with a hurricanrana from the apron, taking the U.S. Champion out. Carmella would not stand for that, however, dropping Vega with a superkick immediately afterward. With Vega down, it appeared that Mysterio was going to be able to thrive through the chaos, seemingly having Andrade on the ropes, but Joe eliminated Rey from contention by sandwiching him onto Andrade, then sealed the deal by drilling Andrade with a ring-rattling Yurinagi for the first championship victory of his WWE career.

My Take: 3.5 out of 5 – This was an excellent match that had all sorts of great action sequences that rolled out one after the other. All four guys worked really well together and were able to keep the fight moving along at a brisk pace. One thing I really liked was how many chances they took here, not just with the spots, but with the twists in what they were going to do next. Joe winning is a great decision and having Truth chase Joe will yield some great matches. Overall, this was a strong match that did each fighter in it a lot of favors.

Match #3: Ricochet & Aleister Black def. The Bar

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

After it was announced earlier in the night that they would compete in a Triple Threat Match for the Raw Tag Team Championship at WWE Fastlane, Ricochet & Aleister Black aimed to head into that bout with some momentum as they took on The Bar on SmackDown LIVE. Cesaro & Sheamus attempted to use their size and strength advantage to keep the dynamic pairing down, but The One and Only & Dutch Destroyer’s versatile offensive attacks could not be kept in check for long, with Aleister delivering Black Mass to Cesaro then taking out Sheamus as well, followed by Ricochet finishing Cesaro off with the astonishing 630 Splash. However, Black & Ricochet would have no time to celebrate, as they were instantly ambushed from behind by Rusev & Shinsuke Nakamura. That blindside attack would be fleeting, though, as The Hardy Boyz hit the scene to even the odds, helping Black & Ricochet take all four of their foes down in incredible fashion, as matters only continued to intensify in the blue brand’s tag team division.

My Take: 2.5 out of 5 – This was a fun demo reel for Black and Ricochet, but it was less of a match, comparatively.

Match #5: Mandy Rose def. Naomi

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

As her SmackDown Women’s Championship Match against Asuka at WWE Fastlane drew closer, Mandy Rose looked to firmly prove that she was ready for The Empress of Tomorrow by taking down longtime rival Naomi on the blue brand. With Naomi still clearly harboring resentment for Mandy’s attempts at causing a rift in her marriage, The Glow came out swinging on God’s Greatest Creation. However, Rose was able to weather the early storm and, with Sonya Deville running interference at ringside, Mandy was able to deck Naomi and put her down for three. After the win, Asuka arrived and wasted no time in dropping both Rose and Deville with an emphatic attack on the SmackDown LIVE stage. The message sent? Asuka was undoubtedly ready for WWE Fastlane.

My Take: 2 out of 5 – This was the culmination of their feud and it was very underwhelming. I would have liked to have seen a longer match, but I suppose it is some-thing of a miracle that Vince kept his attention on two wrestlers long enough for something to be finished. Mandy is good, but perhaps not ready for a Pay Per View match for the title. Overall, this was easy to lose interest in, but it didn’t have to be that way, if the booking had been in their favor.

Match #6: (Main Event) Kevin Owens def. Rowan via Disqualification

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

After their scuffle earlier in the evening, Kevin Owens battled Rowan with “The New” Daniel Bryan keeping a close eye on the match. From his guest commentary seat, Bryan taunted Owens throughout the contest. Finally fed up with the verbal abuse, Owens lunged at Bryan and the two Fastlane opponents got into it at ringside. KO notched the better of the exchange, leaving Bryan floored, but Rowan would then ambush Owens, leading to KO receiving a 2-on-1 beatdown from Rowan and Bryan on the outside. The match was awarded to Owens via disqualification, but the damage he suffered far outweighed any triumph. However, reinforcements would arrive in the way of the returning Mustafa Ali, who surged into the fray and took down both Bryan and Rowan. “The Planet’s Champion” was able to briefly capitalize on the odds and respond to Ali, but that would only last so long, as Owens re-entered the skirmish and dropped the WWE Champion with a Stunner. The WWE Universe soon began to wonder: If Owens hit that same move on Sunday, would he be crowned the new WWE Champion?

My Take: 2 out of 5 – There wasn’t much here, but this was all just a ruse for the post-match stuff.

News Of The Night:

King Kong Bundy was honored at the start of the show (Rest In Peace – 1957-2019).
The New Day were in India, so Kofi Kingston was not available to do some-thing about losing his title shot.
Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev attacked Aleister Black and Ricochet, then The Hardy Boys came out and ran off Nakamura/Rusev and The Bar.
Asuka attacked Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville after Rose beat Naomi.
AJ Styles and Randy Orton are being built for a big feud at Wrestlemania…probably.
Rey Mysterio will fight Andrade on the Fast-Lane pre-show. Vince might as well have just packed their bags and sent them both on a one way ticket to All Elite Wrestling.
Mustafa Ali returned to save Kevin Owens from being attacked by Daniel Bryan and Rowan.
Charlotte Flair attacked Becky Lynch to end Smackdown.