Nerdly » WWE Smackdown Live – March 19th 2019: Results & Review

20th Mar2019

WWE Smackdown Live – March 19th 2019: Results & Review

by Nathan Favel

Welcome to this week’s Smackdown Live review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have Kofi’s big gauntlet match, so let’s see if he can win the match so he can challenge for the WWE World Title at Wrestlemania.

Match #1: The IIconics defeated Bayley & Sasha Banks

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

After The IIconics spent weeks prodding The Boss ‘N’ Hug Connection to come and challenge them on SmackDown LIVE, Sasha Banks & Bayley arrived on the blue brand to face off against Billie Kay & Peyton Royce. The IIconics may have been regretting their persistence (and their harsh pre-match words) in the early goings when Sasha & Bayley came out of the gates hot, keeping The IIconics guessing what they would hit them with next. However, the tides turned when the arrival (and exit) of “The Sassy Southern Belle” Lacey Evans distracted The Boss ‘N’ Hug Connection enough to let The IIconics take control. In the clutch, Billie took out Bayley on the outside with a big boot and then, unbeknownst to the official, helped Peyton hold Banks down for the three-count. With The IIconics’ victory over the first-ever WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, the WWE Universe is left to wonder what impact that would have on the future on the division.

My Take: 2.5 out of 5 – This was a good match that did its job and that’s all. There wasn’t anything here that was truly remarkable in anyway, but at least the action was effective. Bayley and Banks were actually a more cohesive team than the IIconics, which is a bit of a surprise considering that the latter has been around longer than the former. These two teams were able to have a nice match that probably won’t be remembered in a few weeks, but at least it came and went without doing the wrestlers a disservice.

Match #2: (Main Event) Daniel Bryan defeated Kofi Kingston, Samoa Joe, Randy Orton, Rowan, Sheamus, & Cesaro – #1 Contender’s Gauntlet Match For A WWE World Title Shot

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Fighting for the biggest opportunity of his life, Kofi Kingston attempted to beat five of SmackDown LIVE’s best for the right to challenge WWE Champion “The New” Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania. Prior to the match, The Planet’s Champion insisted that “B-plus player” Kofi would do nothing but disappoint himself and the WWE Universe tonight. However, Kingston was clearly not intending to let anyone down other than his opponents, as after tussling with Sheamus right out of the gates, Kofi edged Sheamus with a picture-perfect Trouble in Paradise to survive the first step. Cesaro was out next, and he immediately applied pressure to a fatigued Kofi. The Swiss Cyborg smothered Kingston, but The Dreadlocked Dynamo withstood the onslaught and put him down for three with the SOS. Next up was Bryan’s intellectual peer, Rowan. With Kingston seemingly running on fumes after taking tremendous punishment from The Bar, Rowan looked to pound Kofi into the canvas. Kingston attempted to fight back, but Rowan’s marching orders from Bryan soon became clear when he got himself disqualified for assaulting Kofi with a chair. Rowan continued his onslaught and aimed to end Kingston once and for all when he smashed Kofi with the Iron Claw Sam through the announce table, leaving The New Day member in a crumbled heap.

With Kingston all but down and out, United States Champion Samoa Joe marched to the ring looking to finish the job. The relentless Samoan Submission Machine preyed on Kofi’s battered body and continued to inflict damage to the already-battered Superstar. Kofi once again proved his resiliency though, taking Joe’s best and finally catching him at the right moment with a surprise rollup for three. Joe didn’t take the defeat laying down though, as he locked Kingston in the Coquina Clutch with Kofi’s throat sandwiched between the ropes before he exited. And now with Kofi seemingly out of it completely, it was down to Kofi and Randy Orton, with a WWE Championship Match at WrestleMania 35 hanging in the balance for The Dreadlocked Dynamo. The Viper methodically picked Kingston apart, but Kofi yet again refused to give up on his dream, as he somehow avoided the RKO and caught The Apex Predator with a clutch rollup for the dramatic three-count to earn a WWE Title opportunity at WrestleMania … or at least so he thought.

As The Dreadlocked Dynamo began to celebrate with his New Day cohorts, Mr. McMahon arrived with some news … and not good news for Kofi. The Chairman announced that Kingston was going to WrestleMania, but only if he could defeat one more opponent, “The New” Daniel Bryan. Mr. McMahon forced The New Day to leave ringside by threatening to take away Kofi’s opportunity, and a beyond-exhausted Kingston attempted to surge through one last matchup to re-secure his WWE Championship opportunity at The Show of Shows. However, after everything Kingston suffered through, Bryan simply had to pick the bones of what was left of Kingston, and he finished him off with the Running Knee for a win that crushed the WWE Universe, the SmackDown LIVE locker room and, above all, Kofi Kingston.

My Take: 4 out of 5 – While not quite as good as some of the other gauntlet matches from the WWE this fiscal year, this was an excellent bout that added to Kofi’s appeal as a contender. Kofi looked great against each opponent and seemed to keep his energy up the whole length of the match. It’s a real testament to how good he really is that Kofi was able to switch between each opponents different method of wrestling and still manage to look like he knew what he was doing. I thought all of the wrestlers did a great job not pushing Kofi too hard when they were in with him, so he could have as much of his strength as possible to make it to the end. Bryan as a surprise obstacle at the end was a nice twist in the whole thing, but I hope that Kofi getting screwed out of the Wrestlemania match doesn’t ruin the build to him actually getting the big bout. Overall, this was a fine match that was a thorough pleasure all the way through.

News Of The Night:

The Miz cut a strong promo about being a cad most of his career and why Shane McMahon meant so much to him.
Vince McMahon cheated Kofi Kingston out of his shot for the WWE World Title at Wrestlemania.
Samoa Joe will defend the United States Title against Rey Mysterio at Wrestlemania.
Kevin Owens moderated a debate between Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair on his “The Kevin Owens Show” segment that turned into a brawl.
AJ Styles continued the feud with Randy Orton in a solid promo.