WWE SmackDown Live
Episode 1020
#SDLive
Original Air Date: March 5, 2019
Event Date: March 5, 2019
(aired live)
City: Wilkes-Barre, PA
Venue: Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza
Commentary: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton
Ring Announcer: Greg Hamilton
Tonight’s episode is in memory of King Kong Bundy (1957 – 2019)
Ring Area
Daniel Bryan and Rowan head to the ring. Without saying anything, Bryan invites us to watch footage of Kofi Kingston having his title opportunity taken away from him by Vince McMahon last week, and of the tag match in which Kingston teamed with his replacement, Kevin Owens.
After the video, Bryan talks about remaining silent last week as everyone gushed about Kingston. He also remained silent while Vince replaced Kingston with Owens. Now, it is Bryan’s turn to speak and everyone else’s turn to stay silent. Rowan tells everyone to shut up and open their ears for enlightenment from Daniel Bryan.
Bryan isn’t out here to talk about Kofi Kingston. And why not? Kingston is a supporting player, and that’s why he is exactly where he should be: with New Day on a promotional tour of India. Bryan thinks Vince was right to replace Kingston, but he’s not sure if Owens is a good replacement. Kevin Owens is a nobody, but that’s what makes him so dangerous. Nobody is a somebody with nothing to lose. Bryan, as the planet’s champion, has a lot to lose. Kevin Owens comes out to the stage.
Owens says that while he was recovering from injury, he once again became a member of the WWE Universe. The time off with his family was great, but it was also hard watching people do what he loves to do. It wasn’t hard to watch Bryan tough. Watching Brayn was just awful. Owens can’t stand people who think they are better than everyone else. And then, he had to watch Daniel Bryan throw the WWE Title in the garbage. That was the final straw. Right then, Owens knew who he needed to fight when he came back to WWE.
Bryan insults Owens’ eating habits, so Owens wonders if these low-brow comments are coming from the intelligent Daniel Bryan. If Bryan thinks Owens is just like the fans, then he’s right. Owens is just like the fans. Bryan then tells Owens that he doesn’t have any friends. Owens admits that his lack of friends is his own fault, but he didn’t need any help to pin Bryan last week. Owens says he didn’t intend to take Kofi’s spot, but regardless, Owens intends to take the WWE Title from Bryan on Sunday.
Rowan steps up to Owens, so Owens attacks. Owens manages to get Rowan out of the ring, and Owens brieflty brawls with Bryan. Rowan re-enters the ring and hits Owens with a face-palm slam. Bryan and Rowan walk away from the ring together.
Backstage
Shane McMahon helps The Miz prepare for a match.
Ring Area
The Usos head to the ring. They are tired of the bromance between Shane and The Miz. They mock The Miz and complain about Shane McMahon jumping off of everything. The Usos talk about being a true tag team. At Fastlane, The Usos will hit hard. Shane McMahon and The Miz head to the ring.
Shane says that their emotion and passion have made them the best tag team in the world. Miz says if The Usos lose focus for even a second, he and Shane will win. And that will be awesome. The Usos try to attack, but Miz and Shane avoid them, sending The Usos out to the floor.
Match 1
Jey Uso w/ Jimmy Uso (SD Tag Champs) vs The Miz w/ Shane McMahon
(referee: Ryan Tran)
Result: The Miz wins via pinfall after the Skull Crushing Finale
Time: 5:05
Match Thoughts
Pretty good match. Jey Uso looked strong tonight, but some shenanigans at ringside (which included Shane jumping of of something) led to a distracted finish. This was a pretty standard pre-PPV match, but I liked it fine.
Backstage
Kayla Braxton welcomes Charlotte Flair. Charlotte says she misses Becky Lynch tonight, so she’d like to invite her here to SmackDown tonight so they can have a friendly discussion about Fastlane.
Ring Area
R-Truth and Carmella head to the ring. R-Truth wants to be just like his childhood hero John Cena, but he didn’t realize that Cena issued an open challenge every week. R-Truth is tired after just one open challenge. Carmella tells R-Truth that John Cena says to never give up, but Truth responds by telling Carmella that Cena also says you can’t see him. Truth sees John Cena all the time. Carmella tells R-Truth to be brave, but first, it’s time for a dance break. R-Truth agrees to another open challenge.
Lacey Evans heads to ringside. The she leaves.
Samoa Joe answers the open challenge. As Joe enters the ring, Rey Mysterio comes out and also enters the ring. Immediately after that, Andrade heads to the ring with Zelnia Vega. Before R-Truth can do anything, a fatal four way US Title match is announced.
Match 2
Fatal Four Way US Title Match
R-Truth (US Champ) w/ Carmella vs Samoa Joe vs Rey Mysterio vs Andrade w/ Zelina Vega
(referee: Mike Chioda)
Result: Samoa Joe pins Andrade after a side slam and becomes the new US Champ
Time: 10:14 (joined in progress; 1 break)
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Everyone looked great here. Andrade and Mysterio continued their great interactions, and R-Truth came close to continuing his recent run of timely pinfalls. Somoa Joe was just trying to destroy everyone, and he did a good job of it. This was very fun, and the novelty of a fatal four way helped build a lot of tension as far as who would win.
Backstage
Becky Lynch limps in the back.
Selfie Video
From Mumbai, India, New Day says they will be at Fastlane.
Backstage
Kayla Braxton welcomes Samoa Joe. Joe says the new US Champ is not going to pander and dance. Joe is going to disrespect anyone and everyone who comes for the king’s crown, and he’s going to put them all to sleep.
Match 3
Aleister Black & Ricochet vs The Bar
(referee: Danilo Anfibio)
Result: Ricochet pins Cesaro after a 630
Time: 5:39
Match Thoughts
Good match. Ricochet and Black were the faster team (as they have been in all of their matches teaming on the main roster), but The Bar did a good job keeping the fight mostly even. In the end though, the momentum that Black and Ricochet have seemed to be the deciding factor.
Ring Area
Immediately after the match, Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura attack Ricochet and Alesiter Black. Right after that, The Hardy Boyz run down to attack The Bar, Rusev, and Nakamura. Black and Ricochet join in. The Hardy Boyz, Black, and Ricochet get the better of the brawl and stand in the ring together.
Backstage
Daniel Bryan gets Rowan ready to fight Kevin Owens.
Match 4
Mandy Rose w/ Sonya Deville vs Naomi
(referee: Jason Ayers)
Result: Mandy Rose wins via pinfall with a double-underhook facebuster
Time: 0:46
Match Thoughts
This was kind of dumb. I suppose they were running short on time, but this match was less than a minute. There was a distraction and maybe two moves.
Ring Area
After the match, as Deville and Rose are heading up the ramp, Asuka comes out and attacks them both.
Backstage
Kayla Braxton welcomes AJ Styles. Styles says WWE Title opportunities don’t come around all the time, so you take them when the opportunities present themselves. Even so, Styles would not want to be in either Kofi Kingston nor Kevin Owens’ shoes. He says Kofi deserves a title shot and it shouldn’t have been taken from him.
Randy Orton walks up and laughs at Styles for saying someone besides himself is deserving of a title opportunity.
Match 5
Kevin Owens vs Rowan w/ Daniel Bryan (WWE Champ)
(referee: Ryan Tran)
Result: Kevin Owens wins via DQ after Daniel Bryan attacks him at ringside
Time: 1:40
Match Thoughts
This match barely got going before Daniel Bryan got involved. It made sense for the feud, but it wasn’t much of a match.
Ring Area
After the match, Bryan and Rowan continue to attack Kevin Owens. After a few seconds, Mustafa Ali runs down to even the odds. Together, Ali and Owens fight off Bryan and Rowan.
Ring Area
Charlotte Flair heads to the ring. She starts a “Becky” chant to entice Lynch to head to the ring. Becky limps to the ring.
Becky enjoys the reaction she gets from the crowd. Becky also says that she might be hurting, but she also says she’s happy about getting into the head of both Charlotte and Ronda Rousey. Rousey gave Becky everything last night, but Becky is still here. She also, again, reminds Charlotte that she beat her on one good leg. Still, Becky might be damaged, but damaged people are dangerous because they have nothing to lose.
Charlotte attacks Becky. Charlotte dares Becky to fight back, and Becky manages to get Charlotte in Disarm Her. Referees have to come out to pry Becky off of Charlotte. Charlotte escapes from the ring and backs away up the ramp.
Show Impressions
This was a pretty good show. A lot of it felt like standard pre-PPV segments, but there were some nice moments and a couple of good matches.
I’m still not into Rose facing Asuka for the title, and tonight didn’t hep that. I also still don’t want Shane and Miz to win back the tag titles (and I don’t even want them in a title match to begin with).
I did like the US Title match and am very happy with the result. Also, they didn’t need to sell me on Owens and Bryan. I already know that will be a good match. Tonight didn’t do anything to change my mind about that.
As for The Bar versus Ricochet and Black, it was a good match, but I still want Black and Ricochet to go off on their own. Tonight looked like the beginning of some sort of multi-team match at Wrestlemania. I’m sure I’ll enjoy it.
Match of the Night
US Title Fatal Four Way Match
Good action and a good finish. I liked it it a lot.
Official Results: https://www.wwe.com/shows/smackdown/2019-03-05