WWE SmackDown Live
Episode 1022
#SDLive
Original Air Date: March 19, 2019
Event Date: March 19, 2019
(aired live)
City: Indianapolis, IN
Venue: Bankers Life Fieldhouse
Commentary: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton
Ring Announcer: Greg Hamilton
Ring Area
The Miz heads to the ring. After showing a video of Shane McMahon making a match between them at Wrestlemania, Miz says he has been focused on Wrestlemania for over ten years. He has made many sacrifices in that time, so his friendship with Shane meant a lot to him. Ultimately, Miz just wanted his dad to be proud of him. Shane McMahon made that happen.
People warned Miz to be careful around Shane, but Miz didn’t listen. Then, at Fastlane, Shane beat up Miz and put his hands on The Miz’s father. That’s something Miz will never forget. Miz says Shane is rotten to the core just like his father. Shane wasn’t born the best in the world. He’s a McMahon, so he was born the worst. The McMahon’s might own WWE, but they don’t own The Miz.
Miz wasn’t born into privilege. He worked hard to get to where he is today. Miz says no one can question his work ethic, and hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard enough. Miz thinks he’s earned his spot. Shane McMahon has earned “an ass whooping” from The Miz at Wrestlemania.
Match 1
Sasha Banks & Bayley (Women’s Tag Champs) vs The IIconics
(referee: Jason Ayers)
Result: Peyton Royce pins Sasha Banks with a schoolboy (and some assistance from Billie Kay)
Time: 8:24
Match Thoughts
Good match. About half of the match was shown with picture-in-picture during a commercial break, so that meant Bayley got beat up for the majority of the match while they waited to get back to full-screen action. Sasha tagged in late in the match and it seemed like she was on her way to a victory, but the teamwork (and brains) of The IIconics made for a fun finish.
Backstage
Kayla Braxton welcomes Rey Mysterio, and Mysterio welcomes his son Dominic. Mysterio wanted his son with him when he announces that he’ll be facing Samoa Joe for the US Title at Wrestlemania. Dominic says he’s excited to watch his father beat Joe.
Ring Area
Kevin Owens heads to the ring for the Kevin Owens Show. Owens is excited about the new graphics for his show. Owens says Kofi Kingston and his possible Wrestlemania match has the WWE Universe buzzing. Another match that has people buzzing features his guests tonight. First, Owens introduces Becky Lynch. With Lynch in the ring, Owens introduces Charlotte Flair who also heads to the ring.
Owens talks about how he knows better than anyone how friendships can go wrong. He also reads some of the things Ronda Rousey has said to and about Becky and Charlotte (mostly about Becky). He also reads things Becky and Charlotte have said about each other.
Owens says there’s been a lot of talk, but everyone really just wants to see them fight. Owens suggests that his two guests fight each other right now. Owens excuses himself from the ring, so Becky and Charlotte brawl. The fight spills out to the floor where referees try to pull the women apart. Security attempts to help, but Becky and Charlotte continue to go at each other.
Backstage
Kayla Braxton welcomes AJ Styles. She asks AJ about his match against Randy Orton at Wrestlemania. Styles says Orton is great. The difference between them is that Orton is a first round draft pick, while Styles is a walk-on. Styles didn’t have all the advantages that Orton did, so he had to fight for his spot.
Ring Area
Daniel Bryan and Rowan head to the ring. Bryan says that Kofi being in the upcoming gauntlet match is an injustice. Kofi doesn’t deserve that opportunity. Bryan goes on to explain why Kofi’s surge in popularity is not the same as Daniel Bryan’s support from a few years ago. The difference is, Kofi was chosen to replace Mustafa Ali in the Elimination Chamber. Also, Kofi didn’t win the previous gauntlet match, he didn’t win the Elimination Chamber, and he didn’t win at Fastlane. That’s because Kofi is a B+ player.
Match 2
Gauntlet Match
Kofi Kingston vs Sheamus & Cesaro & Rowan & Samoa Joe (US Champ) & Randy Orton & Daniel Bryan (WWE Champ)
(referee: Mike Chioda; watching in the back: Xavier Woods, Big E, The Usos, Mustafa Ali, The Hardy Boyz, R-Truth, Carmella, Heavy Machinery, EC3, Nikki Cross, Ricochet; stipulation: if Kofi wins, he gets a WWE Title match at Wrestlemania)
Result: Daniel Bryan pins Kofi Kingston after a running knee strike
1. Kofi pins Sheamus after Trouble in Paradise (9:29)*
2. Kofi pins Cesaro with the SOS (16:53)*
3. Rowan is Disqualified for hitting Kofi with a chair (19:34)*
4. Kofi pins Samoa Joe with a prawn hold (27:06)**
5. Kofi pins Randy Orton with a schoolboy (36:26)****
6. Daniel Bryan pins Kofi after a running knee strike (40:34)****
Time: 40:34 (4 breaks, 1 restart)
Match Thoughts
Good match. I don’t think I enjoyed this as much as the previous gauntlet match that Kofi was in, and a lot of that proabably had to do with the fact that I pretty much knew what I’d be getting from this match. Kofi would last until the end, and then he’d either win or lose in dramatic fashion. We got exactly that. I liked the match, though, of course, they are making Kofi’s road to Wrestlemania as frustrating as possible in order to make the payoff that much better. Hopefully.
Show Impressions
Good show. It was nice to finally see Sasha and Bayley on SmackDown. Byron was trying to defend the fact that they hadn’t been on the show yet, but come on, they said they would be on every show and it took them over a month to make it onto SmackDown. They kind of deserved to lose tonight.
The Kofi stuff is still engaging to me, but I feel like it’s pretty clear where this is headed. I just hope his proabable match at Wrestlemania doesn’t turn into a multiple-person match. It should be one on one.
Match of the Night
Gauntlet Match
I liked the tag match too, but its hard to deny Kofi’s performances in matches like this.
Official Results: https://www.wwe.com/shows/smackdown/2019-03-19