SmackDown Live: February 19, 2019
Here we go - I'm several days late with the SmackDown post because my RAW post was late and you know, I'm a mom so life gets in the way.
Before we get too deep into the story lines I want to spend a minute on why this week in WWE land kind of blows. Both RAW and SmackDown apparently really wanted to repeat every match that happened on the Pay Per View. I don't get why you have people pay for something that you are just going to repeat for free later...but hey let's just assume they have a really great reason for this. I find it a little lazy and probably why this week was a little less inspiring to write about. I get that after a big event like Elimination Chamber you probably need a coasting week and I totally understand the need to bring in new talent from NXT (what I assume is their minor league team?). Totally cool. I just need something a little more exciting in my life because I only have so much time to watch these shows! Momma needs to sleep!
Okay so that is my rant. Hooray repeat matches.
Fast recap: Shane McMahon and the Miz were all weepy about losing and then the Usos agree for a rematch at Fastlane. I don't know what Fastlane is so I'm assuming it is another Pay Per View? So...okay? The Bar then had a match up with those NXT guys that also had a match up on RAW (we didn't get enough of them yet?) and apparently The Bar that is about five feet taller than these weirdos loses which is unbelievable so great story writing guys. They have been getting complains about Asuka not being on so she came on and battled Mandy Rose (by the way cute boots lady!) and lost but didn't lose her title so I guess it wasn't a title match? I don't know. That Ricochet dude was on again and had a match against some guy I don't know. Eh. All the dude from Elimination Chamber joined up for a three way tag team of good guys versus bad buys and the good guys won. Then apparently no one can be nice to Danial Bryan so they tell him he has to have another match up (didn't I already see this twice now) with Kofi at Fastlane (again whatever that is...). The end.
The matches/segments (now I was pretty much out from the beginning of this because it was all just repeats and nothing matches so *yawn* I'll do my best):
Miz & Shane
I don't know what was going on here. I'm so over this whole story line honestly. It was all tear filled apologies by the Miz for losing. If you are going to get that upset about losing a match you should probably find a new profession. Oh wait, the Miz is a reality show star so I guess this is his side gig? The Usos come out and challenge them to a rematch and I guess Shane has the power on this show or something so he agrees to have a rematch at The Fastlane (whatever that is). I feel bad for other Tag Teams like the Bar or Heavy Machinery because they should also get a chance to have meaningful matches but I'm not in charge and that is probably the Momma Bear in me wanting fairness and stuff.
Aliester Black vs Andrade
So I've been a little mixed on Andrade. He is a pretty talented wrestler that has a nice mix of traditional wrestling and what I've been told is a Lucha style that is like flips and stuff. His story line is a little odd and he has this lady friend that walks around which him that always puts me off. Like give her a real job already! We are in the Me Too movement afterall. So this match, after my social media fill, was interesting because they were old rivals in NXT and also the shadow girl for Andrade is actually the wife of Alieister Black. So Mrs Black in real life (I doubt that is their real name) plays Andrade's girl friend on the show. DRAMA. I'm not all up on this Black guy. He seems very moody but also kind of looks like a normal dude that just needs a shower and a haircut. People seem impressed by him so maybe he will grow on me, but his entrance is a little too Undertaker (oh yes I totally threw out a classic name - I'm in deep here) so I immediately feel like he is a poser. Aliester wins this battle in handy fashion which feels weirdly sad to me. I haven't seen Andrade in weeks and then he loses.
Ciampi/Gargano vs The Bar
This one hits me right in the feels. I'm not sold on either of these NXT guys and I'm not 100% clear on why they are tag team partners. I am on the other hand super in love with The Bar because mohawks and shaved heads are my jam. I loved how The Bar actually had personality in this match versus the RAW match with The Revival so I guess there is that for them. The NXT guys are just a little lifeless to me and their entrance music doesn't seem to match their personas. It is just odd to me and I feel like part of it is because I haven't spent a ton of time with NXT so maybe the backstory is exciting? I don't know but my love affair with The Bar makes this a weird experience for me because in all honesty they should be champions for being awesome. After a very weird match where there were some major faux pas like running into the refs and then running into the camera person and then some hits and kicks that didn't actually land on anyone, The Bar ended up losing. It was crap. The whole match was crap and did nothing to endure me to the new guys or feel like The Bar talent was fully on display.
Mandy Rose vs Asuka
On social media there has been a lot of noise about Asuka not being featured enough so I think they felt like they needed to give Asuka a match. For some reason Mandy Rose got picked which is a different match up than I've seen since she typically is a tag team member. Asuka is kind of wild and crazy and Mandy is kind of blah so it was just a very strange exchange. Asuka I believe does not speak English so her microphone spots are pretty scripted which I don't really mind. She does a good job at delivering the lines and I love that you just kind of don't know what is going on. At first I was turned off by her weirdness but I've grown to appreciate it and would be happy with more Asuka! Give her more matches! So Asuka loses this match but the true star is Mandy's boots. They were beautiful with black and gold. Man I want those...so cool.
Ricochet vs Eric Young (aka who is this?)
This match was odd to me because I only just now got to know Rico because of my homeboy Finn and then they bring him out with this weirdo? Apparently Eric Young is a regular on SmackDown but I've never seen him before. The match was fine, Eric Young is a "big guy" so his style is more physical domination rather than flips and speed so the two of them wasn't as exciting as if say they had Rico against Rey Mysterio. They missed the boat on this one in my opinion because to fully appreciate an aerial artist you need another aerial artist. I think Finn worked because he has some similar styles but I'm not sure why they have so many big guys against these little guys. Anyway, they of course can't have Rico lose because apparently that isn't what we do here so he won. Fine. Go Rico, I'm okay with you. I guess one NXT guy isn't bad right?
Kofi/AJ/Hardy vs Daniel/Randy/Joe
I think maybe I am having a little bit of flashback here - didn't we just see this like two other times? Yes, yes we did. Why are they not having other people on this show but these six? Anyway, this was a weird three way tag team that I'm not sure why is happening. I also wasn't clear that there was a good guy team and a bad guy team. I was all "But I like Daniel and Randy so they are good?" That isn't how the WWE Universe works. Apparently, Kofi is some sort of new favorite and he is now friends with the other two nice guys. I don't care for that team so they are my bad guys team. I wish Joe was on their team. *Sigh* This match was weird from the beginning and was very heavy on Kofi which I think means that AJ is either hurt or made someone mad in the front office. The real point of this match was to continue to have Kofi be a fan favorite. I'm not a Kofi fan. The guy is nice enough but I feel he has a lack of personality other than pancakes and pigtails. He just is not my hero in this and while I appreciate his skill as a wrestler I much prefer the angry passion of Daniel Bryan. I'm not the leader of this WWE world so no one cares what I really think, obviously, so Kofi and his band of meh men win. I feel bad for Daniel Bryan because he had some MAJOR bruises on his chest and he is amazing, I wish they could just make a whole show about him. Anyway, Kofi won and then they determined that Kofi will go against Daniel Bryan at Fastlane (??) and everyone was all exciting. Shocker. If you didn't know that was going to happen you obviously missed the other TWO SIMILAR MATCHES that lead to this. This was a lazy story line.
Before we get too deep into the story lines I want to spend a minute on why this week in WWE land kind of blows. Both RAW and SmackDown apparently really wanted to repeat every match that happened on the Pay Per View. I don't get why you have people pay for something that you are just going to repeat for free later...but hey let's just assume they have a really great reason for this. I find it a little lazy and probably why this week was a little less inspiring to write about. I get that after a big event like Elimination Chamber you probably need a coasting week and I totally understand the need to bring in new talent from NXT (what I assume is their minor league team?). Totally cool. I just need something a little more exciting in my life because I only have so much time to watch these shows! Momma needs to sleep!
Okay so that is my rant. Hooray repeat matches.
Fast recap: Shane McMahon and the Miz were all weepy about losing and then the Usos agree for a rematch at Fastlane. I don't know what Fastlane is so I'm assuming it is another Pay Per View? So...okay? The Bar then had a match up with those NXT guys that also had a match up on RAW (we didn't get enough of them yet?) and apparently The Bar that is about five feet taller than these weirdos loses which is unbelievable so great story writing guys. They have been getting complains about Asuka not being on so she came on and battled Mandy Rose (by the way cute boots lady!) and lost but didn't lose her title so I guess it wasn't a title match? I don't know. That Ricochet dude was on again and had a match against some guy I don't know. Eh. All the dude from Elimination Chamber joined up for a three way tag team of good guys versus bad buys and the good guys won. Then apparently no one can be nice to Danial Bryan so they tell him he has to have another match up (didn't I already see this twice now) with Kofi at Fastlane (again whatever that is...). The end.
The matches/segments (now I was pretty much out from the beginning of this because it was all just repeats and nothing matches so *yawn* I'll do my best):
Miz & Shane
I don't know what was going on here. I'm so over this whole story line honestly. It was all tear filled apologies by the Miz for losing. If you are going to get that upset about losing a match you should probably find a new profession. Oh wait, the Miz is a reality show star so I guess this is his side gig? The Usos come out and challenge them to a rematch and I guess Shane has the power on this show or something so he agrees to have a rematch at The Fastlane (whatever that is). I feel bad for other Tag Teams like the Bar or Heavy Machinery because they should also get a chance to have meaningful matches but I'm not in charge and that is probably the Momma Bear in me wanting fairness and stuff.
Aliester Black vs Andrade
So I've been a little mixed on Andrade. He is a pretty talented wrestler that has a nice mix of traditional wrestling and what I've been told is a Lucha style that is like flips and stuff. His story line is a little odd and he has this lady friend that walks around which him that always puts me off. Like give her a real job already! We are in the Me Too movement afterall. So this match, after my social media fill, was interesting because they were old rivals in NXT and also the shadow girl for Andrade is actually the wife of Alieister Black. So Mrs Black in real life (I doubt that is their real name) plays Andrade's girl friend on the show. DRAMA. I'm not all up on this Black guy. He seems very moody but also kind of looks like a normal dude that just needs a shower and a haircut. People seem impressed by him so maybe he will grow on me, but his entrance is a little too Undertaker (oh yes I totally threw out a classic name - I'm in deep here) so I immediately feel like he is a poser. Aliester wins this battle in handy fashion which feels weirdly sad to me. I haven't seen Andrade in weeks and then he loses.
Ciampi/Gargano vs The Bar
This one hits me right in the feels. I'm not sold on either of these NXT guys and I'm not 100% clear on why they are tag team partners. I am on the other hand super in love with The Bar because mohawks and shaved heads are my jam. I loved how The Bar actually had personality in this match versus the RAW match with The Revival so I guess there is that for them. The NXT guys are just a little lifeless to me and their entrance music doesn't seem to match their personas. It is just odd to me and I feel like part of it is because I haven't spent a ton of time with NXT so maybe the backstory is exciting? I don't know but my love affair with The Bar makes this a weird experience for me because in all honesty they should be champions for being awesome. After a very weird match where there were some major faux pas like running into the refs and then running into the camera person and then some hits and kicks that didn't actually land on anyone, The Bar ended up losing. It was crap. The whole match was crap and did nothing to endure me to the new guys or feel like The Bar talent was fully on display.
Mandy Rose vs Asuka
On social media there has been a lot of noise about Asuka not being featured enough so I think they felt like they needed to give Asuka a match. For some reason Mandy Rose got picked which is a different match up than I've seen since she typically is a tag team member. Asuka is kind of wild and crazy and Mandy is kind of blah so it was just a very strange exchange. Asuka I believe does not speak English so her microphone spots are pretty scripted which I don't really mind. She does a good job at delivering the lines and I love that you just kind of don't know what is going on. At first I was turned off by her weirdness but I've grown to appreciate it and would be happy with more Asuka! Give her more matches! So Asuka loses this match but the true star is Mandy's boots. They were beautiful with black and gold. Man I want those...so cool.
Ricochet vs Eric Young (aka who is this?)
This match was odd to me because I only just now got to know Rico because of my homeboy Finn and then they bring him out with this weirdo? Apparently Eric Young is a regular on SmackDown but I've never seen him before. The match was fine, Eric Young is a "big guy" so his style is more physical domination rather than flips and speed so the two of them wasn't as exciting as if say they had Rico against Rey Mysterio. They missed the boat on this one in my opinion because to fully appreciate an aerial artist you need another aerial artist. I think Finn worked because he has some similar styles but I'm not sure why they have so many big guys against these little guys. Anyway, they of course can't have Rico lose because apparently that isn't what we do here so he won. Fine. Go Rico, I'm okay with you. I guess one NXT guy isn't bad right?
Kofi/AJ/Hardy vs Daniel/Randy/Joe
I think maybe I am having a little bit of flashback here - didn't we just see this like two other times? Yes, yes we did. Why are they not having other people on this show but these six? Anyway, this was a weird three way tag team that I'm not sure why is happening. I also wasn't clear that there was a good guy team and a bad guy team. I was all "But I like Daniel and Randy so they are good?" That isn't how the WWE Universe works. Apparently, Kofi is some sort of new favorite and he is now friends with the other two nice guys. I don't care for that team so they are my bad guys team. I wish Joe was on their team. *Sigh* This match was weird from the beginning and was very heavy on Kofi which I think means that AJ is either hurt or made someone mad in the front office. The real point of this match was to continue to have Kofi be a fan favorite. I'm not a Kofi fan. The guy is nice enough but I feel he has a lack of personality other than pancakes and pigtails. He just is not my hero in this and while I appreciate his skill as a wrestler I much prefer the angry passion of Daniel Bryan. I'm not the leader of this WWE world so no one cares what I really think, obviously, so Kofi and his band of meh men win. I feel bad for Daniel Bryan because he had some MAJOR bruises on his chest and he is amazing, I wish they could just make a whole show about him. Anyway, Kofi won and then they determined that Kofi will go against Daniel Bryan at Fastlane (??) and everyone was all exciting. Shocker. If you didn't know that was going to happen you obviously missed the other TWO SIMILAR MATCHES that lead to this. This was a lazy story line.
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