Friday Night SmackDown - March 26, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Edge Attacked Daniel Bryan

Bryan has always been a quintessential babyface, but I loved how he wasn't going to take any shit from Adam Pearce to kick off the show. He knew he was screwed by Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber and at Fastlane and wanted what was owed to him. He wasn't willing to wait, either, and that was the best part. Pearce agreed to think it over, which made for a nice hook for the remainder of the show. Edge was especially great here as he's always done his best work as a heel.

Seth Rollins def. Shinsuke Nakamura

This was on par with their Fastlane encounter, no better or worse. Don't get me wrong, it was enjoyable, but I'm sure they could have had a more memorable match five or six years ago and really gone all out. It didn't help that the outcome was never in doubt, but I can't complain about getting good wrestling. Cesaro emerged afterward to send Rollins fleeing before giving him one of the best Cesaro Swings I've ever seen in the backstage area. Cesaro vs. Rollins is now official for WrestleMania 37 and I hope to God Cesaro can pull out the victory.

Apollo Crews, Otis and Chad Gable def. Intercontinental Champion Big E and The Street Profits

You had to come up with a reason for why Big E would get another shot at the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania and him pinning Big E here was it. I hate when champions suffer non-title losses, but I guess it was better than Big E outright giving him a title shot for nothing.​ It's been the best feud for that title and I'm happy it will be one-on-one and not some multi-man mess (a la WrestleMania 31 and 32). This was a well-wrestled six-man tag team affair and Gable had a standout showing. Seriously, those suplexes were killer!

Sami Zayn Accepted Kevin Owens' WrestleMania 37 Challenge on The Kevin Owens Show

I still say that it should have been Owens vs. Zayn one-on-one at WrestleMania 32, but it's better late than never. Owens demanded an answer from Zayn in this segment and he got it before laying him out with a Stunner. The match definitely came out of nowhere, but I'd rather they get a meaningful singles match at 'Mania than being thrown into the pointless Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. The only thing I dread about it is Logan Paul's involvement. He'll be on SmackDown next week, so we'll see what WWE has in store for him, but I have no desire to see him on on the show. Honestly, can any positive press come out of that for what that goof pulled a few years ago?

Bianca Belair def. Natalya

Natalya is a perfectly competent performer and always has been, but as a character, she bores me to tears. Hell, I can't remember the last truly special match she had in WWE. I just feel like there's so many other women in WWE right now who are better and more interesting than her. That said, this as decent for what it was and gave Belair a nice rebound win coming off her tag team loss at Fastlane. Her pre-match promo in the back was terrific and I liked the fire she showed when she shoved Sasha Banks to the ground at ringside. Why weren't we getting this between them a month ago instead of wasting so much time on the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship crap?

Rey Mysterio def. SmackDown Tag Team Champion Dolph Ziggler

These two had a stellar series of matches for the Intercontinental Championship back in 2009. The fact that was a dozen years ago is unbelievable to me. This was a fun little match with Mysterio scoring the win and seemingly making a case for why he and Dominik should get the SmackDown Tag Team Championship shot at WrestleMania. As I've said for weeks now, my guess is that The Street Profits and the duo of Otis and Chad Gable will be involved as well to make it a Fatal 4-Way.

Adam Pearce Announced Roman Reigns vs. Edge vs. Daniel Bryan for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 37

This Triple Threat had been rumored for a few weeks now, but it was hard to tell whether WWE would actually do it until it was officially announced in this segment. I usually prefer singles matches in the main event of WrestleMania, but the story has been compelling enough that I don't mind Bryan being in there as well. Of course, he'll only make it better from an in-ring standpoint and there's a real chance he could come out on top. He makes matters more unpredictable, so this is a rare case where I like the change in plans. Edge has felt somewhat like an afterthought lately, so having him end the episode on top by brutally beating down Reigns, Bryan and Jey Uso. This was the spark Edge desperately needed and it feels like he's finally in his element as a character.

Overall Show

SmackDown has been suffering from the same issue as Raw in that most of the WrestleMania matches couldn't be finalized until Fastlane was over and done with. The timing was terrible with Fastlane three weeks before the event, but at least we have a pretty good idea of what we're getting on both nights of 'Mania coming out of this week's Raw and SmackDown shows. As far as this episode goes, it was effective in building up the SmackDown side of WrestleMania, which has plenty of potential. The wrestling was entertaining and everything worked for the most part, making for a rock solid show.