Friday Night SmackDown Review - February 26, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Daniel Bryan Confronted Universal Champion Roman Reigns

I figured Bryan would take exception to how Reigns beat him at Elimination Chamber and that he would be looking for a rematch at Fastlane. Sure enough, that was exactly what happened here, complete with Uso setting himself up as a roadblock for Bryan in the main event. It was a solid segment, but I still want a drawn-out feud between Reigns and Bryan at some point without anyone else involved. There's so much you can dig into there and this was only a small taste of it.

Otis and Chad Gable def. Dominik and Rey Mysterio

SmackDown's tag team division, much like Raw's, remains a mess and I don't think a heel turn for Gable and Otis is going to do much to change that. They're obviously good in the ring, but Otis isn't a natural heel and it just illustrates that breaking up Heavy Machinery was a pointless move. On the bright side, it's an improvement for Gable over the Shorty G garbage, but almost anything would have been. This was a decent match with a surprising result. You'd think Dominik would get pinned but apparently not. Rey doesn't feel nearly as special as he did even a year or two ago.

Apollo Crews def. Shinsuke Nakamura

Crews' pre-match promo may have been his best mic work on the main roster. In fact, I know it is because he was almost never been given a chance to talk on the main roster before recently. He was sporting new gear and his promo was great. There wasn't much to the match that followed with Nakamura, but it was fun while it lasted. If you're wondering what the hell happened to Nakamura's mini-push after he teased challenging Reigns a month ago, apparently WWE never planned on pushing him in the first place because the spot was always meant for Cesaro.

Tamina def. Liv Morgan

Tamina and Natalya vs. The Riott Squad is the feud that will never end, and as much as I like The Riott Squad, I couldn't care less. Tamina is just terrible and Morgan isn't going to get any better working with her. It was a throwaway match with a disappointing outcome. I realize WWE is trying to push the duo of Natalya and Tamina in the tag team division, but I don't understand why. The Riott Squad are one of WWE's only legitimate teams and they lose more often than they win.

Bianca Belair Chose to Face SmackDown Women's Champion Sasha Banks at WrestleMania 37

Belair's WrestleMania decision was hyped ahead of time, but I don't think there was ever any doubt who she was choosing. I know they teased the possibility of Asuka, but that obviously would have been a massive disappointment with how Asuka has been booked as Raw Women's Champion. Belair vs. Banks is the money match at 'Mania. Reginald's involvement in this segment was unnecessary. Can we please get Belair vs. Carmella over with and move on?

The Street Profits def. Sami Zayn and King Corbin

Zayn and Corbin attempted forming a union (or at least Zayn did, anyway), but hopefully their loss here means it won't stick. I know the blue brand needs teams, but a Zayn and Corbin alliance isn't the answer. Zayn has been entertaining on his own and he simply doesn't have chemistry with Corbin. That said, this was a well-wrestled affair designed to give Street Profits another win as they build toward another opportunity at the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. I'd prefer to see their inevitable rematch with Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode go down at Fastlane because it certainly isn't WrestleMania worthy.

Cesaro Attacked Seth Rollins

Cesaro may not have won at Elimination Chamber as I believe he should have, but he's still feuding with Rollins and that can't be seen as anything but a big positive for him. I see them facing off at Fastlane and not at WrestleMania, but who knows, maybe he'll be worked into the rumored Rollins vs. Bryan feud somehow. Cesaro standing tall in this segment was encouraging and that honestly may have been the best Cesaro Swing I have ever seen. Both guys deserve props for that one.

Daniel Bryan vs. Jey Uso Ended in a Double Count-Out

Bryan and Uso have worked together a bunch, so while this was nothing new, it was another quality contest from them and Uso continues to overdeliver in these main events. The stipulation stated that Bryan would earn a Universal Championship match at Fastlane had he beaten Uso, but since it was a double count-out, I assume the idea is that Reigns vs. Bryan isn't happening and Edge will get his tag team matchup against Reigns and Uso instead. I guess we'll find out more next week, but nothing was made official here. Personally, I'd prefer the tag match because as I mentioned earlier, we know for a fact that Bryan isn't winning the title so close to WrestleMania so they may as well hold off on it.

Overall Show

I know I've called SmackDown the Roman Reigns Show in the past (and it absolutely is), but there's plenty of other stuff worth investing in at the moment including Banks vs. Belair now on for WrestleMania, the Intercontinental Championship feud with Big E and Apollo Crews, and Cesaro vs. Rollins. The tag team division still needs work and the stuff with Tamina and Natalya does nothing for me, but hey, it's much more bearable than Raw most weeks. This was a thumbs-up effort from SmackDown that set up some things for the next weeks heading into Fastlane and WrestleMania.