 Goldberg Challenged Universal Champion Roman Reigns at Elimination ChamberPaul Heyman's promo addressed his the falling out with Reigns in December, his reunion with Brock Lesnar and his subsequent betrayal of Lesnar at the Royal Rumble. Most of what he said made sense and I appreciate that they took the time to explain (even though it was fairly obvious from the moment Reigns fired Heyman). Goldberg coming out was predictable if you've read any of the recent reports regarding Reigns' Elimination Chamber opponent. I don't know how good the match will be and I'm beyond tired of Goldberg being in the title picture, but I honestly don't have an issue with it just because they have unfinished business from two years ago. Plus, it's another high-profile name for Reigns to beat before WrestleMania 38. Ricochet def. Ridge Holland; Sheamus and Holland def. Cesaro and RicochetI am sooo ready for this rivalry to be over. Ricochet and Cesaro have been made out to look like complete losers, and although the heels have gone over more often than not, even they don't gain much from beating the same two people over and over. Worse yet, the matches haven't had a chance to be better because they've been so short. Sheamus feels like he's spinning his wheels until he enters the Intercontinental Championship picture. SmackDown Tag Team Champion Jimmy Uso def. ErikThis was supposed to serve as a small preview of what to expect when The Usos defend their SmackDown Tag Team Championship against The Viking Raiders eventually, but it was so brief that I'm not sure what it actually accomplished. What was got was fine yet forgettable. They'll collide for the tag titles at Elimination Chamber in two weeks. It feels like a filler feud for The Uso before they inevitably rekindle their rivalry with The New Day for the millionth time. Aliyah def. Natalya by Count-OutThis was the third match these two have had in recent weeks. Aliyah notably won the first one in three seconds and then the rematch by disqualification. The story here was that Natalya once again underestimated Aliyah and she lost by count-out. It was a throwaway match with another lame finish. They'll have yet another matchup next week that can only be won by pinfall or submission. If this actually benefits Aliyah and gets her over with the crowd, good for her, but we don't know anything else about her beyond the fact she gets lucky a lot. Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss Interrurpted Drew McIntyreIt's great that McIntyre is back from neck surgery ahead of schedule, this show clearly needs him. What this show definitely doesn't need, however, is the continuation of McIntyre's feud with Corbin and Moss. It's terrible television and it's sadly going to run through WrestleMania with it being announced that McIntyre will be facing Moss again at Chamber. McIntyre vs. Corbin at WrestleMania is a huge waste of McIntyre, but then again, I truly don't know what else you do with him at the event. The roster is that thin. Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura def. Jinder Mahal (Non-Title)This marked Nakamura's first taste of singles action in many weeks as Rick Boogs (whose guitar unfortunately didn't work beforehand) revealed revealed that Nakamura had a hand injury if I remember correctly. Nakamura vs. Mahal brought back horrendous memories of their WWE Championship feud from 2017, so of all the matches on this show, this is one I had no issue with being shorter. We also found out that Nakamura will finally defend the Intercontinental Championship against Sami Zayn in two weeks. At that point, why not just do it at the Chamber pay-per-view? The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) def. Los LothariosBig E looked deflated out there and I don't blame him one bit. This is the same man that was WWE Champion a month ago and he's already back to doing tag team stuff with New Day like his main event push never happened. It's so sad, especially since WWE needs stars right now and putting Big E back in the tag team ranks isn't the answer. On the bright side, this was the best match on the whole show, though I realize that's not saying much. As I mentioned earlier, I can absolutely see Kingston and Big E challenging The Usos for the tag titles after Viking Raiders. Ronda Rousey Challenged SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 38 and Attacked Sonya DevilleDeville nonchalantly announcing that Rousey chose to face Becky Lynch for the Raw Women's Championship at WrestleMania told you that wasn't actually happening. Flair's promo was decent, but it's bizarre that she'd outright name Sasha Banks as her desired opponent for 'Mania only for it to be confirmed moments later that she'll be defending against Rousey instead. It's not a bad bout by any means, but Lynch vs. Rousey is more of a marquee match in my book. Rousey showed more life in her promo here than she did on Monday's Raw, so that was an improvement. I assume Rousey attacking Deville will lead to her getting "suspended" until after Chamber and maybe Banks will get a title shot at Chamber in the meantime. Overall ShowSmackDown has been abysmal for quite some time now, but this was one of the worst in recent memory. Even the appearances from Goldberg, Rousey and McIntyre weren't enough to salvage it. It's just the same stuff week after week and none of it is compelling or exciting. The blue brand needs some fresh faces in the worst way, and although Rousey presumably coming to the blue brand is a step in the right direction, the storylines desperately need to be shaken up. We got a better idea of what to expect in the coming weeks on SmackDown as well as at Elimination Chamber, but I get the feeling this road to WrestleMania will be a rough one on Friday nights.
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