Friday Night SmackDown Review - February 7, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day Interrupted The Miz and John Morrison on The Dirt Sheet

Oh, how I've missed The Dirt Sheet. From what I've seen online, most people didn't care for the comedy here, but I personally enjoyed it and thought their parody of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was humorous. The show was intentionally terrible back in the day and this was no different, so I'm not sure what people were expecting. New Day also played their roles well and I thought this was a solid segment on the whole, which tied in nicely to the subsequent match with The Usos battling Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode.

The Usos def. Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode

With the many matches The Usos have had with King Corbin and his clan over the last month, I'm surprised The Usos had never faced Ziggler and Roode straight-up until now. It was a quality tag team match yet nothing out out of the ordinary. I could certainly see The Usos getting back involved in the SmackDown Tag Team Championship picture after Miz and Morrison get their shot at Super ShowDown.

Elias def. Cesaro

I'm happy WWE is apparently interested in pushing Elias as a babyface, but like I said last week, a win over Cesaro virtually means nothing at this point. He's been beaten like a drum over the course of his career and it's sad to see him relegated to enhancement level status. The match was perfectly fine and the crowd was behind Elias, but I'm not sure what his ceiling is on SmackDown, especially as long as Braun Strowman is in possession of the Intercontinental Championship.

Roman Reigns Interrupted King Corbin

Oh my God, will this feud ever end?! We thought it was over after TLC in December. It wasn't. Then we thought it was over after Royal Rumble. It wasn't. Finally, we all assumed it was over after the "Loser Eats Dog Food" crap last week on SmackDown. It wasn't. I have no idea who can possibly care about these two going at it anymore, nor do I know who is even benefiting from this feud at this point. Their Steel Cage match will go down at Super ShowDown.

Universal Champion Bray Wyatt Accepted Goldberg's Super ShowDown Challenge

When it was announced on Monday's Raw that Goldberg was set to appear on SmackDown, Wyatt was one of the first names that came to mind as a potential opponent for him at Super ShowDown. It isn't a "dream match" by any means, but Wyatt is in a weird lull period before WrestleMania, so it makes sense. Plus, like Goldberg said himself, he was never given a rematch for the Universal Championship after losing it to Brock Lesnar three years ago. I don't know how well they'll work together, and there's a good chance it ends up being a disaster, but I'm cautiously optimistic. Assuming Wyatt retains his title, that will be a big win for him.

Daniel Bryan def. Heath Slater

I legitimately can not remember the last time Slater was on WWE TV. This was a fine reintroduction of him (I suppose), but I wouldn't be surprised if he wants out once his contract expires (much like his former tag team partner Rhyno). This was a total squash as Bryan hit all of his signature spots and beat Slater in decisive fashion. I liked Bryan showing more aggression than usual coming off his loss to The Fiend at the Royal Rumble, but I am curious where it's leading. If a program with Sheamus is the ultimate endgame, count me out.

Shinsuke Nakamura, Sami Zayn and The Revival Attacked Intercontinental Champion Braun Strowman

It's nice that the Intercontinental Championship means so much to Strowman, but the title has been such an afterthought for so long now that I hardly think it matters. He didn't sound as scripted here as he normally does, but I hate that his feud with Nakamura isn't over yet. Their first matches were nothing special, so I can't imagine the likely third match at Super ShowDown (assuming that's where it happens) will be much different. It feels like WWE is killing time before Strowman presumably faces Sheamus at WrestleMania. Speaking of whom...

Sheamus def. Apollo Crews

Crews is another individual who has been completely absent from WWE TV for many months and, as you could clearly tell here, WWE has no intentions of pushing him any time soon. He was destroyed by Sheamus in under 30 seconds. Shorty G attempted to make the save afterward but to no avail. Considering Sheamus already beat him twice decisively, I see no reason for that rivalry to continue. Between Reigns vs. Corbin, Strowman vs. Nakamura, and now this, I'm starting to sense a pattern here.

Carmella def. Naomi, Alexa Bliss and Dana Brooke in a SmackDown Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Fatal 4-Way Match

I'm all for the women getting the main event spotlight, but SmackDown's women's division has been on ice for at least a year. Aside from a future title shot being on the line, what was the reasoning behind putting this on last? At any rate, this was a well-worked Fatal 4-Way with a fun final stretch. Naomi winning made the most sense after what we saw from her and Bayley last week, so Carmella stealing the victory instead was surprising. It's a fine filler feud before either Naomi or Sasha Banks challenge for the championship at WrestleMania. Naomi was easily the most over woman in this match.

Overall Show

Well, it's official: After a few above-average episodes at the beginning of 2020, SmackDown is back to being a dull show. WWE could always get the blue brand back on track on the road to WrestleMania, but I don't have high hopes coming off this extremely flat episode. Sure, Wyatt vs. Goldberg at Super ShowDown is kind of cool and the women getting the main event spot was a refreshing change of pace, but I'm stunned the Reigns vs. Corbin, Strowman vs. Nakamura, and Sheamus vs. Shorty G rivalries aren't over yet. They're dragging down the quality of the show each week because there's no reason for them to continue. The tag team scene is getting slightly more interesting and I was entertained by the return of The Dirt Sheet, but that wasn't enough to salvage this show. How FOX is paying a billion dollars for this program over the next four years is beyond me.