Friday Night SmackDown Review - March 5, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Universal Champion Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman and Jey Uso Confronted Daniel Bryan

Of all the babyface Bryan promos I've seen, this wasn't one of his best. Don't get me wrong, it was good, but I feel like I've heard a lot of that same material from him before. That said, he did tell a nice story about wanting to return to the main event of WrestleMania and how he feels he deserves it more than either Edge or Reigns. Reigns' rebuttal was also pretty good and I'm looking forward to more verbal exchanges between these two in the weeks ahead, but it's hard to believe Bryan will actually beat Reigns at Fastlane, three weeks out from WrestleMania.

King Corbin def. Montez Ford

The only thing I care about less than another Street Profits vs. Corbin and Sami Zayn match is singles matches pitting the four men against each other. Ford has singles potential, but Corbin bores me to tears at this point with his stupid king gimmick, and that's coming from someone who is a fan of this. Corbin winning made sense and the match itself was decent while it lasted, but without anything at stake, this was pointless.

Angelo Dawkins def. Sami Zayn

If Corbin vs. Ford wasn't pointless enough, we got Dawkins vs. Zayn as well. Seriously, who could possibly give a crap? I understand not having both of The Street Profits lose in back-to-back matches, but a former Intercontinental Champion lose to Dawkins of all people was weak. He'll probably incorporate it into his conspiracy storyline, but I thought it was the wrong outcome. Much like the previous match, this felt like filler.

Dominik Mysterio def. Chad Gable

I have no idea why WWE would follow up the Street Profits vs. Corbin and Zayn saga with another match pitting tag team wrestlers against each other. It's simply not interesting and comes across as a lazy way to further the feud. Both of these guys are talented (especially Gable), but with the SmackDown tag team division as depleted as it is at the moment, I don't know how much this match was supposed to mean. It didn't last long and didn't actually accomplish anything.

Bianca Belair def. WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Shayna Baszler

This was actually a rematch from when they went one-on-one at TakeOver: Phoenix over two years ago. Sadly, it wasn't on the level of that encounter because of how much less Baszler means compared to back then, but it was still solid. It was more about giving Belair a momentum boost before she and Sasha Banks get another opportunity at the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship at Fastlane. Yes, WWE is running that match back because... well, I'm not sure. Belair and Banks did nothing to deserve it and they should be focused on their own feud over the SmackDown Women's Championship.

Cesaro def. Murphy

Murphy approached Seth Rollins beforehand and told him he'd help take care of his Cesaro promo. Thankfully, Rollins didn't immediately forgive him, but I wouldn't be surprised if they reunited sometime soon. He's been off SmackDown entirely for months. It's better than nothing, but it also proves that WWE absolutely wasted his win over Rollins and hot babyface turn. At any rate, this was a well-wrestled match and it's nice to see Cesaro continue to stack up victories.

Apollo Crews Addressed Intercontinental Champion Big E

Well, this was certainly something. I am all in on heel Crews and love the new entrance and look, but the accent has got to go. I don't mind that he's incorporating his ethnic background into his new character, but he has to be more consistent with it. I can also completely understand why people would take issue with that. Otherwise, the actual content of the promo was great. If it were up to me, I'd put the Intercontinental Championship on him the next time he and Big E go one-on-one.

Daniel Bryan def. Jey Uso in a Steel Cage Match to Earn a Universal Championship Match at Fastlane

There was no doubt in my mind that Bryan was winning here and advancing to Fastlane to face Reigns, but it was an entertaining main event, nonetheless. Uso was booked fairly strong inside the Elimination Chamber, so it wasn't like he was just a stepping stone here. Rather, he put up a hell of a fight and showed he could compete on Bryan's level. As I've said before, my biggest issue with Bryan vs. Reigns is the predictable outcome, but hopefully they can make some magic beforehand.

Overall Show

I'm among those who believe SmackDown is a quality show most weeks, but that just wasn't the case with this episode. There were way too many matches that didn't matter and it felt like there was too much crammed into the two-hour timeframe. The Steel Cage main event honestly salvaged this show but nothing else was nearly worthwhile. Hopefully this was merely an off-week for the blue brand and it'll be back its usual level of excellence next week.