WWE Throwback SmackDown Review - May 7, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Cesaro Interrupted Universal Champion Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman and The Usos; Cesaro def. Seth Rollins to Earn a Universal Championship Match at WrestleMania Backlash

I'm glad they acknowledged Reigns' big win over Daniel Bryan last week instead of quickly moving on from it despite Bryan reportedly no longer being under a WWE contract. Then came the return of Jimmy Uso, which was long overdue. He was out injured for over a year and I liked how he was reintroduced when we least expected it. Teddy Long's return was also great and led to the announcement that if Cesaro beat Rollins in their WrestleMania rematch, he'd earn a Universal Championship opportunity at WrestleMania Backlash. Cesaro vs. Rollins was once again very entertaining for the time given as their chemistry is off the charts. Plus, Jimmy superkicking Rollins set up the story between him, his brother and Reigns for the rest of the night. Everything about the first half hour of this episode was excellent.

Carmella def. Ruby Riott

It was nice to see both of these women back on the show following a noticeable layoff. I know they made a few appearances leading up to and at WrestleMania 37, but they haven't been used since. Beyond Bayley and Sasha Banks, Bianca Belair is going to need more challengers to her SmackDown Women's Championship, so building up Carmella makes sense. At only two minutes long, there wasn't a ton to this, but it was fine while it lasted.

Bayley Attacked SmackDown Women's Champion Bianca Belair

There wasn't much of a reason for Bayley to challenge Belair at Backlash outside of Belair needing something to do while WWE held off on doing the rematch with Sasha Banks, so it was nice to see them add some fuel to the fire here and give their feud a bit of a boost. Bayley addressed the women's champions of the past before Belair interrupted her. Their verbal exchange was solid and Bayley putting down Belair gave her some much-needed ahead of her upcoming title shot. All in all, it was an effective segment.

Dominik Mysterio def. SmackDown Tag Team Champion Dolph Ziggler

It was announced earlier in the day that the Mysterios will challenge Ziggler and Robert Roode for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania Backlash. Didn't The Street Profits beat the champs in a six-person tag team match last week? I'm not saying it should be a Triple Threat, but I do think the Mysterios should have had to beat Street Profits in a number one contender's matchup first. Nonetheless, I would hold off on doing the title change until the next pay-per-view in June, which will reportedly fall on Father's Day. Rey and Ziggler were supposed to go one-on-one here, but the heels mocked Dominik, so he faced Ziggler instead. It was way too short to be anything notable, but it did give the babyfaces a nice momentum boost ahead of the pay-per-view next weekend.

Tamina def. Reginald by Disqualification

It's the feud that will never end. I think it goes without saying that the storyline over the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship with Tamina, Natalya, Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler and Reginald is far and away the worst thing on SmackDown right now. The matches haven't been good at all and I don't care about anyone involved. The Reginald character is completely useless in my opinion and the acrobatics crap does nothing for me. At the very least, Tamina should have beat him by pinfall, but they didn't even do that. What a waste of time. We did find out that Tamina and Natalya are getting another shot at the tag titles next week on SmackDown, so thankfully it won't be happening at Backlash (unless there's a rematch, that is).

Intercontinental Champion Apollo Crews, King Corbin, Sami Zayn, Otis and Chad Gable def. Shinsuke Nakamura, Big E, Kevin Owens and The Street Profits

This felt like the obligatory "get everyone on the show" type of match, but hey, everyone in this thing is talented (yes, even Corbin), so I had no problem with getting an entertaining 10-man tag from them. It had a great pace to it and they were constantly keeping things flowing and interesting. It virtually didn't matter who won, but Corbin pinning Nakamura was certainly a choice. I know Corbin has to win once in a while, but Nakamura really should be protected for a future title shot against Roman Reigns. I assume that ship has sailed at this point.

Cesaro Attacked Universal Champion Roman Reigns and The Usos

I loved the many interactions throughout the night between Reigns and The Usos. Reigns took exception with Jimmy for how he intervened in the opener and Jimmy told him that, unlike Jey, he wasn't anyone's bitch and wasn't going to fall in line so easily. There was going to be a price to pay for Jimmy if he didn't align himself with Reigns and Jey in this segment, and ultimately, he did by helping them attempt to fend off Cesaro. Their efforts were unsuccessful and Cesaro stood tall. It actually makes sense for Jimmy to not be a heel from the get-go and for him to have an issue with Reigns for what he did to Jey during their feud last year. Maybe this leads to Jimmy vs. Jey at Backlash, and if Jey wins, Jimmy has to join them? Either way, all roads should lead to Reigns and The Usos being a full-fledged heel faction. We've wanted it for the longest time (I'm talking years here) and now we're finally about to get it.

Overall Show

This shouldn't come as much of a surprise, but I really enjoyed this edition of SmackDown. I know people were disappointed by the lack of fist on the stage, but the fact WWE got it in there in CGI form was good enough for me. It felt like one of those classic Old School Raw shows with the throwback referee shirts, graphics, music, outfits, flashbacks, commentary table and everything else. Sure, we didn't get any major legend returns (aside from Teddy Long, which was well worth it), but we didn't need that stuff. The focus was mostly on the angle with The Usos, Reigns, Cesaro and Rollins and it definitely delivered. Not everything in the middle was must-see, but the build to Backlash was well done. I wish some of the matches got more time, but that was my biggest nitpick. I thought this was a thumbs-up effort and I'd like to see the throwback theme brought back for the blue brand down the road and not just for Raw.