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WWE SmackDown on April 10 took place at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., and featured a singles match between Jade Cargill and IYO SKY.
This week, the celebrity-forced build to WrestleMania 42 continued with Pat McAfee and Jelly Roll, but we were also treated to a couple of in-ring debuts from Royce Keys and Danhausen. Alexa Bliss picked up a win over Bayley, Trick Williams pinned Matt Cardona after a heated face-to-face with Sami Zayn, and Drew McIntyre unleashed a vicious attack on Jacob Fatu after "The Samoan Werewolf" defeated Tama Tonga.
Here’s the top takeaways from this week’s SmackDown:
Finally, after making his WWE debut at the Royal Rumble, Royce Keys competed in his first singles match on SmackDown. His opponent was Berto, who had his tag partner, Angel, ringside.
Keys showed off his power throughout the match, manhandling Berto. He also easily handled Angel, who attempted to provide a distraction. It was a short match that came to an end after a beautiful spinebuster finish.
(That spinebuster was really beautiful, by the way.)
It’s no surprise WWE has had no creative plans for Keys since bringing him in. Aside from telling his real-life heart-wrenching story, he’s been in the shadows just waiting for his call to show what he can do in the ring. Getting a win over Berto is a start, but now that Keys has been on SmackDown, one would think this means he will start making regular appearances. A backstage interaction with Solo Sikoa could be a hint at what’s to come.
Pat McAfee made his presence felt throughout the show backstage and during an in-ring promo segment. The San Jose crowd had plenty of boos to offer while the ex-NFL player worked the mic. After calling the city a "sh*t hole" and declaring himself the hero of this story, he turned his focus to CM Punk.
"I wonder to myself, when that TKO march check comes through, which account does it go to? Does it go to the 'Needy wrestling families who can’t afford WrestleMania tickets,' or, or, or, just a simple question – and I have a sneaking suspicion that money from the TKO merch account goes right into the bank account titled, 'I’m sorry Saudi Arabia.' He’s a fraud. Like a politician, all talk, no action."
McAfee was actually cooking a little bit. He then puffed his chest as he said he decided to do something to ensure the fans show up to see Randy Orton win his 15th world title at Mania. He partnered with RAM Trucks to pick up 25% of the bill until the end of Raw on Monday – but then he said he doesn’t recommend going to Night 2, because it’s "ass." That’s one way to promote the show, I guess.
As his trash talk trended toward mentioning Cody Rhodes, the champ’s music hit.
"Pat, I’m just gonna go out on a limb and say, I don’t think you belong here," Rhodes said.
Rhodes continued to undress McAfee, stating that the entire fanbase is united in wanting to see Orton at Mania, but not him. McAfee offered a few more words, and promised to leave the business forever if Orton doesn’t win at Mania. Then Orton himself appeared on the tron, shown standing over Jelly Roll. A moment later, all four parties were in the ring getting physical, sealed with a belt shot from Orton to Rhodes.
Sigh.
The forced celebrity injection into the main event of Night 1 feels so gross. As stated before, adding McAfee and Jelly Roll to a feud with Orton and Rhodes makes next to zero sense. In the other celebrity-infused feud between Trick Williams and Sami Zayn, Lil Yachty is a background character as a hype man, which is more acceptable. Lil Yachty isn't necessary either, but he's an enhancement at best, as witnessed during the promo segment with Williams and Zayn, and not being positioned as the main character.
Sure, McAfee may have made a babyface announcement by stating he worked to get Mania tickets lowered, but was completely oblivious to the fact that maybe pricing complaints wouldn’t be as loud if TKO wasn’t making unpopular moves like injecting McAfee and Jelly Roll onto our screens so frequently, and at the forefront of a feud that doesn’t need them. This main event feels completely hijacked by someone who thinks they’re the smartest person in the room.
Yes, Mania will have celebrities involved more often than not, but the important thing is to never attempt to make them bigger than the true stars of the show.
Danhausen had his in-ring debut in a singles match against Kit Wilson, who was supported by The Miz. Wilson was determined to prove Danhausen’s curses aren’t real.
Much to the surprise of the commentary team, Danhausen proved he knows his way around the ring by executing moves well (it’s not really a surprise to anyone who knows he can actually wrestle). Wilson was dominating the matchup, though, until he went to the top rope after once again yelling that Danhausen’s curse isn’t real. Once up top, Danhausen sat up to curse Wilson again, which set off pyro in the corner, causing Wilson to fall.
After poking The Miz in the eye, Danhausen finished the match with a big boot to Wilson. He then escaped The Miz’s attempt at a sneak attack by pulling off a disappearing act.
The big takeaway here is WWE is committed to protecting Danhausen’s curses, which is brilliant. Yes, he's a comedy act, but as long as he has the curses working, he's interesting and somewhat unpredictable.
The main event of this week’s show was a singles match between women’s champ Jade Cargill and IYO SKY. After Cargill’s vicious attack on IYO SKY last week to get under Rhea Rilpey’s skin, IYO SKY wanted revenge. Ripley helped throughout the show by taking out Michin and B-Fab backstage, so Cargill wouldn’t have any ringside assistance.
Regardless, Cargill made things look easy early on. IYO SKY had to rally for her opportunities as she dealt with the power of Cargill. Unfortunately for IYO SKY, there weren’t many openings for her to capitalize upon. Cargill looked very strong in this one, ending things clean with Jaded. After the pin, she grabbed a chair, but Ripley quickly intervened to protect her friend.
This was the best way to book this match. Cargill, who has recently surrounded herself with two others, needed a strong, clean win going into Mania. The Cargill-Ripley build has improved in the past couple of weeks, and here’s hoping the match in Las Vegas ends up being one of the best on the lineup.
This article originally appeared on Wrestling Junkie: WWE SmackDown: Celebs still loom; Royce Keys, Danhausen in-ring debuts
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This week, the celebrity-forced build to WrestleMania 42 continued with Pat McAfee and Jelly Roll, but we were also treated to a couple of in-ring debuts from Royce Keys and Danhausen. Alexa Bliss picked up a win over Bayley, Trick Williams pinned Matt Cardona after a heated face-to-face with Sami Zayn, and Drew McIntyre unleashed a vicious attack on Jacob Fatu after "The Samoan Werewolf" defeated Tama Tonga.
Here’s the top takeaways from this week’s SmackDown:
Royce Keys shines in SmackDown debut
Finally, after making his WWE debut at the Royal Rumble, Royce Keys competed in his first singles match on SmackDown. His opponent was Berto, who had his tag partner, Angel, ringside.
Keys showed off his power throughout the match, manhandling Berto. He also easily handled Angel, who attempted to provide a distraction. It was a short match that came to an end after a beautiful spinebuster finish.
(That spinebuster was really beautiful, by the way.)
It’s no surprise WWE has had no creative plans for Keys since bringing him in. Aside from telling his real-life heart-wrenching story, he’s been in the shadows just waiting for his call to show what he can do in the ring. Getting a win over Berto is a start, but now that Keys has been on SmackDown, one would think this means he will start making regular appearances. A backstage interaction with Solo Sikoa could be a hint at what’s to come.
Forced celebrity injection continues to loom over Mania
Pat McAfee made his presence felt throughout the show backstage and during an in-ring promo segment. The San Jose crowd had plenty of boos to offer while the ex-NFL player worked the mic. After calling the city a "sh*t hole" and declaring himself the hero of this story, he turned his focus to CM Punk.
"I wonder to myself, when that TKO march check comes through, which account does it go to? Does it go to the 'Needy wrestling families who can’t afford WrestleMania tickets,' or, or, or, just a simple question – and I have a sneaking suspicion that money from the TKO merch account goes right into the bank account titled, 'I’m sorry Saudi Arabia.' He’s a fraud. Like a politician, all talk, no action."
McAfee was actually cooking a little bit. He then puffed his chest as he said he decided to do something to ensure the fans show up to see Randy Orton win his 15th world title at Mania. He partnered with RAM Trucks to pick up 25% of the bill until the end of Raw on Monday – but then he said he doesn’t recommend going to Night 2, because it’s "ass." That’s one way to promote the show, I guess.
As his trash talk trended toward mentioning Cody Rhodes, the champ’s music hit.
"Pat, I’m just gonna go out on a limb and say, I don’t think you belong here," Rhodes said.
Rhodes continued to undress McAfee, stating that the entire fanbase is united in wanting to see Orton at Mania, but not him. McAfee offered a few more words, and promised to leave the business forever if Orton doesn’t win at Mania. Then Orton himself appeared on the tron, shown standing over Jelly Roll. A moment later, all four parties were in the ring getting physical, sealed with a belt shot from Orton to Rhodes.
Sigh.
The forced celebrity injection into the main event of Night 1 feels so gross. As stated before, adding McAfee and Jelly Roll to a feud with Orton and Rhodes makes next to zero sense. In the other celebrity-infused feud between Trick Williams and Sami Zayn, Lil Yachty is a background character as a hype man, which is more acceptable. Lil Yachty isn't necessary either, but he's an enhancement at best, as witnessed during the promo segment with Williams and Zayn, and not being positioned as the main character.
Sure, McAfee may have made a babyface announcement by stating he worked to get Mania tickets lowered, but was completely oblivious to the fact that maybe pricing complaints wouldn’t be as loud if TKO wasn’t making unpopular moves like injecting McAfee and Jelly Roll onto our screens so frequently, and at the forefront of a feud that doesn’t need them. This main event feels completely hijacked by someone who thinks they’re the smartest person in the room.
Yes, Mania will have celebrities involved more often than not, but the important thing is to never attempt to make them bigger than the true stars of the show.
Danhausen wins first SmackDown match
Danhausen had his in-ring debut in a singles match against Kit Wilson, who was supported by The Miz. Wilson was determined to prove Danhausen’s curses aren’t real.
Much to the surprise of the commentary team, Danhausen proved he knows his way around the ring by executing moves well (it’s not really a surprise to anyone who knows he can actually wrestle). Wilson was dominating the matchup, though, until he went to the top rope after once again yelling that Danhausen’s curse isn’t real. Once up top, Danhausen sat up to curse Wilson again, which set off pyro in the corner, causing Wilson to fall.
After poking The Miz in the eye, Danhausen finished the match with a big boot to Wilson. He then escaped The Miz’s attempt at a sneak attack by pulling off a disappearing act.
The big takeaway here is WWE is committed to protecting Danhausen’s curses, which is brilliant. Yes, he's a comedy act, but as long as he has the curses working, he's interesting and somewhat unpredictable.
Jade Cargill crushes IYO SKY
The main event of this week’s show was a singles match between women’s champ Jade Cargill and IYO SKY. After Cargill’s vicious attack on IYO SKY last week to get under Rhea Rilpey’s skin, IYO SKY wanted revenge. Ripley helped throughout the show by taking out Michin and B-Fab backstage, so Cargill wouldn’t have any ringside assistance.
Regardless, Cargill made things look easy early on. IYO SKY had to rally for her opportunities as she dealt with the power of Cargill. Unfortunately for IYO SKY, there weren’t many openings for her to capitalize upon. Cargill looked very strong in this one, ending things clean with Jaded. After the pin, she grabbed a chair, but Ripley quickly intervened to protect her friend.
This was the best way to book this match. Cargill, who has recently surrounded herself with two others, needed a strong, clean win going into Mania. The Cargill-Ripley build has improved in the past couple of weeks, and here’s hoping the match in Las Vegas ends up being one of the best on the lineup.
This article originally appeared on Wrestling Junkie: WWE SmackDown: Celebs still loom; Royce Keys, Danhausen in-ring debuts
Continue reading...
