I don’t know about anyone else but I swear time is going faster than ever. It feels like I was just getting ready for Christmas and now we’re nearly in March. Where does the time go? It’s also pretty crazy that it’s nearly WrestleMania again. I’m pretty sure it was only yesterday that we were watching a very weird PPV where Drew McIntyre won the title in front of no one and Undertaker retired on a motorbike. Here we are, nearly a year later, and still in a pretty similar situation. Who would’ve thought it? At least, we have the ThunderDome now though so it’s not so bad. WWE is the ship that keeps sailing and regardless of what’s going on in the world, we’ll keep on going on the journey to WrestleMania and the next stop is Elimination Chamber this Sunday. Let’s see if we’ve got any last-minute changes on SmackDown this week.

THE Main Event Of WrestleMania

Oh hey, it’s Edge again. He’s popping up all over the place lately and he’s always doing it with a smile on his face, clearly loving every moment of being on whatever show he turns up on. And good for him. Why shouldn’t he? It’s 2021 and he’s in a position to be doing this and that’s incredible. Sadly, I don’t think Roman Reigns agrees. Coming to the ring with his usual entourage, he tried to convince Edge that the Tribal Chief is the one and only main event but Edge sees it another way. The Rated-R Superstar thinks that Roman actually needs him to be in that spotlight and maybe he’s right there.

Edge thinks that no matter who he faces at WrestleMania, he’ll be the main event. But Reigns might not be. Do you know who else has a problem with all of this? Sami Zayn, obviously. Mostly because he has a problem with literally everything in the entire world. I honestly can’t wait to see his documentary. The good news is that Zayn didn’t get to talk too much before Jey Uso decided to just superkick his head off, leaving Roman to whisper something suspiciously in Edge’s ear and leaving. What was it? I NEED TO KNOW. Maybe it was something like ‘I really loved you in The Brood and I miss that awesome music’. I wouldn’t blame him.

Apollo Crews vs Shinsuke Nakamura

With Big E chilling on the sofa at ringside, the never-ending saga of Apollo Crews not getting the hint carries on another week. How exciting… A part of me admires his perseverance but I have absolutely no desire to see him versus Big E again when there are so many other exciting opponents out there on the roster. I’d like Crews to do one of those ‘if I lose I’ll never challenge for the title again’ stipulations as soon as possible, and then he’ll lose and we can get on with our lives. Nakamura is still trying to capitalize on the momentum he had a few weeks ago but he seems to be doing it slowly.

One thing I will say is that I’m glad Crews has a bit of an edge now. With the way he speaks and his more heelish tendencies in and out of the ring, he at least has something about him now. But it wasn’t enough this week as Shinsuke managed to sneak out a win with a roll-up. Obviously, that wasn’t the end as it never is with Apollo, so he not only attacked Nakamura after but then hit Big E with the steel steps to the back outside. He then dropped them from the ring right onto Big E outside who ended up on a stretcher. And thus, the never-ending saga continues. Lucky us.

The Great Leader

A short but sweet appearance from Seth Rollins this week. I’m okay with him popping up every so often now he’s got his old music back. He was understandably disappointed with the reception he received on his return to SmackDown and he was hoping that everyone would listen to him but they didn’t. His return was ruined by losers and the one that disrespected him the most was Cesaro. Personally, I don’t blame Cesaro but Seth seems to have a chip on his shoulder about it and I’m all for a decent match between the two men. I don’t think Cesaro will be falling in line anytime soon, nor anyone else on the roster.

The Riott Squad vs Natalya and Tamina

Considering this match aired on Fox, we should probably work out the $ value of all this talent right? I kid. I wouldn’t dare do that. Although I’d probably pay a dollar not to watch a Tamina match. This was a match that I managed to blink and miss. When I wanted them to use Liv Morgan more, it wasn’t really to be on SmackDown every week losing and struggling, but I guess at least she’s being used. Guess what? Billie Kay caused a distraction and Ruby lost. Who saw that coming? Kay seems to have switched allegiances again and wanted to be a cat with Natalya but Tamina just whacked her instead. Poor Billie.

Ding Dong, Hello Reginald!

I know you’re going to be super surprised here but this was a chat show segment that ended in a fight. Seriously. I know they’re usually all nice and calm, the superstars have a friendly chat and then they go their separate ways without any issues at all. Bayley was trying to have an informative interview with the tag champs Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax but she got interrupted by the real main event of SmackDown – Reginald! As we all know I am a big fan so I’m okay with it but then he was followed by Sasha Banks and then Bianca Belair. Reginald seems to be playing the field lately and trying his luck with everyone. So much so that he managed to challenge Bayley, Baszler and Jax to a six-person tag match… and it happened!

Reginald, Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair vs Bayley, Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax

This might be the most exciting match in SmackDown history. Banks and Belair finally getting to team with a legitimate star in Reginald. I can’t decide if he’s a master manipulator or just a bit stupid but I do enjoy watching him so that’s the most important thing. Obviously, we’re just trying to kill time before Bianca Belair chooses Sasha Banks to face at WrestleMania and we get into a real feud between the two. It’ll be interesting to see if they both stay on the face side or if Banks gets back to being the real Boss at some point. A lot of anger in this match on both sides, Reginald battled heroically against the bigger and more powerful Jax, and like the superstar he is, he actually pinned her for the victory. What a man. He should get an Elimination Chamber spot for that.

Rey & Dominik Mysterio vs Alpha Academy (Chad Gable & Otis)

Another opportunity this week for the Mysterio family to finally gel together and get that all-important victory to climb the ladder to a tag title match. With the tag champs looking on, it was another week where the Mysterios suffered – this time at the hands of Otis, who quite frankly did the best thing he’s done in a long time. With Chad Gable in his ear, Otis ignored the ref’s count and continually destroyed Rey, losing the match by DQ.

But the real story was the splash off the ropes delivered by Otis after the match and the grin on Gable’s face. A heel turn for Otis? I didn’t see it coming but I’m loving it, and that’s a rare positive comment from me.

Main Event – Kevin Owens, Daniel Bryan & Cesaro vs Jey Uso, Sami Zayn & King Corbin

With all men trying to gain valuable momentum going into Elimination Chamber, these big tag matches are always interesting because no one is really on the same side. Everyone’s got their own agenda and friendships are rare or mostly non-existent. Even the side you would consider to be the good guys has Kevin Owens, and both Bryan and Cesaro are well aware of what he’s capable of. Just ask Sami Zayn on the other side. Edge contributed to commentary, keeping a close eye on a number of potential opponents at WrestleMania, and I’d actually be happy to see him have matches with the majority of the men in the match – just not King Corbin thank you.

As expected, this was an intense and chaotic main event where everyone got a chance to showcase what they’re capable of. Bryan with his technical masterclass, Cesaro with his speed and power and Owens just throwing himself around without a care in the world. On the other side, Uso continued to show why he’s had so many main-event matches lately, while Corbin tried his best to sneak a win. Unfortunately, Zayn was forced to tap out by the leader of the Yes Movement and that’s all she wrote. SmackDown ended with a tour de force of finishers from everyone including a spear from Edge but the Big Dog appeared out of nowhere, delivering his own spear and standing tall as they went off-air.

The Best of SmackDown

• Roman Reigns – beating the ultimate opportunist at his own game
• Daniel Bryan – a valuable win before the big PPV
• Reginald – he beat one-half of the tag champs!
• Otis – a rare moment of excellence

The Worst of SmackDown

• Sami Zayn – a loss this close to Elimination Chamber has to hurt
• The Mysterios – 2021 is not their year so far
• Nia Jax – she fell on her hole again and lost to a non-wrestler
• Billie Kay – she needs to learn quickly or she’ll just get beaten up every week

In summary…

I do love a nice bit of chaos going into a big PPV like Elimination Chamber. The show itself probably isn’t that significant but I’m sure it’ll be entertaining at least. I’d be shocked if anyone but Roman Reigns walked out with the title at the end of the night, so it does feel quite predictable, but who knows? WWE has a knack for surprising us when we least expect it so we’ll see. I won’t be putting money on anything but I think we’ll be seeing a Spear vs Spear story at WrestleMania this year.

To any and all who it may concern:#EmbraceTheVision#Smackdown pic.twitter.com/GLcJCpQA5J

— Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) February 20, 2021

All images and videos courtesy of WWE