Hey, Blue Team.
Just when you thought the Road to WrestleMania was over, BAM. Smackdown. There’s not much to say about this week’s Smackdown because there’s not much of this week’s Smackdown. If you’re reading this, then chances are you probably already know how the last Smackdown before WrestleMania works. You usually get a handful of matches, some years as few as one, interspersed with footage from wherever WrestleMania is being held. Or, as in the past few years, from their fan convention, Axxess. It’s not quite an episode of Smackdown, it’s not quite a WrestleMania preview show, it lives in some sort of grey area. This year we get three matches that were taped before RAW on Monday, and the rest of the show is Renee Young and Byron Saxton from high above the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas. Which just so happens to be home of this Sunday’s WrestleMania. We’re so closes, guys. We’ve made it into the stadium. We just gotta get through Smackdown and we’re there.
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And now without further ado, here is The Best and Worst of Smackdown for March 31, 2016.
Best: B-Sides
To the side of his storyline with Chris Jericho, ever since AJ Styles arrived in WWE way back at the Royal Rumble, he’s also been having a side feud with the Social Outcasts. Remember, Styles is the one who finally eliminated Curtis Axel from the Royal Rumble. I think they were also mad at him for a while for trending on social media, I can’t remember all the specifics. Their feud continues on tonight as AJ Styles faces Heath Slater. Styles is out first to a nice reaction from a crowd who’s still eager to see wrestling because they haven’t sat through three hours of RAW yet. The Social Outcasts are out next and they have microphones in hands. Heath Slater says you’re looking at the 2016 Andre the Giant Memorial winners… baby. They immediately transition into making fun of AJ Styles. Bo Dallas makes fun of AJ for being alone, when they’re four best friends. Curtis Axel tells the Phenomenal One to meet the Phenomenal Four. And then Bo wraps it up by telling AJ that they are Fournomenal. The Social Outcasts warm my heart. I often find them legitimately funny. True comedy is a rare thing for a WWE show to provide. These guys deserve so much more. Why can’t it be the Social Outcasts vs. New Day at WrestleMania instead of the League of Nations. Or maybe the Social Outcasts plus Rusev? I still want to keep Rusev in there somehow.
The match starts when Heath and AJ go to lock up, but Styles goes behind and sends Slater into the ropes. AJ then leapfrogs Slater and follows it up with a fantastic drop kick. Slater gets back to his feet and they go toe to toe with some blows. AJ catches Slater with a boot in the corner and then jumps out over onto the ring apron where it looks like he’s about to set up for the flying forearm, when Curtis Axel trips him up, allowing Heath Slater to hit AJ with a big boot, sending him to the floor. Curtis and the other two Outcasts surround AJ like a pack of hyenas and taunt him until Slater comes out and sends Styles into the steel steps head first. Back in the ring, Slater hits Styles with an elbow and a knee before putting him in a rear chin lock. Slater dominates for a while and Styles tries to fight back, but Slater throws him outside the ring and back to the hyenas. Styles gets back in the ring and Slater misses a splash in the corner, allowing Styles the opportunity to get the upper hand with a series of kicks and forearms. Styles hits a clothesline in the corner and picks up Heath Slater for the Ushigorshi. Slater kicks out at two, which brings Adam Rose up to the ring apron. This leads to a great spot where Styles hits Rose with a pele kick, sending Adam off the ring apron into a straight up trust fall into Bo Dallas’ arms. Slater rolls up Styles for a two count, but AJ kicks out. Slater then sends AJ over the top rope to the ring apron, where he hits Curtis Axel with a knee to the head. AJ turns his attention back to Slater and hits him with a huge shoulder tackle through the ropes to the midsection, which sends Heath flying. Styles then leaps off the ropes with the Phenomenal Forearm, and he rolls up Slater for the pin and the win. AJ Styles looks really good going into his first WrestleMania. Styles and Jericho isn’t a match I’m particularly excited for this weekend due to the fact that we’ve seen it three times now and there’s no added stipulation or title or anything this time around. But I’m sure it will be a good match, and I’m interested to see what the future holds for AJ Styles and WrestleMania.
Best: The Calm Before The Storm
The next hour of Smackdown was Renee Young and Byron Saxton, in a makeshift studio high above AT&T Stadium throwing to video packages, hyping WrestleMania and its surrounding events. I can honestly say that there have been worse hours of Smackdown. This was all pretty enjoyable. Renee and Byron have great chemistry together. They’re very natural when talking to each other and they’re easy to watch. And WWE’s video packages are always the best on television.
But the highlight of the hour is our first look inside AT&T Stadium and how it looks heading into Sunday. First off, the stadium itself is more than impressive. This is my first time ever seeing it. I’m not a football fan, or a fan of anything other than wrestling now that I think about it. The building is unbelievably massive. I had heard that for years but until you see it, nothing can prepare you for how truly gigantic this complex is. From the outside, the exterior shots of the building make AT&T stadium look so big, it looks like the kind of over-exaggerated design you would see The Simpsons use to make fun of giant overblown stadiums. Inside, they have Hell in a Cell set up around the ring and it looks downright tiny, dwarfed by literally every inch of massiveness that is this stadium. On top of the stadium itself, we get our first look at the almost completed set for Sunday’s show, and it’s insane. Last year’s ‘Mania lost a little bit of the spectacle due to being outside. They’ve already more than made up for it here. It looks like they’ve hung over the ring every piece of scaffolding they could find in Texas, and then attached screens to the scaffolding and shot a million beams of light at it. It looks like a megachurch inside of Tron. Once you get all of those people in there, somewhere between fifty and a hundred thousand depending on who you’re talking to, it’s going to look insane. They got me. I’m sucked in. I’m excited for Sunday. Good job, This Hour of Smackdown.
Worst: I’d Rather Have a Video Package
In yet another preview of the Usos vs. the Dudley Boyz match that’s scheduled for the WrestleMania Kick-Off Show, our second of three matches finds Jey Uso vs. D-Von Dudley in a one-on-one match-up. I guess this is better than seeing the Dudleys or the Usos defeat the Ascension again. Jey Uso dominates the start of the match until D-Von sidesteps a shoulder from Jey, sending him into the ring post, followed by Bubba Ray getting in a right hand for good measure. D-Von beats down Jey for a while, then comes off the top rope with a flying headbutt but Jey rolls out of the way. Both men get back to their feet, Jey hits some strikes, a superkick, and a Samoan Drop, but he can’t keep D-Von down. They both end up on the top rope, Jey sets up D-Von for a superplex, and Bubba Ray tries to interfere but Jimmy takes him out. D-Von slips through Jey’s legs, and then pulls him off the rope, sending him face first into the turnbuckle. D-Von grabs Jey and hits him with the RDS. D-Von gets the victory and we’re one match closer to WrestleMania.
Best: Women’s Revolution
The match with one of the Dudleys vs. one of the Usos was followed up by another half hour of video packages and a replay of the majority of the New Day and League of Nations segment from RAW. Somewhere in there, they aired this fantastic look at this Sunday’s Women’s Championship match between Charlotte, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks. I’m sure they’ll replay this thing a million times by this Sunday night, but I wanted to include it here because if you haven’t seen it already, you should. Out of all the great video packages on the show, this one really stuck out. It does a great job of setting up the importance of this match, not just for these three people but the company. The fact that this match is even happening is a real victory. Take a look back at thirty-one WrestleManias and you’ll see women’s wrestling range from non-existent to embarrassing. They’ve never had anything like this at WrestleMania. The video package does an excellent job showing exactly why this match is everything WrestleMania should be.
Best: End Of The Road
This is it. The last stop on the endless Road to WrestleMania. Dean Ambrose vs. Erick Rowan. It’s fitting that a Dean Ambrose match is the last broadcast match before the weekend’s festivities begin. So much of this road has been built on the back of Dean Ambrose. While Triple H is busy being COO, and Roman Reigns is off getting nose jobs, Ambrose has played a major role in every RAW and Smackdown since the Royal Rumble. Tonight once again, Dean Ambrose is here when no one else is. The match itself was fine. Not much to talk about. Pretty typical fare. Ambrose playing the underdog to the monster Rowan. He survives everything Rowan can give him. Dean reaches down deep, fights back, and wins the match with Dirty Deeds. Just another good hard fought Dean Ambrose match. There’s not really more you can ask for from this particular Smackdown episode. If the Road to WrestleMania succeeded in anything, it succeeded in getting Dean Ambrose to that next level. Over the last three months he’s become the backbone of WWE, the guy you can always count on to give a solid performance no matter what he’s given to do. I hope this continues onto the Road to Whatever Event We’re Onto Next. As for us, we finally made it. Enjoy the weekend. Whether you’re excited about WrestleMania or not, do whatever you need to do to enjoy it. And I’ll see you back here next week with a wrap up of the final event of WrestleMania weekend. That’s right. It’s the Post-WrestleMania Smackdown!
Until next week, I’m Justin Donaldson and it’s been a long strange trip.
