“I’m Better Than You, And You Know It”

"Every Man Has A Price For The Million Dollar Man"

"The Best There Is, The Best There Was, And The Best There Ever Will Be"

"Whatcha Gonna Do, When Hulkamania Runs Wild On You"

"And That's The Bottom Line Because Stone Cold Said So"

<h3><strong>AJ the Soothsayer.</strong></h3>
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<p>Smackdown Live kicked off with a segment between AJ Styles, Baron Corbin, and Kevin Owens. AJ Styles got a lot of mic time tonight, even after the other two had entered the conversation. He definitely bounced back tonight promo-wise, as he used some creativity to show Renee Young the scenario he had in mind come March 11<sup>th</sup>. Besides that, everything else was just run-of-the-mill. The promo ended with 2 matches being announced for the night: Owens vs Ziggler immediately after the segment, and Corbin vs Styles for the main event. Not bad, but nothing too spectacular.</p>
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<h3><strong>The Good-old Trick.</strong></h3>
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<p>Dolph and Kevin put on a great match tonight, with Owens dishing out powerful moves as usual, and Ziggler jumping and leaping to spike everyone’s adrenaline level. It was worth noting that Ziggler seemed more energized than most days. That was what would happen if you drank a 1.2-million-dollar sweetheart deal as protein shake before matches. Some edge-of-the-seat back-and-forth action, and OH THAT FINISHER KICK-OUT AGAIN. In the end, Ziggler fell for the oldest trick in the heelbook: Distraction by entrance music. It made us wonder if the wrestlers actually learned from others’ (and their own) mistakes.</p>
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<h3><strong>Getting Personal.</strong></h3>
<p>Well, the Mahal – Roode – Orton segment was better than we thought. Mahal was slightly better and slightly different tonight, using something other than his (kayfabe) birthplace to rant. Roode did a really good job legitimizing Mahal as well when Roode said the United States Championship feud was not about Orton, but was about Mahal and Roode. And Randy came out, fumed, and initiated the violence. He really did not have to do anything differently.</p>
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<p>The Orton – Roode interactions continued to build a strong base for a Fastlane showdown, and right now, Orton vs Mahal vs Roode at WrestleMania actually sounds enticing thanks to the uncharacteristically nuanced build so far.</p>
<p></p>
<h3><strong>Less Boring, But Still a Big YAAAAWN…</strong></h3>
<p>Yet another 6-woman tag team match-up. When. Will. This. Atrocity. End. By this point, if you had been following our page, you must have been familiar with what we think about most 6-woman tag matches. Honestly, we started going into a rant three quarters of the time. So for the sake of our dear, beloved readers (and of our keyboards too, in particular the six letters B, O, R, I, N, and G), we will not cut a written promo today. Probably just today.</p>
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<p>On the flip side, the right team came out of the tag match victorious. Better still, they did not look weak in the process. Also, Naomi and Livv Morgan had some cool interactions in the form of trying to one-up each other and Livv slamming Naomi into the stairs in a dramatic sequence later on in the match. Welp, we never knew we wanted a proper Naomi vs Livv Morgan feud.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3><strong>Darker Days to Come?</strong></h3>
<p>Side-note: The Smackdown Live TV graphics designer is definitely high every time he/she goes to work.</p>
<p>The New Day defeated Gable and Benjamin in a standard tag team affair, but something interesting happened towards the end of the match. Gable and Benjamin was able to deliver their finisher to Big E, but Kofi Kingston distracted the referee long enough for Big E to recover and kick out in time. And if that was the first sign of The New Day turning heel, we are down with that. New Day as babyfaces had run its course for now. Their switching from cereals to ice creams and now to pancakes showed that the screenwriters were running out of ideas, and turning Big E, Woods, and Kingston to the dark side is not the worst idea at this point.</p>
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<p>In another story, the Bludgeon Brothers coming out to New Day being frightened out of their minds was a nice touch. We really hope the writers could pull it off with a triple threat match for the tag team titles.</p>
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<h3><strong>Better than Expected.</strong></h3>
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<p>The main event (and what followed) of Smackdown Live was better than what we had anticipated. We thought it would just be another rest-hold snore-fest from the Lone Wolf. However, the match picked up the pace very early on, making it shorter, yet more enjoyable than a typical Corbin affair (sorry Corbin, but right now, no one wants to see you fight a 30-minute match). AJ Styles picked up a decisive win, which was the predictable and sensible decision. Baron Corbin still looked very strong, since he delivered the End of Days to Zayn and then Owens after the pair assaulted Styles after the match. Baron Corbin stood tall to end the show, and this time, he actually looked strong.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3><strong>Overall Review: </strong></h3>
<p>Tonight was a somewhat enjoyable offering from the blue brand. Those in the fatal-5-way had some interactions tonight, including two singles matches. All the relationships between those involved made sense, except for the love-hate relationship between Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, but we think we should give the story some time to develop.</p>
<p>Elsewhere on the card, Jinder Mahal got taken serious for once, the women were once again bogged down with an inconsequential 6-woman tag team match, a big heel turn might be on the horizon, and Rowan and Harper beat up some dudes. The show definitely had that pad-out feeling to it, but we were not bored to death tonight. Two weeks to go until Fastlane, and the card is already close to completion. Let us see what the blue brand has to offer the next half a month.</p>

WWE Smackdown Live Review & Results: February 20th 2018

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