“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"


<p>WWE SmackDown results from March 12 as the show aired from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutter_Center" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Nutter Center (opens in a new tab)">Nutter Center</a>, Dayton, Ohio</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Shane McMahon is the best</strong></h2>



<p><strong>Shane McMahon</strong> started the show by picking at the ring announcer as he wanted to be announced as the “Best in the World” with feeling. Shane then went on to tell how he was sick of everyone always wanting something of him. He also announced that he enjoyed beating up Miz and would like to do that at WrestleMania as well.</p>



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</div></figure>



<p><strong>Our take from it: </strong>Shane suddenly turning on the Miz should have felt like a big deal but it doesn’t. This might be because when Shane started starring in this angle, he was a heel, suddenly he turned face and now he is a heel again all in a space of three months. </p>



<p>Also, WWE rushed the latest heel turn before the Miz and Shane could really click as a team and therefore, it does not seem like a big deal that Shane turned on Miz which further means that interest in this feud is minimal. Clearly WWE had some grandiose idea here but it isn’t working at all.</p>



<p><strong>Rating: 2.5/5</strong></p>


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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>The New Day have had enough</strong></h2>



<p><em>(Aleister Black, Ricochet, and The Hardy Boyz
vs. The Bar, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Rusev)</em></p>



<p><strong>Black </strong>and <strong>Nakamura </strong>started things of with kicks. Ricochet tagged himself in and hit a standing moonsault. It became a game of tags after that as Matt entered the match and Sheamus was his victim. Jeff tagged himself and the Hardy’s worked in tandem against Sheamus. </p>



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</div></figure>



<p>Cesaro provided the distraction that allowed the heels to take control. Things were only getting heated up when the New Day hit the ring and beat the crap out of all the heels. </p>



<p style="text-align:center" class="has-background has-vivid-cyan-blue-background-color"><strong>Winner: No Contest</strong></p>



<p><strong>Our take from it: </strong>This segment might have had a dual purpose. The
first to get Vince’s attention regarding Kofi and the second to insert the
remaining two members of New Day into the tag championship match. This
direction is really revitalizing an already recovering tag division on
SmackDown which is great. The mayhem was very entertaining.</p>



<p><strong>Rating: 4.5/5</strong></p>


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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Orton, the metaphor man</strong></h2>



<p><strong>Randy Orton</strong> began by making some bingo hall references for Styles around the time Orton made his debut. Orton followed it up with more metaphors of how this is the house he built and Styles who has always claimed that honor. </p>



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</div></figure>



<p>The two went at each other’s careers and Styles in the end challenged Orton to a match at WrestleMania at which point Orton just walked away.</p>



<p><strong>Our take from it: </strong>Both these men have given a lot to wrestling but somehow this year, they haven’t been anywhere close to the momentum they needed around WrestleMania season. That is showing here as the verbal back and forth got little reaction from the crowd. </p>



<p>Orton desperately needs a change of persona as whatever his character’s traits are now are way too outdated. This feud would have meant a lot five years ago.</p>



<p><strong>Rating: 2.5/5</strong></p>


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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>The ring skirt is powerful and the IIconics call out the champions</strong></h2>



<p><em>(Asuka vs. Sonya Deville w/Mandy Rose)</em></p>



<p><strong>Asuka </strong>started the match with a bang and almost trapped <strong>Deville </strong>in a kneebar. Asuka did her flurry of kicks. At one point, she tried to baseball slide kick but Deville moved out of the way and Asuka got Mandy Rose instead. Rose used the ring skirt to trip Deville, and Asuka used that to her advantage by trapping Deville in the Asuka Lock for the win.</p>



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</div></figure>



<p style="text-align:center" class="has-background has-vivid-cyan-blue-background-color"><strong>Winner: Asuka</strong></p>



<p>The
IIconics then called out the Boss and Hug connection.</p>



<p><strong>Our take from it: </strong>With the focus on the Rousey-Charlotte-Lynch feud, Asuka and the Smackdown’s women’s championship has taken the backseat. </p>



<p>What is worse that Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose who have been given a shot at the title have faltered because WWE has made it a feud between the teammates rather than a feud for the championship which is just ludicrous. The IIconics calling out the Boss and Hug connection could be interesting. Only time will tell.</p>



<p><strong>Rating: 2.5/5</strong></p>


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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>The Man speaks up</strong></h2>



<p><strong>Becky Lynch</strong>, sort of, power limped to the ring. She claimed to have played Rousey as a fiddle that allowed her to claw her way back into the match that she was screwed out of twice. Charlotte came out and mocked Lynch but she dished it right back by saying that she achieved more in less than a year than what Charlotte achieved in four years.</p>



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</div></figure>



<p><strong>Our take from it: </strong>At this point, this feud is like eating a burnt
pizza. It could have been the greatest feud of the decade but all the
unnecessary twists and additions have tainted it beyond repair. Lynch is still
a badass and the only hope this feud has of reaching anywhere close to the
heights it once achieved. This was one of the better segments of this feud in a
long time.</p>



<p><strong>Rating: 4/5</strong></p>


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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Samoa Joe gets pinned</strong></h2>



<p><em>(R-Truth and Rey Mysterio vs. Samoa Joe and
Andrade)</em></p>



<p>R-Truth started by hip-tossing Andrade. Mysterio tagged himself and right away went for the 619. Joe then tagged himself in and brought his signature physicality to the match. Plenty of back and forth and quick tags followed. At one point, Truth even attempted an Attitude Adjustment. Mysterio finally managed to roll Joe up for the win.</p>



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</div></figure>



<p style="text-align:center" class="has-background has-vivid-cyan-blue-background-color"><strong>Winners: Rey Mysterio and R-Truth</strong></p>



<p><strong>Our take from it: </strong>This feud is turning out to be rather
interesting. Who knew R-Truth had so much left in him. At some point, Mysterio
and Andrade would go their separate way for their own feud and that will be the
litmus test for the men here. Till then the fun and games can continue.
Mysterio rolling up Joe could mean something huge as well.</p>



<p><strong>Rating: 4.2/5</strong></p>


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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Daniel Bryan and Rowan wrestle some control back</strong></h2>



<p><em>(Kevin Owens and Mustafa Ali vs. Daniel Bryan
and Rowan)</em></p>



<p>Owens and Bryan started the match and Owens immediately dropped Bryan with a running senton. Rowan tagged himself in and returned the favour to Owens. Ali tagged himself and received more brutality from Rowan. </p>



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</div></figure>



<p>Bryan then tagged himself in and the match shifted to a more technical showcase. Things got a bit more serious past the half-way point but Rowan won it for his team with an Iron Claw.</p>



<p style="text-align:center" class="has-background has-vivid-cyan-blue-background-color"><strong>Winners: Daniel Bryan and Rowan</strong></p>



<p><strong>Our take from it: </strong>It is almost a given that the contest for the
WWE title will be between Bryan, Owens and Kofi. It is a mystery why Mustafa
Ali is being thrust into all of this. Apart from that though, this was a fun match
and Rowan winning for his team was a nice change of pace in proceedings.</p>



<p><strong>Rating: 4.3/5</strong></p>


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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>The B+ player gets a chance to prove himself next week</strong></h2>



<p>Mr McMahon came out to the ring and said that he never said he was going to give Kofi a title match at Fastlane. He wanted to teach Kofi a lesson. The New Day interrupted and demanded McMahon to give Kofi what he deserved. </p>



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</div></figure>



<p>Things got heated with McMahon calling Kofi a B+ player. Kofi finally said he had enough and wanted to know what he had to do to get that title shot. Vince gave the answer in the form of a gauntlet match against <strong>Randy Orton</strong>, <strong>Sheamus</strong>, <strong>Cesaro</strong>, <strong>Samoa Joe</strong>, and <strong>Rowan </strong>next week.</p>



<p><strong>Our take from it: </strong>This is really turning out to be awesome. Kofi definitely deserves this push and it is sort of poetic that a gauntlet match decides his advancement when it was a gauntlet match that put him in the spot in the first place. This could be underdog story of this year and it is clear that WWE is serious about this as it is being handled by Vince himself.</p>



<p><strong>Rating: 4.4/5</strong></p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



<p><strong>Overall SmackDown Review: </strong>This week’s SmackDown started poorly with some of the least impactful matches and segments. Things started picking up towards the end though. </p>



<p>The Becky Lynch angle like her leg seems to be on the repair which is a good thing. Kofi however is turning out to be the star of the show and that is the twist no one saw coming which is a huge achievement in this day and age. Can WWE make it sweeter by crowning Kofi the champ?</p>



<p class="has-background has-very-light-gray-background-color"><strong>Moment of the Night: New Day virtually destroying the tag division</strong></p>



<p><strong>Overall Rating: 3.6/5</strong></p>


WWE SmackDown Results, Review and Highlights from March 12

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