WWE SmackDown Live – January 29, 2019 (Review)

What was your favourite moment from SmackDown Live?

Nate Craver

I feel like a broken record, but the best thing about SmackDown for me continues to be Becky Lynch. The “Planet’s Champion” Daniel Bryan or Samoa Joe’s promo were in the running, but Becky Lynch is still ‘The Man’ in my books. Her promo and point of view on Ronda reminds me a bit of the ‘Common Man’ stuff from Dusty Rhodes. “I’m proud of coming from nothing.” It’s the every man vs. the silver spoon. Becky’s great at delivering it. Charlotte is good as being a proxy for Ronda on SmackDown.

I just hope we somehow get out of the triple threat rumored for WrestleMania. It was clear on Raw the crowd is behind Becky over Ronda. If done right, Becky can be the face of the company for the long term.  Even if Ronda is sticking around longer than this year, Becky should be around longer and is the smarter investment for WWE.

THIS is the new symbol of excellence.

Say hello to the new 100% SUSTAINABLE HEMP #WWEChampionship! #SDLive @WWEDanielBryan pic.twitter.com/2C8yszzAko

— WWE (@WWE) January 30, 2019

Emma Heeley

Once again Daniel Bryan stole the show. From the new belt unveiling, to the “Thank you Daisy” chat and the mass brawl at the end, this whole segment made me incredibly happy. My cheeks ached from grinning so hard. I LOVE heel Daniel Bryan, and I imagine that the Elimination Chamber match is going to be incredible. Also, mad props to Rowen for sporting an Alestorm T-shirt!

I also loved Mr. Miz. I popped when he told Miz he was proud (and I’m not even ashamed). I will quite happily eat humble pie and admit that I am growing quite fond of this Shane / Miz tag team.

Jeffrey Bowie Jr.

The opening segment involving Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. These two women continue to have excellent chemistry with one another. Lynch’s promo work at the start was strong and effective. Flair’s egotistical promo was also strong, as the former SmackDown women’s champion is just fantastic as an arrogant heel.

I do worry that company officials will go against the grain and inject Flair into the Rousey / Lynch match at WrestleMania. This segment proved that the interaction between the two won’t be over anytime soon, but I hope that paranoia turns out to be wrong and officials keep it at just Becky and Rousey. Besides, there’s still money in Flair / Asuka II at WrestleMania. The story of Asuka looking to redeem her previous WrestleMania loss is indeed compelling.

A nod goes to the fatal 4-way elimination tag team match. A fun and chaotic match that introduced an interesting matchup between the Usos and Miz & Shane McMahon.

Kyle Payne

The opening and closing of the show was the best part of SmackDown Live, for different reasons, and it’s hard to choose which one was better. The beginning of the show saw Becky Lynch cut a great promo, have Charlotte Flair interrupt her to take the spotlight and try to take credit for all of her success, and then a brawl between the two. It was a hot start and Becky Lynch always, in everything she does, comes across as a rockstar. Also, she is so over it’s crazy and I hope WWE realizes they do not need to add Flair to the main event and interfere with Lynch vs. Rousey.

The ending segment saw Daniel Bryan unveil the new WWE Championship that is completely eco friendly and absolutely gorgeous. Also, seeing him throw the original title into an actual trash can was surreal to see. This brought out Orton, Ali, Hardy, Styles, and Joe. Samoa Joe, by the way, is just too phenomenal on the mic that it’s crazy. This caused a brawl to erupt and lead to Triple H announcing that all these men, and Daniel Bryan, will fight for the title in the Elimination Chamber. Bryan and the new belt are so over that it’s great and it’s all making the road to WrestleMania even more exciting.

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