WWE SmackDown Live – April 23, 2019 (Review)

The Best of SmackDown Live

El Idolo

I love that Andrade is back and being allowed to contribute to his promos. As much as Zelina Vega adds a tremendous amount to the act as a whole, Andrade just has a presence about him. Whether in English or Spanish, his deep voice and deliberate tone make him sound like a movie villain from the 1980s. I could imagine John McClane saving the city from his nefarious plot.

It goes without saying that he can go in the ring too. This week he came up against a refreshed Finn Bálor, in what was an excellent TV bout. Andrade’s running springboard twisting crossbody to the outside, in particular, was such an amazing move that I almost ran out of descriptors for it. I’m just assuming that’s what it’s called.

My only complaint is that I wish Vega was presented as more of a benefit than a hindrance to her business associate. Too often on the main roster, Zelina has cost Andrade a match rather than helped him win one. That’s sadly what happened here too, allowing Finn to pick up the victory. It’s too bad that Andrade didn’t take the belt off the Irishman, as I believe both would be better off.

The Mean Girls

The IIconics have been hit-or-miss in recent weeks, especially in the ring. But they were once again in top form on last night’s SmackDown. There were honestly too many painfully good moments in their promo before Peyton took on Kairi Sane. They compared Paige to ‘Nick Fury’, assembling her team of super lame-os, Asuka and “Kerry”. And Billie Kay called everyone “toots”.

Okay, it was much better live.

They also explained away their loss to the Japanese duo last week, claiming that Peyton hadn’t warmed up correctly, was caught off guard and was slightly dehydrated. But that wouldn’t happen again this week, because Peyton had drunk a whole gallon of water before the match.

And then she proceeded to lose to Kairi Sane in about 30 seconds.

I could continue to complain about the treatment of the Women’s Tag Team Champs, but it’s clear at this point that WWE views The IIconics as little more than transitional champions building to the crowning of Asuka and Sane. The highlight here was the Aussie team returning to their obnoxious, oblivious, silly best.

This is Lars Sullivan’s Yard Now

A planned match between Jinder Mahal and Chad Gable was thankfully avoided, as Lars Sullivan intervened before the bell rang. What could have been SmackDown’s scheduled toilet break was instead converted into a rather interesting angle as the monster first laid out Gable and then got his hands on the Singh Brothers.

When R-Truth ran down to exact some revenge on ‘The Freak’, he too was flattened by the giant slab of beef.

I have no idea where this is going, nor precisely who Sullivan’s first true opponent will be (assuming R-Truth won’t put up much resistance), but WWE seems content to just have him demolish people for a while. And I’m okay with that.

And so did @RonKillings…AGAIN.@LarsSWWE is UNSTOPPABLE! #SDLive pic.twitter.com/YuYNF6nhU1

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) April 24, 2019

The Return of ‘Big O’

Kevin Owens continued his honorary membership of the New Day this week. And he’s clearly been practicing his group introductions, because his gravely voice was undeniably being channelled from the right place. It all comes from the plums, man.

Last night, the ‘Big O’ accompanied his new pals to the ring to provide much-needed emotional support to Kofi Kingston in his match against Shinsuke Nakamura. As an added bonus, Owens and Xavier Woods provided their own commentary on the bout. Which, every time Tom Phillips cut across to their announce desk, made me wish that we could listen to them instead of SmackDown’s usual commentary team.

While all of this outside chicanery was going on, Kofi and Nakamura managed to put on a decent main event, which Kofi looked to have won before Rusev got involved, causing Woods and KO to come to the champion’s rescue.

The Festival of Friendship

But the match wasn’t the highlight of the segment. Throughout the night it was hard to shake the feeling that Owens was plotting to turn on his new buddies so as to claim his own shot at the WWE Championship. Despite us all seeing it coming a mile away, it’s hard to argue that KO didn’t play his roll to perfection. Sure, he seemed supportive of the New Day. He claimed to enjoy pancakes and breakfast cereals. He gladly wore bright shirts and pandered to the crowd.

But it all just seemed too easy. As if ‘Big O’ was trying too hard to ingratiate himself to the group, looking to gain Kingston’s and Woods’ trust. He just appeared too happy to be part of the team.

And then he struck.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwnvLG_B6z_/

Owens superkicked Kingston, tossed both New Day members around the ring for a bit and then powerbombed Xavier on the apron. Which I have it on reliable information is the hardest part of the ring.

This angle would’ve been far more impactful had it been given longer to develop, but WWE’s packed PPV schedule often makes that difficult. Also, the prolonged silence of the commentary team following the turn detracted from its viciousness. Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer the commentators to convey some emotion when something dramatic happens, not suddenly turn into mutes.

But for the most part this angle was excellent, and the looming match between Owens and Kofi has me excited.

• review
• Smackdown
• KEVIN OWENS
• wwe

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