WWE SmackDown Live – February 5, 2019 (Review)

How would you rate the show overall? (From best to worst: SmackDamn, SmackTastic, Smack Bang in the Middle, SmackDowner and A Smack in the Face)

Kyle Payne

The show was SmackTastic. Everything you could want from a wrestling show was there: good wrestling, good promos, and story progression. Becky Lynch and HHH had a great interaction and this should just lead her to smack and throat punch every member of the McMahon family. Daniel Bryan and the Usos gave great promos, Mustafa Ali / Randy Orton had a good match, and so did Bryan / Hardy.

The only negative I have with the show is AJ Styles, because he seems to be a little lost chasing the belt. The lack of Asuka is absolutely wrong and needs to be fixed. She deserves more than a video package.

What if @MustafaAliWWE is victorious at #WWEChamber?
What if he becomes @WWE Champion?
What if… #SDLive pic.twitter.com/VDSTpQHRJb

— WWE (@WWE) February 6, 2019

Nate Craver

We’re a couple weeks away from the Elimination Chamber and this is the type of week in booking where you typically won’t get overly exciting shows. I didn’t think this show was bad, but I wouldn’t say it was great either. It pretty much just was.

Therefore, I give it a Smack Bang in the Middle.  The six men in the main event all had moments and furthered the storyline. We know who the women representing SmackDown are. No US title, no women’s title, and no tag team titles.  We also didn’t see much from Rey and Andrade. I didn’t think the Nakamura / Rusev team looked comfortable or showed a lot of chemistry.

While Becky and Trips were entertaining, I don’t think it had the heat of previous Becky promos. Maybe I just don’t want more Authority storyline rehashes. Finally, we got Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy representing the big matches on the show. In 2019, that doesn’t make me go SmackDamn! Granted, Daniel Bryan and Mustafa Ali offset that quite a bit, but Hardy and Orton, c’mon. I’m expecting great weeks the next two. Hopefully, we’ll get some great build going into the chamber.

https://twitter.com/BeckyLynchWWE/status/1092966181298855936

Steven Lugo

Smack Bang in the Middle. Overall I enjoyed the show, especially ‘The Man’, Daniel Bryan, and the video package about Asuka. It definitely could have used something like an Andrade match though, as we built to the 6-way at the Elimination Chamber.

I love Somoa Joe’s heel work, but every time I see him choke out an unsuspecting foe, it makes me wonder why he’s never had a big win. I start to think he’ll never win. Elimination Chamber would be the perfect environment for it, though. Randy Orton is another curiosity. He’s shoved into these main events based on reputation, I imagine, but wouldn’t it be nice if main-eventers did meaningful things on weekly TV, too? It seems like random matches and random RKO’s.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BthdLpKlKRX/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Louis Dangoor

Aside from the cross-over with Becky Lynch, Raw and SmackDown could not feel any more different. SmackDown flew by. The two hour show genuinely felt like minutes and I could have watched more. Bryan and Joe cut intense promos, the Ali and Orton match was fun but left the door open for more. The franken-team of Rusev and Nakamura actually excites me and I feel it could go somewhere.

However the opening segment stole the show. Charlotte was slimy and antagonistic and Becky’s intense stare-down with HHH after slapping him was intense. The segment was further evidence that the Becky Lynch story is one of the best booked WWE stories in recent memory. SmackDown for me was a high Smacktastic! Great stuff.

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