WWE SmackDown Live – March 12, 2019 (Review)

What was your favourite moment from SmackDown Live?

Steven Lugo

Orton / Styles promo. I wouldn’t usually choose a promo as a favorite moment, but I think that’s because of the dreaded Raw format. It’s no fun when the show opens with a twenty minute segment of scripted talking.

Yet, I had an enjoyable time when Randy Orton and AJ Styles took to the ring with microphones tonight. The dialogue exchanges did not feel wooden, and it’s always entertaining to hear tidbits about the business that you usually wouldn’t hear on WWE programming. Orton name-dropped Dixie Carter as he ran down AJ’s career, while AJ said Randy was handed everything, and could never make it in the indies. It’s adding something special to their WrestleMania encounter which clearly wasn’t there before.

Nate Craver

I love a good 80’s sitcom. So, when I heard Charlotte say it was going to be Golden Girl’s Main Event at WrestleMania, I got pretty excited. Unfortunately, that’s not what she meant. So that’s out of the running for the best part of SmackDown. That means I’m going to go with the Randy Orton and AJ Styles segment.  

Whoever is in charge of writing the material for Triple H and Ronda Rousey’s “real” dialogue on Raw should pay attention to this segment. This is how you blend reality into a scripted television show seamlessly. Both guys scored points and took some shots that probably hit close to home.  It’s amazing how a simple story can be so effective. I loved this segment. L-O-V-E-D it. I really didn’t think it was possible for me to be excited for a Randy Orton match in 2019, but somehow, I am.  Good job SmackDown.

Kyle Payne

My favorite moment of this week’s SmackDown was the back and forth promo between Vince McMahon and Kofi Kingston. McMahon is so good at coming across as a truly vile and evil person and the throwback to what he used to call Daniel Bryan (a B-plus player) was so, so good. After everything that Kofi had to say in defense, how can you not hope for him to win the belt at this point?

I love Kofi but I felt, at the beginning, that it was too soon for Bryan to lose the belt. But dammit, Kofi has won me over and I’m genuinely hoping he can win the belt. If you haven’t seen this promo, look for the full thing on YouTube and not the edited version on the official WWE channel.

Speaking of promos, another amazing exchange of words came between AJ Styles and Randy Orton. Shoot promos always have the potential to be great and come across as authentic disdain and this one definitely felt real, as the two blasted each other. A match between the two of them is most definitely a dream match and has the strong potential to steal the show at WrestleMania.

If @TrueKofi wants to challenge @WWEDanielBryan for the #WWETitle at #WrestleMania, he has to face @RandyOrton… and @SamoaJoe… and @WWESheamus… and @WWECesaro… and @ERICKROWAN NEXT WEEK on #SDLive! @WWEBigE @XavierWoodsPhD pic.twitter.com/7NsbLvAlJC

— WWE (@WWE) March 13, 2019

Nicholas Holicki

Let’s get this straight. The New Day / Vince exchange at the end of the night was far and away the greatest aspect of SmackDown Live this week. Kofi’s impassioned promo in the face of Vince undermining him was possibly one of the best speeches of the past several years, and I can’t wait for him to face (and hopefully overcome) each of the competitors in next week’s gauntlet match. But I’d like to mention someone else too.

Rey Mysterio was absolutely phenomenal last night. While his… unique… flesh colored bodysuit complete with black thong was a bit off-putting, everything that he did in the ring certainly wasn’t. After his tag partner R-Truth was laid out, Mysterio decided it was time to flip around the ring for a little bit, taking out Andrade before securing the roll-up victory over Samoa Joe. Even at 44-years-old, it’s clear that the diminutive luchador is still as great as he’s ever been.

The victory all but secures his place in what seems a likely multi-man match at WrestleMania for the United States Championship and frankly, after last night’s display, I’m looking forward to it even more.

6️⃣1️⃣9️⃣✖️ 2️⃣#SDLive @reymysterio pic.twitter.com/zbagnHaikk

— WWE (@WWE) March 13, 2019

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