WWE SmackDown Live – March 12, 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)

Steven Lugo

Smack Bang in the Middle. This show was full of solid wrestling, as well as strong angles involving Randy Orton, AJ Styles and Kofi Kingston. I liked it. I was less keen on the… third(?) straight match involving the same people in the US championship picture. This installment was a tag match, but it felt like an automatic rematch.

I’m also not sure why they persist in acting like Ricochet and Aleister Black are nothing but a proper tag team. It’s just… weird. In fairness, I thought this show was an improvement over last week, even with the Shane McMahon segment. Let’s hope we go higher and higher the closer we get to WrestleMania.

#SDLive was definitely missing something…I just can't put my finger on it 👒

— Macey Estrella (@LimitlessMacey) March 13, 2019

Nate Craver

SmackDown had some highs, but there were a couple of bad segments on the show as well. There were also a lot of tweets out there asking if Teddy Long was back because of all the thrown together tag team matches, playa. Regardless, the show seemed to move along at a really fast pace and didn’t drag.

I’m going with a Smack Bang in the Middle. I loved AJ / Orton. The Joe / Andrade vs. Truth / Rey match was good.  The 8-man tag was great. I enjoyed the main event. Kofi and the New Day were on fire. On the other hand though, Shane stunk it up. Becky’s great on the mic, but I had some issues with the fact that she’s barely been able to walk for over a month now and suddenly she’s better after taking 5 – 10 minutes of directed attack on her leg on Sunday. Throw in the fact that they are doing absolutely nothing with Asuka. I just can’t go higher.

.@BillieKayWWE @PeytonRoyceWWE Do not question us or what we stand for. We said we’d be on every brand so we will be on every brand. We’ll see you soon

— Bayley (@itsBayleyWWE) March 13, 2019

Kyle Payne

SmackDamn! What a great show! Raw depresses me but SmackDown seems to always make things better. We had excellent promos from the Usos, Styles, Becky, Orton, Vince McMahon, and The New Day. I loved that the implications for next week’s show were made this week and that next week’s outcomes will affect WrestleMania. It hypes you up for next week and fills you with excitement and intrigue as to where the stories will take us next.  

We also had great matches between Samoa Joe & Andrade vs. Rey Mysterio & R-Truth, the massive 8-man tag match, and Bryan / Rowan vs. Ali / Owens. Also, we are getting Shane McMahon vs The Miz following the heartbreaking turn at Fastlane. The show was a ton of fun.

Oh, before I forget. The IIconics deserve more TV time because they are spectacular and have been making a valid point over the past couple of weeks. Since winning the women’s tag team championships, Bayley and Sasha Banks have yet to make a SmackDown appearance despite being repeatedly called out by the talented Australian duo.

Nicholas Holicki

SmackDown has the ability to blast through its runtime without overpacking it with singular great segments, while still remaining great. It’s just a show of surprises.

The new incarnation of Shane O’Mac was unexpectedly good, Mandy Rose’s dynamic with Sonya Deville has me intrigued (despite my better judgment) and the back and forth between Orton and AJ Styles was properly entertaining.

Add in the decent Becky promo and excellent – if tonally strange – Kofi angles, and you’ve sold me on another good show. Keeping it’s streak alive, this week’s SmackDown was a high SmackTastic.

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