13 Ups & 1 Down From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Feb 26)
Kevin Owens replaces Kofi Kingston on a night of big surprises.
The raw emotion of Roman Reigns' remission announcement and the shock stemming from Batista's perfectly-captured hijacking of Ric Flair's birthday party meant last night's SmackDown was never going to be as big as Raw, but the blue brand didn't skimp on newsworthy moments.
This was one of 2019's best weekly wrestling shows thus far, and while many will dispute the legitimacy of some of the choices made throughout these two hours, WWE will struggle to script another SD this eventful before WrestleMania 35.
The night began with the pre-advertised Fastlane contract signing, as Kofi Kingston and Daniel Bryan sought to make their WWE Championship match official. Things took a turn, as they often do in these situations, and Kevin Owens' comeback provided the night's first major story.
Another surprising return came soon after, as the Hardy Boyz reunited to take on The Bar. Elsewhere, we heard from United States Champion R-Truth for the first time in four weeks as the 47-year-old threw down an open challenge, while Aleister Black and Ricochet joined forces in the tag division, and Charlotte Flair spat her latest WrestleMania diatribe at Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch.
A blistering night of action, inside the ring and out. Long may it continue.