10 Ups & 7 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Feb 19)
3. At Least They Wrestled Well II
Your writer didn't like the outcome, but Aleister Black vs. Andrade was a condensed cracker pulsing with the same energy that coursed through the epic TakeOver: New Orleans battle these two wrestled in the very same building 10 months ago.
This, like The Revival vs DIY on Raw, was a micro version of old TakeOver classics. This made it particularly gratifying for those who'd followed the duo through developmental, and while this level of nuance was likely lost on casual fans, many would've been won over by the strength of the action in the end.
The key point here is that Aleister Black actually got to show the stuff that makes him Aleister Black. This wasn't the case on Raw, when he worked a turgid resthold-fest with Elias. Here, the former NXT Champion felt like a strong, distinct personality, and while beating Andrade clean sucks for the loser, it's a decent rub for a guy who needs a certain degree of protection if he's going to prosper on the main roster.