3 Ups & 4 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Mar 28)
Words speak louder than actions as Cena, Miz, and Styles shine.
SmackDown's build towards WrestleMania 33 has been lukewarm at best. The Miz and John Cena's promo exchanges are always gold, and the AJ Styles/Shane McMahon story is suitably heated, but the rest of the brand has lagged behind. Last night's go-home show gave SD the chance to forget all that and head into the Ultimate Thrill Ride (cringe...) on a high, but it was another middling episode.
The Miz and Maryse revived their Total Bellas parody routine, and got more heated than ever with John Cena and Nikki Bella. AJ Styles reminded the world just why he's considered the best in the business during the opening segment, meanwhile, and SmackDown closed with a big match between Luke Harper and Bray Wyatt, then Randy Orton's last strike at the Eater Of Worlds' cold, black heart.
Mauro Ranallo was once again absent on commentary, and there was no sign of Dean Ambrose or Baron Corbin either. The Women's Title scene once again descended to chaos, and in the absence of a WrestleMania Tag Team Championship match, the likes of The Usos and American Alpha were officially relegated to the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
It was another night of peaks and valleys from the blue brand, but how did it all stack up? Let's take a look...