5 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (27 Feb - Results & Review)
Ups...
5. Neat Twist On The Opening Promo Train
SmackDown opened with Jey Uso being wheeled into an ambulance after being taken out. Then, it quickly panned from the backstage hubbub to Drew McIntyre walking through the crowd claiming he had nothing to do with it. Cody Rhodes cut him off spoiling for a fight, then Randy Orton, Trick Williams, Je’Von Evans and LA Knight had their say on what’ll happen at Elimination Chamber too.
Sure, it was actually a pretty standard opening promo train deal, but the Jey angle got things moving quickly, and nobody droned on taking ages getting to their point. This was perfectly fine for what it was, and turned out to be way better than WWE's usual 'go home' revolving door promos are. Everyone involved deserves some credit for that.
The Uso bit helped a lot, because it upped the show's urgency immediately.
Trick and Knight brawled to the back, then Orton hit an RKO on Evans for talking smack about becoming the youngest ever WWE Champion if he wins at Chamber then beats McIntyre. Everything clicked into place here, and there was even time for a frosty staredown between old Legacy buddies Randy and Rhodes. Remove the "and" from that sentence and you've got Ozzy Osbourne's old guitarist (sort of; his surname was spelled Rhoads), which is fitting, because it's all aboard the crazy train heading into 'Mania.
WWE need some more of this energy, to be brutally honest. There's time yet to salvage a proper WrestleMania card out of this roster, but they'll need to move fast. For now, you've got to call each segment/match as you see it, and this was solid.