8 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Mar 20)
The Life Of Bryan
Daniel Bryan is BACK...but we’ll get to that later.
What? That’s how WWE exploited what was sure to be a killer rating on Tuesday night after revealing midway through the day that the ‘Yes Man’ had been cleared. As above though, more on that later.
Not least because there’s nothing wrong with a bit of tension. Of late in WWE, there's been bucketloads of it.
At Fastlane a fortnight ago, the company laid the table for WrestleMania in one huge main event. Rich in action, it was tension that carried the contest.
Floundering for months, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn suddenly found renewed purpose in the shape of Shane McMahon. John Cena came up short in his WrestleMania quest yet again, triggering a needling verbal attack on The Undertaker - of all people - the following night. AJ Styles continued his run as the company's worthiest Champion, drawing sighs of relief from the millions worldwide desperate to see him take on a 'King Of Strong Style' yet to be crowned.
Tension.
A expertly-paced effort, the match used all these underlying concerns to weave together so many threads left loose on the blue brand, with a clear Road To WrestleMania finally established in the process. Things in their control were thankfully going to plan, until potential disaster struck. News broke of 'The Phenomenal One' potentially picking up an injury that could again cast doubt upon the dream Shinsuke Nakamura match. That story itself was lost to the Bryan blockbuster. But we WILL get to that later.
Tension.