Friday Night SmackDown took place inside the WWE ThunderDome at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg Florida. This was the final show before Elimination Chamber on Sunday. The participants in the Elimination Chamber match compete in a 6 man tag as Cesaro, Kevin Owens and Daniel Bryan take on Jey Uso, Sami Zayn and King Corbin.
[lawrence-related id=1186247]The show kicked off with Edge coming out to the ring. He said it’s good to be back on SmackDown. Edge talks about the Elimination Chamber matches and he will begin to choose who he is facing at WrestleMania. Roman Reigns, Jey Uso and Paul Heyman interrupted as they came down to the ring. Roman tells him there is only one he can choose and that is him. Edge said Roman didn’t see fear in him but a guy who is playing him like a fiddle. Edge said Roman lost his cool last week and realizes that Roman needs Edge to face him at WrestleMania. He calls Roman insecure. He tells Roman that he respects his family and him but Roman is cracking under the pressure. He tells Roman to check his ego and think about it long and hard. Sami Zayn interrupted going on his conspiracy tirade. He tells them they are not looking at the threat in front of them. He says they should worry about him. Sami says they are looking at the champion of the people. He has the camera guy show him point at the WrestleMania sign. Jey Uso kicks Sami Zayn, taking him out. Roman goes up to Edge and tells him something that we can’t hear. Roman leaves the ring.
Will @SamiZayn be #WrestleMania bound after #WWEChamber this Sunday? #SmackDown @WWEUsos @WWERomanReigns @HeymanHustle @EdgeRatedR pic.twitter.com/8A0NanLlyg
— WWE (@WWE) February 20, 2021
Big E came out to the ring to join the commentary team.
Kayla Braxton interviewed Apollo Crews backstage about if winning the IC title affects his friendship with Big E. Apollo said he has to grab the opportunities himself. Apollo said Big E never respected him after he told him he should go back to catering. He said Big E would’ve lost his tongue if his Nigerian ancestors heard what he said. He said he will beat Shinsuke Nakamura to get his shot at the title.
Shinsuke Nakamura Defeated Apollo Crews
Apollo attacked Shinsuke from behind after the match. He sends Nakmura into the barricade. Apollo grabs the steps but Big E tells him to set them down and walk away. He tells Apollo that this is over. Apollo throws the steps down. Big E checks on Nakamura but then Apollo grabs the steps and nails Big E and Shinsuke with them. Apollo trash talks Big E. He throws the steps into the ring. He brings Big E into the ring. He picks up the steps and was about to attack Big E until he rolled out of the ring. The referee tries to stop him but then Apollo throws the steps onto Big E outside the ring. The trainers check on him.
"It ain't over until I say it's over."
The pursuit of the #ICTitle has caused @WWEApollo to completely snap! #SmackDown @WWEBigE pic.twitter.com/paRC194RNC
— WWE (@WWE) February 20, 2021
As they came back from commercial, EMT’s stretcher Big E backstage. Seth Rollins made his way out to the ring as this was happening. Seth says that was a tragedy because he was betrayed. Seth says his friends turned his backs to him last week. He shows everyone the footage from last week of his return. He says it caused him emotional trauma. Him and lawyers drew up a formal compliant about it. They said they planned this moment for months and it was ruined. He said everyone is afraid because there are already millions who are embracing his vision. He says the biggest loser out of all of them is Cesaro for taking his moment. He said Cesaro disrespected him and what happened to Cesaro is not on his hands. He said it will happen to anyone who stands in his way. He tells everyone to embrace the vision and leaves.
Embrace the vision… 𝙤𝙧 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.@WWERollins looks to make an example out of @WWECesaro.#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/foVJzMK5uI
— WWE (@WWE) February 20, 2021
Kevin Owens was on his phone until Edge came up to him. Edge tells him he appreciates Owens keep getting back up. Owens says he appreciates Edge for doing the same at the Rumble. Owens says all he thinks about now is winning the Chamber and facing Roman again. Edge wishes him good luck and leaves.
Big E was being carried out to the ambulance along with Sonya Deville and Adam Pearce at his side.
Tamina and Natalya Defeated The Riott Squad
Being a thorn in the side of The #RiottSquad could be good addition to @BillieKayWWE's résumé. #SmackDown @YaOnlyLivvOnce @RubyRiottWWE @NatbyNature @TaminaSnuka pic.twitter.com/xPRrkRPZXu
— WWE (@WWE) February 20, 2021
Billie Kay celebrated with them but then Tamina super kicks her.
They show footage of Sasha Banks at the Daytona 500.
Edge was on his phone backstage until Corbin came up to him. He says Edge made his name on SmackDown but things have changed. He shows up his suit and watch. He tells Edge to bow down to him. Edge shows off his phone and the fancy features. Corbin walks away.
Bayley appeared in the ring for her Ding Dong Hello talk show. He introduces her guest Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler. They appear at the door and go through it. Bayley thanks them for being on the show. Nia said she hopes Bayley’s not mad for taking the titles from her. Bayley said she thanks them for finding herself. Bayley said she might be taking Ellen’s job. They praise her for getting rid of Sasha and mocking Bianca Belair. Nia said Sasha is worse and thinking she is the sexiest woman on TV. Nia said she will squash her like a bug. Reginald came out defending Sasha. He calls them weak and disposable. Nia and Shayna get up in his face until Sasha Banks came out. Sasha tells Reginald to not speak for her. She tells Nia and Shayna saying she is the boss. She says Bianca will face her because the division revolves around her. Bianca interrupted saying she is the star of the division since she won the Rumble. She was about to talk about WrestleMania until Reginald tells them they should be fighting Nia, Shayna and Bayley. Nia tells them to get a ref for a match. All of them argue in the ring until they go to break.
Reginald, Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair Defeated Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax and Bayley
.@ReginaldWWE faced quite the challenge in this impromptu tag team matchup. #SmackDown @BiancaBelairWWE @SashaBanksWWE @NiaJaxWWE @QoSBaszler @itsBayleyWWE pic.twitter.com/gDIE4DiiZN
— WWE (@WWE) February 20, 2021
Kayla Braxton interviewed Cesaro asking about Seth Rollins comments on him. Cesaro said he knows Seth for years and he was hoping for him to come back as the leader we know him to be but he came back as the same annoying guy. He says he is keeping his momentum to Elimination Chamber and challenging Roman at the Chamber. Edge comes up to him saying he has grit like himself. Cesaro says after the Chamber, he will see him at WrestleMania.
Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio Defeated Otis and Chad Gable By DQ
.@reymysterio & @DomMysterio35 battle it out against @WWEGable & @otiswwe in tag team action. #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/uZlN4PfWeU
— WWE (@WWE) February 20, 2021
Otis and Gable splash onto Rey over and over. Otis splashes onto Rey from the middle rope.
Edge came up to Daniel Bryan backstage. He said he respect Daniel for fighting to get his career back like him. Daniel says if he goes on to face Roman at the Chamber maybe he faces Edge at WrestleMania. Edge said it is a dream match and he would like nothing more than that. Edge walks away as Daniel prepares for his match.
Rey and Dominik get helped to the back.
Kevin Owens went up to Cesaro and Daniel Bryan to talk strategy for their match. They speculate that Owens will stab them in the back. Owens says he gets it but he strike first before they were going to. He said they won’t have to worry about a stunner tonight but most likely on Sunday.
Reginald got a glass of wine for Carmella. She asked what took so long and he said he had to choose the perfect wine for her. Carmella gets upset about him teaming with Sasha but then says he’ll do the right thing. She drinks the glass but then spits it out. She yells at Reginald to get her another glass.
.@ReginaldWWE may have some explaining to do. 👀 #SmackDown @CarmellaWWE pic.twitter.com/Z16WINkSp7
— WWE (@WWE) February 20, 2021
Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens and Cesaro Defeated Sami Zayn, King Corbin and Jey Uso
All 6 man take each other out. Edge came into the ring and speared Jey Uso. Roman Reigns came into the ring and speared Edge. The show went off the air as Roman stood tall in the ring.
#WWEChamber can’t come any sooner! #SmackDown @WWEDanielBryan @BaronCorbinWWE @FightOwensFight @SamiZayn @WWECesaro @WWEUsos @EdgeRatedR @WWERomanReigns pic.twitter.com/y1an1FtQ1p
— WWE (@WWE) February 20, 2021
Overall Review: Another solid show. Not solid enough for a go home show but it was good. The matches were pretty average. I loved the segment after Apollo Crews match with Shinsuke Nakamura to show Apollo’s heel side in the rivalry. I’m not too big on the rivalry in general but this could spice it up between them. The Ding Dong Hello segment was what it was but I don’t think the 6 person tag was necessary. I liked that throughout the night, they did a good job with tying in the buildup to Elimination Chamber to the buildup of WrestleMania for Edge to possibly face Roman. That’s really all I got for this show.
Grade: 6/10
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