Powell’s WWE Smackdown Hit List: Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles, Roman Reigns promo, Charlotte, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks segment, Dean Ambrose loves Cincinnati, New Day should tell viewers what’s in the box

By Jason Powell

WWE Smackdown Hits

Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles: This is the match that many of us were hoping to see at WrestleMania 32. That’s obviously not happening, but this was a nice teaser for just how good a program between Owens and Styles could be. The backstage encounter to set up the match was fine. It was odd to leave the babyface speechless at the end by having Owens point out the similarities between hairstyles of Styles and Renee Young. And I might even complain if it wasn’t so damn funny. The match left me wanting to see more from these two. I’m not sure if we’ll be getting it any time soon with Owens feuding with Sami Zayn again. The finish was perfectly logical with Chris Jericho distracting Styles and then getting the better of him after the match to close the show.

Roman Reigns promo: The verbiage was pretty basic. The positive of the promo was Reigns’ tone. This wasn’t the smiling and pandering Reigns who felt like he had been handed the John Cena playbook. This was angry and determined Roman Reigns. It’s too late to turn the fans in his favor before WrestleMania, but it’s still a step in the right direction. It’s worth noting that this is the type of tone that one would expect Reigns to take if he were on the verge of a heel turn. I still believe that is the best direction for the Reigns character, but this shift may simply be an attempt to give his babyface persona more of an edge as his feud with Triple H intensifies heading into WrestleMania.

Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch: Charlotte continues to shine as the top heel in the division. I assumed this would be another case of her heeling it up while Banks and Lynch just stood there and took it again. Fortunately, both challengers got a chance to speak and then they both took out Charlotte to end the segment. It was also nice to hear Sasha boast that she has not been pinned since she was called up to the main roster.

Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz: A minor Hit. It was back to reality for Ziggler. After having a competitive and entertaining match with Triple H on Monday, he went right back to his feud with The Miz. Ziggler and Miz work well together. Of course, they should have good in-ring chemistry given that they’ve had enough practice over the years. In this case, it felt like we were given a payoff for their recent split in brief matches. However, this wasn’t really framed as a blowoff match, so I fear that we’re going to be seeing more of this never ending program.

Dean Ambrose: A minor Hit for his “Ode to Cincinnati” videos. No one outside Ohio talks about the mean streets of Cincinnati, so Ambrose talking about every day being WrestleMania in the city didn’t really register. Still, there’s something endearing about a babyface wrestler taking pride in where he comes from.

WWE Smackdown Misses

Bubba Ray Dudley vs. Goldust: A quick showcase match for Bubba. Really, there was nothing wrong with the match or the post-match angle. It’s just that the intensity they are adding to the Dudleys vs. Usos program feels too little too late. I wish we had seen this when the Usos returned after the Dudleys turned on them. Instead, we got some singles matches and tables talk. I hope they can do something over the next couple of weeks to get people excited about the feud because I believe these teams can have a really good match at WrestleMania.

New Day: A personal Miss because watching Xavier Woods kick the last back of trash so poorly brought back bad memories of Blair Walsh’s shanked field goal in the Minnesota Vikings playoff game in January. By the way, is there a reason they don’t ever open the cereal box and show that there’s a t-shirt inside? I wonder how many viewers have no clue that they can buy the box along with a t-shirt.