2/19 Powell’s WWE Smackdown Live TV Review: Daniel Bryan’s Fastlane challenger, The Miz’s public apology to Shane McMahon, Charlotte Flair’s response to being attacked by Becky Lynch

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

WWE Smackdown on USA Network
Aired live on February 19, 2019 from New Orleans, Louisiana at Smoothie King Center

[Hour One] Shane McMahon made his entrance while Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, and Byron Saxton checked in on commentary. They set up a video package on the Elimination Chamber and spotlighted Kofi Kingston’s big night. Kingston, Jeff Hardy, and AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton, and Samoa Joe was announced for later in the show along with the announcement of who will challenge Kingston at WWE Fastlane.

Shane stood in the ring and was introduced by ring announcer Greg Hamilton. Shane played up the debuts of the NXT foursome on Raw and said they impressed him so much that they would appear on tonight’s Smackdown.

The Miz made his entrance and he headed out with a mic in hand. Miz apologized for interrupting and said he hadn’t slept in two days and needed to get something off his chest. Miz entered the ring and said he lost the Smackdown Tag Titles on Sunday. Miz said Shane took a chance on him despite his reputation after he made a passionate plea.

Miz confessed to Shane that he used him. He spoke about their issues with their fathers. Miz recalled Shane bringing out his father, who told him that he was proud of him and loved him. Miz claimed it was the first time he’d heard his father say that and said it was one of the greatest moments of his life. Miz thanked Shane.

Miz said he let Shane down on Sunday. He said he’s sorry and he can’t change the past, but he wants to control the future. He said he knows there are no more automatic rematch clauses, but Shane has the power to make it happen. Miz got the crowd to chant “rematch”.

Smackdown Tag Champions Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso made their entrance. They said that if Shane could forgive Miz then they would give them another opportunity to call themselves the best tag team in the world. They said Shane doesn’t want the match because Miz is a joke, a loser, a failure, and a fraud. Shane told them not to disrespect his partner and added a very dorky “you dig?”. Shane said the rematch was on and it would happen in Miz’s hometown of Cleveland at Fastlane. Fans booed because they weren’t getting the match. The Usos laughed and then Miz and Shane hugged…

Aleister Black made his entrance. Phillips hyped that Black would be facing Andrade after the break… [C]

Powell’s POV: Miz’s promo went on longer than it needed to in that I don’t think we really needed a full recap of his history with Shane. It was also odd that they spent that much time teasing the match and announced it for the pay-per-view rather than this show, which understandably drew boos from the crowd. But, hey, that’s more noise than the live crowd made during Monday’s Raw. Black vs. Andrade? Buckle up. By the way, I’m filling in for Jake Barnett on live coverage tonight. Jake will be handling Wednesday’s WWE Smackdown Hit List, and he will return to live coverage next week.

A Black vignette aired and then Andrade and Zelina Vega made their entrances…

1. Aleister Black vs. Andrade (w/Zelina Vega). Phillips noted that Black beat Andrade for the NXT Championship in the same venue. There was a brief NXT chant. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa were shown watching the match on a backstage monitor, and Phillips said viewers would hear from both men after the match. Black avoided an Andrade move in the corner, causing Andrade to tumble to ringside. Black did his rope flip and sat down and crossed his legs. [C]

Andrade performed double knees in the corner and got a two count. Black came back with the Black Mass kick and scored the clean pin…

Aleister Black defeated Andrade in 8:40.

Powell’s POV: A good television match. They didn’t get enough time for it to be special, but it was entertaining while it lasted. As much as I don’t like seeing Andrade’s losing ways return, I believe it was Graves who labeled Black a thorn in career of Andrade, which framed it nicely. By the way, Black and Vega are married, so one can only assume that they will eventually settle in on the same brand.

Kayla Braxton interviewed Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano backstage. She asked if they could keep up with the hype coming out of their Raw appearance. Ciampa spoke about how he earned the NXT Championship. Gargano said it was crazy that they went to war together last year in the same building and now they are together and will show the world that this is the future.

Sheamus and Cesaro showed up and said it’s “take your NXT superstar to work day.” Cesaro said no one knows who they are or cares. He told them to go back to Raw or NXT and stay away from Smackdown. Ciampa noted that they were there to take over. Gargano said they weren’t looking to set the bar, they were there to break the bar. Sheamus and Cesaro laughed at them and walked away…

Jeff Hardy was shown backstage. AJ Styles entered the picture. Jeff told him they need to let bygones be bygones and focus on their match. Styles agreed. New Day showed up and Kofi Kingston extended a “pancake branch” rather than an olive branch…

Sheamus and Cesaro made their entrance for a tag match with Gargano and Ciampa…

Powell’s POV: I understand the idea that if it’s not broke don’t fix it, but I would like to see Kingston tone down some of the New Day comedy antics while he’s in the title picture.

A graphic noted that as part of the Hart Dynasty, Natalya is the first “third generation female superstar in the world”…

2. Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano vs. Sheamus and Cesaro. Phillips pointed out the big size difference between the teams, while Graves countered by saying that speed kills. Gargano and Giampa cleared Sheamus and Cesaro from the ring. Gargano performed a suicide dive on Sheamus. Ciampa dove at Ciampa, who caught him and performed a backbreaker. Sheamus knocked Gargano down going into a break. [C]

Ciampa leapt from the ropes into an uppercut from Cesaro, who tagged out. Sheamus set Ciampa on the ropes and they fought for position. Ciampa performed a sunset flip from the ropes and Sheamus landed on his knee, and Ciampa’s leg bent awkwardly. Ciampa tagged out and went to ringside.

Gargano worked over Ciampa in the ring and applied a submission hold, but Cesaro powered out of it and tagged in Sheamus, who dropped a knee on Gargano from the ropes and covered him. Ciampa returned to the ring and broke up the pin. Sheamus hit the Irish Curse on Gargano, who kicked out. Sheamus jawed at Gargano, who superkicked him and covered him for two. Ciampa was back on the apron and tagged himself in unbeknownst to Cesaro. Ciampa rolled up Cesaro and pinned him…

Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano defeated Sheamus and Cesaro in roughly 17:00.

Powell’s POV: A very good match and hopefully Ciampa dodged a bullet. He finished the match and was putting weight on the knee afterward, so here’s wishing him the best. Obviously, Gargano, Cesaro, and Sheamus had to improvise while Ciampa was down, but they are absolute pros and made it look easy.

A shot aired of Daniel Bryan, Rowan, Samoa Joe, and Randy Orton backstage… A Ricochet video aired… Asuka made her entrance going into a break… [C]

[Hour Two] The broadcast team hyped the announcement of DX entering the WWE Hall of Fame…

Dasha Fuentes interviewed Smackdown Women’s Champion Asuka and noted that people seem to be talking more about Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey than her. Asuka said she is ready for a new challenge. She asked who is ready for Asuka right now. Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville came out. Rose cut a promo about being irresistible and said if anyone is ready for Asuka it is her…

3. Asuka vs. Mandy Rose (w/Sonya Deville). Lacey Evans did her entrance bit early in the match and headed to the back. Rose took advantage of the distraction by attacking Asuka from behind. Asuka ended up tossing Rose to ringside heading into a break. [C]

Rose threw a nice knee to the head of Asuka at ringside. Asuka returned to the ring at nine to beat the referee’s count. Rose hit Asuka and told her she’d never look like her. Asuka came back with strikes and a dropkick from the middle rope. Asuka threw the spinning back fist and a kick and then covered Rose for two. Asuka performed a release German suplex and a shining wizard for another two count. Asuka popped Rose up and then hit her with a knee on the way down. Rose covered her eye and begged off. She eventually shoved Asuka into the ropes and then rolled her up and pinned her…

Mandy Rose pinned Asuka in a non-title match in 9:55.

Powell’s POV: A nice outing for Rose in terms of giving her in-ring credibility before the finish. She had a pretty good back and forth match and took some big moves from Asuka and kicked out, which came off more impressive than feigning an injury in order to get a cheap win. At the same time, it’s disappointing that Asuka disappeared from television after beating Becky Lynch and then lost in her first match back. I assume this leads to a title match between Asuka and Rose at Fastlane.

Charlotte Flair was interviewed backstage and had been watching Asuka lose her match. Flair showed off a bruise on her left arm and was asked if Becky Lynch will haunt her on her entire road to WrestleMania. Flair said Lynch is suspended and that means she doesn’t exist. She also boasted about aggravating Lynch’s knee injury (footage aired from Saturday’s house show and then still shots aired from the pay-per-view). Charlotte said that if Lynch shows up again she will be arrested for criminal trespassing. She said she and Rousey in a singles match is the WrestleMania main event…

Backstage, The Miz told Shane McMahon that his father will be at ringside for their match at Fastlane. Miz left and Shane looked off into the distance after saying Mr. Miz…

Ricochet made his entrance for a match against Eric Young. [C] They went to a split screen commercial break and the Sanity trio made their entrance…

4. Ricochet vs. Eric Young (w/Killian Dain, Alexander Wolfe). Ricochet dropkicked Young to ringside, then did a flip into a pose. Wolfe distracted Ricochet from the floor, and Young caught him with a forearm to the side of the head that knocked him off the apron. Young suffered a cut above his right eye. Ricochet dove onto Young and Dain, then rolled Young back inside the ring. Ricochet caught Young with a kick, then performed his 630 splash and got the pin…

Ricochet defeated Eric Young.

Powell’s POV: Another showcase win for Ricochet. I couldn’t see exactly where Young suffered the cut, but they may have bumped heads at one point during the match.

New Day was interviewed backstage by Braxton. Xavier Woods said Kingston’s rise didn’t occur in just seven days, it took eleven years. Woods and Big E pointed out things that weren’t around 11 years ago. Big E said it was longer than Empire has been on the air and said we all know they’ve been doing some crazy things to keep that show interesting. Kingston said the last week has been special. He spoke about KofiMania trending on twitter. He said none of it could have been possible without Big E and Woods and said they were the ones who pushed him to represent at Elimination Chamber. Kingston said he loved them both. Big E delivered the New Day introduction line from backstage, and then they made their entrance… A Fighting With My Family clip aired… [C]

Powell’s POV: Kingston sure does love Big E and Woods tonight. It left me wondering if they are building to a turn for one or both of them. Either way, Kingston came off well here.

The Kevin Owens video from the movie theater aired. There’s still no word on whether KO’s son was overcharged or if he’s a dirty thief…

The remainder of the ring entrances for the main event took place. Daniel Bryan came out with a mic in hand and said small minded skeptics have suppressed the great minds and radical thinkers. He mentioned several examples and said the fans wouldn’t know who they are because they’re not superheroes or celebrities. Bryan said he survives because he serves a higher purpose of enlightening and educating the people even though they don’t want it. Bryan said he wouldn’t tell the fans who his opponent will be at Fastlane. He said it would not be anyone in the ring because he beat them all at Elimination Chamber… [C]

A Ric Flair video aired to promote his 70th birthday celebration for Raw…

5. Kofi Kingston (w/Big E, Xavier Woods), AJ Styles, and Jeff Hardy vs. Daniel Bryan (w/Rowan), Samoa Joe, and Randy Orton. Kingston and Bryan were going to start the match, but Bryan tagged out to avoid him. With Orton at ringside, Kingston went to the top rope. Bryan shoved Kingston to the floor. Orton picked up Kingston and slammed him onto the broadcast table. [C]

Kingston was isolated and eventually made a tag to Styles, who stuffed an RKO and kicked Orton. Styles put Bryan in a Calf Crusher, but Joe broke it up. Hardy performed a Twist of Fate on Joe. Orton dumped Hardy to ringside, then Styles clotheslined Orton to ringside. Bryan put Styles in the LeBell Lock, but Styles reached the ropes. Styles performed a Pele Kick and then made the tag to Kingston.

Kofi was dumped over the top rope by Bryan, but he landed on a group of wrestlers at ringside. Kingston returned ot the ring with a missile dropkick. Bryan ended up at ringside, and Kingston performed a Trust Fall dive onto Bryan and Rowan. Back in the ring, Kingston performed Trouble In Paradise and pinned Bryan…

Kofi Kingston, AJ Styles, and Jeff Hardy defeated Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, and Randy Orton in 12:10.

After the match, Shane came out and said it was an amazing match. He announced Bryan vs. Kingston for the WWE Championship for the Fastlane pay-per-view. New Day celebrated in the ring, and both Styles and Hardy celebrated with them…

Powell’s POV: You had to know that was coming, but that’s not a bad thing when the fans are solidly behind Kingston. Overall, it was an entertaining show and much better than the train wreck that was Raw. In fairness, the oddness of the NXT wrestlers showing up and being featured the way they were on Raw first made it easier to follow on Smackdown. I’m still not crazy about the way Ciampa and Gargano are being framed as babyfaces on the main roster or the way they rushed into the two of them teaming just because they were called up to the main roster. That said, the NXT wrestlers had a good night and the announcement of the Bryan vs. Kingston match provided a satisfying conclusion to this match. I will have more to say in my audio review, which members hear every Tuesday night after the show. Jake Barnett will be by on Wednesday with the Smackdown Hit List. Thanks for watching along with me.

Check below for the latest ProWrestling.net Live show featuring Jason Powell and John Moore taking calls coming out of WWE Elimination Chamber.


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Readers Comments (2)

  1. I thought Randy Orton was a third generation “superstar.” Ted DiBiase Jr. also.

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