Shinsuke Nakamura & the US Title
After attacking Rusev tonight on SmackDown Live during his championship celebration, the King of Strong Style looks to continue his rivalry with Rusev. Since losing his championship to him last week in one of the best TV matches of 2018, is it a good decision for Nakamura to continue to pursue the championship? After one of the worst reigns since Dean Ambrose’s back in the Shield’s original run, I think it’s time for Shinsuke to move on.
With Rusev as the new United States champion, Shinsuke needs to be as far away from that title as soon as possible. I think it’s a mistake to further this feud when Nakamura can have great matches with the likes of Rey Mysterio, Andrade Cien Almas and even WWE champion Daniel Bryan. Sometimes moving on is hard but I think it’s time for Shinsuke to begin a new chapter in his career.
John Cena & The Man
What a duo. Tonight, John Cena retuned to SmackDown Live for the first time in nearly a year and he met The Man. Becky Lynch & John Cena stood off face to face tonight in an epic confrontation, until it was interrupted by Andrade Cien Almas and Zelina Vega. This ended up being a mixed-tag match ending with Becky winning over Vega via Dis-Arm-Her.
All four looked great and the outcome was never in question. Almas & Vega got offense in but not enough. After Cena hit Almas with his new signature 6th move of doom, Becky threw Cena out of the ring to pick up the previously mentioned finish. The win made Becky look amazing and put over The Man like crazy. Lynch continues to be the most over superstar in all of WWE and I hope she never changes.
AJ Styles
Last week on Smackdown Live, AJ Styles attacked Vince McMahon to close the show. Vince wanted to see the real AJ Styles tonight and that’s exactly what he got. In the main event, Styles competed in a fatal-five way match to determine the #1 contender for the WWE championship at the Royal Rumble. Styles competed against Samoa Joe, Mustafa Ali, Randy Orton & Rey Mysterio in the main event.
All five men put on a really entertaining main event. After a lot of high spots and guys hitting their signature moves, AJ Styles picked up the win after he hit his spring-board 450 splash on Randy Orton. McMahon said he wanted to see the real AJ Styles and Styles is now the new #1 contender for the WWE championship and will face Daniel Bryan at the Royal Rumble. A great match to end another solid episode of SmackDown Live and Styles is on a roll.
