We’re less than a week away from WrestleMania 34, the biggest sports entertainment event of the year. It should be no surprise, then, that this week’s SmackDown Live provided plenty of hype for The Blue Brand’s big matches on Sunday.
Following up on last week’sDaniel Bryan promo, in which he confirmed he’d face Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at WrestleMania 34, SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon came to the ring alongside Bryan to make an announcement of his own. Despite suffering from diverticulitis (the disease that infamously derailed Brock Lesnar’s UFC career) the week prior, McMahon has also been cleared to compete alongside Bryan.
The two superstars admitted that they had their differences over the past few months and reconciled with a hug, and McMahon had a message for Zayn and Owens: “After WrestleMania, they will never ever be seen in a Smackdown Live arena again!”
Meanwhile, current SmackDown Womens’ Champion Charlotte Flair had her hands full this week, defeating Natalya while also denying Carmella her Money in the Bank briefcase cash-in by impressively kicking the briefcase out of the ring. Once Charlotte won, however, she had a surprise visitor: Asuka, who made it abundantly clear that she intends to take the belt from “The Queen” at WrestleMania.
Finally, AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura formed a momentary truce prior to their WWE Championship match at ‘Mania to compete against Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable. While Styles and Nakamura won, it was clear the two weren’t planning on staying friends. After the match ended, Styles jumped into the ring to seemingly attack Nakamura but stopped short of delivering a Phenomenal Forearm, humiliating Nakamura in the process. Both superstars are renowned for their in-ring ability, and their match on Sunday should be one to remember.
