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CM Punk is making his dream come true at WrestleMania 41. (Andrew Timms/WWE via Getty Images)
WWE via Getty Images
We're going to miss these European shows when WWE leaves next week. The London crowd was hyped and ready for the final Friday night "WWE SmackDown" of March, as the show opened and ended with two of the biggest storylines heading into WrestleMania 41.
In a true movie moment to close out the evening, CM Punk dropped a vintage cliffhanger on the WWE universe after signing the triple-threat contract for his match with Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.
Cinema
The interactions between these three main event superstars are all beyond excellent. Unlike their repetitious brawls, Punk, Reigns and Rollins kept it civil tonight, which is always rare for any contract signing.
Reigns' crowd work alone deserves a mention, as he arrived in the ring first. The guy was magnetic and his expression changed upon the others' entrances, making you inspect every detail. Rollins came out second and immediately reminisced about their Shield history in the O2 Arena. Realistically, these two should have a best-of-seven series or something wild with the amount of history there is to dig into here. They're forever rivals who don't even need Punk's involvement; however, he's made this triangle sharp to the touch.
We don't often see the wrinkle of someone thumbing through the contract pages during one of these public signing segments. That was a perfect touch, as Punk took his time — much to the chagrin of Reigns, who demanded he speed it up. Then in came Paul Heyman to mend the fence, if you will.
Heyman said he knew what Punk was looking for and promised it was in the contract. Punk teared up as Heyman kissed his forehead, revealing that Punk's dream of headline WrestleMania would come true. It was a roundabout way to get there, and it feels slightly off without a title on the line, but the chemistry and moving parts between everyone make it work. Why? Well, Rollins was left seething to no end because his whole goal is to end Punk in every way imaginable. Reigns couldn't have cared less, aside from wanting his thanks. Punk gave it, then dropped the cliffhanger that the main event slot wasn't the favor Heyman promised him.
That ending was about as nice of a swerve into a cliffhanger as it gets with wrestling. Now, you can't convince me that some kind of Heyman turn isn't coming down the pipeline — most likely at WrestleMania 41 for a dramatic end to night one. There isn't much predictability in this entire program, other than a guaranteed banger triple-threat. You love to see it.
Teases of the Night
You'd think Europe would be ready to start chilling out by now after this multi-week tour, but they most certainly are not. London gave Cody Rhodes one hell of an ovation to open "WWE SmackDown." How can that get even bigger? Send out a surprise Randy Orton, who has been an absolute megastar in his own right overseas.
A Rhodes vs. Orton championship feud — or feud in general — has been a no-brainer since Rhodes returned to the company. So any time they're together only acts as a little tease, and it needs to happen before Orton is done. It'd be the legend mentor vs. his bona fide superstar pupil. Sign us up.
Their segment together felt very real and sentimental, as Orton applauded and praised Rhodes. That elicited some tears from the champion.
Then it happened.
Orton made the title aspiration tease and told Rhodes straight to his face, while taking jabs at John Cena and his old rival's heel approach to that historic potential 17th world title win. This instantly made me more invested in the potential between Rhodes and Orton than what we've seen from Rhodes and Cena (thus far). Not to knock the WrestleMania 41 program entirely, but there is simply much more depth to Rhodes and Orton's history.
Ultimately, Drew McIntyre injected himself into the segment. He didn't necessarily ruin it, but diverted everything, teasing his own future title shot. It just felt a little empty. Orton entertained McIntyre briefly before Rhodes just attacked him, prompting a near-RKO from Orton that McIntyre evaded.
It was all relatively random, but I can appreciate some foundation laying — if it goes somewhere. For now, that was an Orton vs. McIntyre match later in the night.
On a much more subtle note, I have to throw in the brief staredown between Charlotte Flair and Jade Cargill before Flair's match with Michin. You want to talk about past vs. present superstar collisions, it doesn't get much better than something like that. They should get to that one as soon as possible once they finish their current feuds.
Foreshadow of the Night
LA Knight's U.S. title defense against Braun Strowman was treated with so little importance that a false finish was obvious. Thanks for that one, Jacob Fatu.
Knight and Strowman had a great match until Fatu ruined it. The story within the match was how Knight could deal with Strowman's size, which was foreign to him. It was a fun clash; hopefully, we'll see it again, and it appears we will because of the strange copout of declaring the match a no-contest. Strowman was attacked by someone — that's a DQ win for him, as far as history is concerned.
It makes sense why Fatu interfered after his family ruined his title opportunity last week. However, it's just one of those things that feels like it could've been crafted in a more creative way — because that wasn't this. Triple H is increasingly showing his colors by dipping into these brawl/interference wells.
Fatu is getting closer to separating from Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga, as they had a slight confrontation after the match. The tipping point will presumably be some kind of title opportunity, but time is running out if this is going to be a program for WrestleMania 41.
Distraction of the Night
The "Distraction of the Night" had to follow and intertwine with the "Foreshadow of the Night" because it was also pretty easy to foreshadow. That, of course, was somebody showing up at the end of Orton vs. McIntyre.
Orton and McIntyre unsurprisingly delivered a banger, resulting in a "clean" McIntyre Claymore Kick win after Kevin Owens walked down the ramp. This worked perfectly fine because there wasn't a direct interference, and Orton has so much hatred for Owens that any sight of him should cause pause, regardless of his experience. In turn, that allowed for a good, needed McIntyre win. This match was a good capstone to the start of "WWE SmackDown."
Car Smash of the Night
This is a new one, eh? It's not our typical "Car Crash of the Night," thanks to Damian Priest, who perfectly knew McIntyre's route out of the building like some gothic architect.
The former World Heavyweight Champion spoiled McIntyre's Lewis Capaldi victory celebrations with an ambush that resulted in a South of Heaven through a car windshield. Poor guy. Not even CM Punk cared to help his old pal.
UP & UP
1. Street Profits defended their WWE Tag Team championships against Pretty Deadly. Despite my lack of interest in Pretty Deadly, they showed up big in this match and looked great. You would hope for nothing less on home soil. They came on strong and this was just an overall fun match that kept them in a good position even in defeat.
2. In one week, WWE has made Jimmy Uso the far more intriguing half of The Usos. This dude was on fire on "WWE Raw," and he carried it over to Friday. Uso is coming off like a confident, big deal, and punked The Miz before his Gunther match on Monday.
Uso had a solid match with The Miz and pinned him clean after the frog splash. He then jumped on the commentary microphone to cut a quick promo on Gunther. Can we throw him into WrestleMania 41 instead? I don't know how this type of fumble has occurred, but I'm digging this version of Jimmy more than any version of Jey.
3. Flair beat Michin in their match, and it was fine. About what one would expect. However, the Tiffany Stratton interview promo that followed was what really delivered. Stratton played into the digs Flair made about her, reversing them into how much it would say about Flair with a loss. It was great stuff from the champion, and better than a rehashed post-match attack.
SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN
1. We saw a Rey Feniz WWE debut vignette, announcing he'll be on next week's "WWE SmackDown." Fenix is the freaking man, and even better than his ultra-talented brother Penta, so his arrival is a major plus. Now, if you're a faithful Uncrowned reader, you know why this isn't purely a positive — and it's because they spoiled it. Give me a damn break, WWE. The art of the surprise, how I miss you so.
Also, I'm here for the Lucha Bros having singles runs, but putting them in the "WWE Raw" tag-team division right now would be a major plus. Lucha Bros vs. The New Day? The LWO? The War Raiders? Yeah, give me that. A lot of mixed feelings right now.
DOWN & OUT
1. The Secret Hervice, Piper Niven and Alba Fyre, defeated Kayden Carter and Katana Chance. This match happened just because Chance and Carter were friends with Zelina Vega and reflected on Vega's loss to Niven last week. Chelsea Green needed to help Niven and Fyre win, because of course she did. More lazy, predictable heel shenanigans that were followed by a beatdown on the losers to bring out Vega. This will lead to a Vega U.S. title shot, which is insane when she just lost to Niven.
Green's title victory has been the only positive aspect of her reign. Other than that, the booking has been awful, making the new title a joke in the process.
As one final sidenote, Niven and Fyre wrestled in full suits. That was kind of funny, more than anything.
2. UFC welterweight prospect — and friend of Uncrowned — Oban Elliott was in the London attendance ... and very sadly received zero reaction when shown on camera. One day, Oban. One day.
Uncrowned Gem of the Night
Caution tape Naomi is a whole new vibe, and she's doing brilliant work. So much so that her promo video reflecting on the Jade Cargill/Bianca Belair saga earned her the coveted Uncrowned Gem of the Night.
Naomi's delivery and reasoning as the "friend who would do anything" were excellent. It was reported after the Belair "breakup" segment that WWE was wildly happy with Naomi, and rightfully so. She's getting a push with this new edge to her character and it's incredibly refreshing and needed. This is the same thing Belair has been needing. Even though Cargill needs to — and likely will — come out on top in this feud, we have to get to a Naomi vs. Belair feud at some point. We've only seen a glimpse of the great work they can do together.
The promo wasn't Naomi's only appearance on "WWE SmackDown," though. She came out to the ring and attacked Michin and B-Fab before Michin's match against Flair — all because they had a friendly interaction with Cargill. She's a certified hater in the best way.
Tonight's Crown score: 9/10.
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