Best and Worst of SmackDown: Why Title match wasn't booked for Backlash, Big mistake made with Roman Reigns in opening segment
This was the go-home episode of SmackDown before WrestleMania Backlash, and it cemented an excellent build to the pay-per-view from the blue brand. SmackDown has had been filled with twists and turns and has helped in hyping up the upcoming event.
There were a lot of big steps taken on SmackDown that progressed storylines and set things up for post-Backlash as well. Here are the best and worst parts of the 14th May episode of SmackDown:
#3 Best: The Fatal Four-Way direction on SmackDown
Intercontinental Champion Apollo Crews appeared on SmackDown to give a medal of honor to Commander Azeez. He mentioned how he's now the target of multiple superstars ever since winning the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania.
Since Big E was the man that Apollo Crews won the Intercontinental Title from, it makes sense that he's still in the picture on SmackDown. Two extra additions, however, are Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens - both of whom made their presence known on the blue brand.
Backstage, a furious Apollo Crews and Commander Azeez confronted authority figures, Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville. The latter suggested that Crews must the Intercontinental Championship against all interested participants, and Pearce agreed. He booked a Fatal Four-Way Intercontinental Championship match for next week's SmackDown.
The big question is why the match is on SmackDown and not the pay-per-view that will be happening this weekend. SmackDown's broadcasting deal with FOX offers a lot more money than what WWE makes through PPVs.
While pay-per-views are the standard attraction, SmackDown is worth a lot more and that's why we're seeing an increasing number of Title matches on the show. Roman Reigns vs Daniel Bryan, the Women's Tag Team Match from the latest episode, and the Intercontinental Title bout next week are big examples of that.
It should be a fun match and hopefully, Apollo Crews wins to cement his status on the show and moves on to bigger things on SmackDown.