WWE SmackDown: 2 Superstars who flopped and 3 who impressed – Roman Reigns embarrassed in his own game, new Royal Rumble challenger confirmed (Jan 15th, 2021)
This week’s episode of WWE SmackDown featured few big surprises. Between interesting matches and last-minute returns, there was a lot that unfolded on the show and kept things interesting throughout its duration. For a change, tonight we saw the good guys play the best mind games while the heels struggled to find their ground. In addition to that, Bayley also got her own talk show.
In this article, we will take a look at Superstars who flopped on WWE SmackDown this week and those who impressed. So, without further ado, let’s begin.
#1 Impressed on WWE SmackDown: Adam Pearce (with Kevin Owens)
This week on WWE SmackDown, Adam Pearce pulled off the ultimate UNO reverse card and embarrassed Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman in their own game. Last week, Reigns and Jey Uso bullied their way into making Pearce the next challenger for Reigns’ Universal Championship. Tonight, they were both set to sign the contract.
At first, we saw Paul Heyman is trying to tell Roman Reigns that ‘all of the WWE contracts are the same’. As a result, he wanted to take care of that contract signing while Reigns focuses on other things. Over the course of the episode, Pearce showed that he was extremely reluctant to put his name on the dotted line.
In the closing moments of WWE SmackDown, Adam Pearce walked to the ring where Roman Reigns, Jey Uso, and Paul Heyman were waiting for him. He portrayed himself as a victim that led Reigns to sign the contract arrogantly - something that he has managed to avoid in his last few title defenses until the last minute.
As soon as Reigns signed the contract, Pearce collected the file and started walking back. Mid-way on the ramp, he started limping that got everyone onlooker concerned. It turns out, Pearce always wanted Reigns to sign the contract so that he can use the fine print to replace himself with none other than Kevin Owens in the upcoming match.
Pearce stated he had an ‘injury’ and can’t compete inside the ring against Roman Reigns at Royal Rumble. As a result, Owens got his spot at the upcoming pay-per-view. Reigns and Owens have all been involved in a brutal rivalry on WWE SmackDown since last year, and it now appears that we are heading closer to the final battle between both these Superstars.