WWE SmackDown Grades (March 20, 2020): Bond between Daniel Bryan and Drew Gulak deepens; Otis shows a different side
Tonight's episode of WWE SmackDown once again emanated from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida much like last week's episode. While we did miss Triple H who entertained the WWE Universe on last week's edition by multi-tasking as a commentator and even as a cameraman, tonight's episode had no shortage of surprises and good matches.
The show started with former New England Patriot tight end Rob Gronkowski getting introduced to the ring by his friend and Superstar Mojo Rawley. Mojo and Gronkowski were interrupted by King Corbin who came out to humiliate Gronk but Elias later came out to play a new song about Corbin which annoyed him. Gronkowski then proposed a WrestleMania 36 match between Elias and Corbin.
After not being able to show up on last week's SmackDown due to travel issues, Backstage analyst and former Divas Champion Paige showed up on the big screen via satellite to announce a SmackDown Women's Championship title defense match for Bayley at WrestleMania 36.
Apart from this we also got to witness an intense contract signing session between WWE Universal Champion and Hall of Famer Goldberg and his challenger Roman Reigns for their match at WrestleMania 36. There were only two matches that happened and we will get into the details and grade them accordingly.
#1 Daniel Bryan & Drew Gulak vs Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura
The first match of the night was between the newly formed alliance of Daniel Bryan & Drew Gulak and Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura. Intercontinental Champion and Cesaro & Nakmaura's ally Sami Zayn joined Michael Cole on commentary for the match.
Tonight's tag team match tested the chemistry between Gulak & Bryan and they both showed that they can function together like a well-oiled machine. The match was back and forth which also saw the heels, Nakamura & Cesaro getting an advantage during a moment in the match.
Gulak proved to be the deciding factor in the match as he kept Cesaro at bay by fighting him off and waited for the opportune moment to make a tag to Bryan, which he did get after Bryan tagged himself in to finish things off by rolling up Cesaro for a pinfall. Nakamura attempted to break the cover but Gulak thwarted his attempts thereby allowing Bryan to get the pinfall victory. Classic tag team coordination.
Result: Daniel Bryan & Drew Gulak defeated Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura
Grade: A
#2 The Miz and John Morrison vs Heavy Machinery
The SmackDown tag team champions Miz and Morrison took on Otis & Tucker of Heavy Machinery in a non-title match. The match started with Heavy Machinery getting the upper hand on the champions with their size advantage and power.
During a moment when it seemed like Heavy Machinery might get the win when Otis was going to perform the Caterpillar, they were interrupted by Dolph Ziggler who joined Cole on commentary and showed images of him and Mandy Rose spending time together on the big screen. For those unaware, Otis had a crush on Mandy who ditched him and sided with Ziggler after Otis was late for a dinner date.
By seeing the images, Otis had a meltdown and showed a rather different and aggressive side to his personality by viciously assaulting Ziggler and then both Miz and Morrison after they tried to break away Otis from Ziggler. Otis put both The A-Lister and The Friday Night Delight through a barricade and then hit them with steel chairs which disqualified Heavy Machinery and awarded Miz and Morrison with the victory although it was not much of a win as both of them were completely destroyed by Otis.
Tucker exited the ring to console the emotionally turbulent Otis and then they headed backstage. Although the match was won by Miz and Morrison via DQ, Otis' actions tonight were unexpected and adds a rather interesting element in his feud with Ziggler.
Result: The Miz and John Morrison defeated Heavy Machinery
Grade: A+