{"id":74640,"date":"2019-02-05T13:37:19","date_gmt":"2019-02-05T19:37:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=74640"},"modified":"2019-02-05T13:37:19","modified_gmt":"2019-02-05T19:37:19","slug":"wwe-smackdown-primer-2-5-nakamura-rusev-vs-anderson-gallows-ali-vs-orton-hardy-vs-bryan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2019\/02\/05\/wwe-smackdown-primer-2-5-nakamura-rusev-vs-anderson-gallows-ali-vs-orton-hardy-vs-bryan\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER 2\/5: Nakamura &#038; Rusev vs. Anderson &#038; Gallows, Ali vs. Orton, Hardy vs. Bryan"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-3156485441\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><h3><strong>WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>FEBRUARY 5, 2019<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>EVERRETT, WASH. AT THE ANGEL OF THE WINDS ARENA<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>AIRS ON USA NETWORK, 8:00 P.M. EST<br \/>\nBY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH SPECIALIST<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><em>Announcers: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, and Byron Saxton<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Arena and Items Advertised by WWE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Smackdown makes its first appearance in the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everrett, Wa.\u00a0 The arena opened for business in 2003 as the Everrett Events Center and has gone through several names through the years.\u00a0 At one point it was the Xfinity Arena, and hosted Raw back in February of 2015.\u00a0 We have a quick turnaround on PPVs as our attention is on Elimination Chamber, which takes place in less than two weeks on February 17, 2019.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what is advertised by <a href=\"http:\/\/wwe.com\/\">WWE.com<\/a>for tonight.\u00a0 They may be light in terms of how many items of emphasis there are, but certainly definitive as we have three matches on tap:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Can Nakamura &amp; Rusev coexist against the Good Brothers?<\/li>\n<li>Mustafa Ali and Randy Orton collide with Elimination Chamber Match in sight<\/li>\n<li>Jeff Hardy looks to gain pivotal momentum against \u201cThe New\u201d Daniel Bryan<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Shinsuke Nakamura &amp; Rusev vs. The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson &amp; Luke Gallows)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Last week, Shinsuke Nakamura lost his newly won U.S. Championship to R-Truth.\u00a0 WWE may have taken a dig at the NFL following the blown pass interference call in the Rams-Saints NFC Championship game.\u00a0 Truth rolled up Nakamura and the referee counted three after Nakamura appeared to kick out.\u00a0 After the confusion was cleared up, Truth was awarded the title.<\/p>\n<p>Rusev, who had lost the title to Nakamura two nights earlier, came out to challenge R-Truth.\u00a0 He claimed the title deserved better than to be around his waist.\u00a0 In about three minutes, Truth got the win by rolling up Rusev and getting a legitimate three count.\u00a0 Nakamura would re-appear, and he and Rusev would double team Truth.<\/p>\n<p>Later on, Anderson &amp; Gallows would confront Rusev.\u00a0 They challenged him and Nakamura to face them in a match.\u00a0 Nakamura would walk in and say, \u201cchallenge accepted.\u201d\u00a0 Rusev agreed to team with him one time and told him not to screw him over.\u00a0 That match takes place tonight.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-4193595053\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis:\u00a0 See my Raw primer for all the turns since August of last year.\u00a0 I don\u2019t care how many turns WWE wants to do as long as they make sense.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure what\u2019s gained from Rusev quickly turning heel.\u00a0 It could be a temporary thing to further the feud between he and Nakamura.\u00a0 As far as the quick change of the U.S. title and putting it on R-Truth, it shows how little WWE values the championship.\u00a0 R-Truth getting wins over Nakamura and Rusev in the same night on paper makes him seem legitimate, but it still diminishes the value of a championship once held by greats like Harley Race, Dusty Rhodes, Sting, etc.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Mustafa Ali vs. Randy Orton<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Non-Title Match: WWE Champion Daniel Bryan vs. Jeff Hardy<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For the purpose of this report, we will look at these matches together.\u00a0 They are related as a result of last week\u2019s closing segment.<\/p>\n<p>WWE Champion Daniel Bryan came out and introduced Rowan, who had helped him retain the title over A.J. Styles a few nights earlier at the Royal Rumble\u00a0 He said he was someone who understands the \u201cgreater good.\u201d\u00a0 In his attempt to change the climate, he introduced a new WWE Championship belt and dumped the previous version in the trash.<\/p>\n<p>I can confirm it wasn\u2019t the same garbage can in which Madusa dumped the WWF Women\u2019s title in 1995 on Nitro.\u00a0 Come on, for those who were watching wrestling back then you know you thought about this last week.\u00a0 Here\u2019s the YouTube clip of Bryan\u2019s actions:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Daniel Bryan dumps WWE Championship for eco-friendly title: SmackDown LIVE, Jan. 29, 2019\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vPjArk_p-vY?list=PL6C6A4475B56EC5B1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>One by one, A.J. Styles came out followed by Randy Orton.\u00a0 After the commercial break, Jeff Hardy had arrived followed by Mustafa Ali, and then Samoa Joe.\u00a0 It\u2019s as if we didn\u2019t know what was coming.\u00a0 Joe trashed talked, especially at A.J. Styles asking how his wife was doing.\u00a0 The wrestlers went at it while Bryan was on the outside of the ring with his newly revealed title belt.\u00a0 He said nobody is getting a title shot.\u00a0 Triple H appeared on the big screen and agreed, but then revealed that Bryan would instead defend the title against all competitors in an elimination chamber match at the Elimination Chamber PPV.<\/p>\n<p>Tonight, we see some \u201cflavors\u201d of the upcoming match as Mustafa Ali takes on Randy Orton for the first time on television.\u00a0 Orton pointed out last week that Ali had been eliminated from the Royal Rumble by Nia Jax.\u00a0 Bryan goes one-on-one with Hardy in a non-title match.\u00a0 They had a match in May of last year shortly after Bryan\u2019s return to the ring.\u00a0 Hardy lost by tapping out to Bryan\u2019s heel hook.\u00a0 Bryan was a babyface at the time.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3819391194\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Here\u2019s a YouTube clip of what happened after Smackdown went off the air last week:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What you didn&#039;t see on SmackDown LIVE: Exclusive, Jan. 29, 2019\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GNhJRuOFz_A?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis:\u00a0 If you watched the clip, Orton almost seems to be a babyface again.\u00a0 Why not, everyone else turns twice in under a year right?\u00a0 This to me is actually fine if that\u2019s the direction in which they are going with Orton.\u00a0 At this point in his career it\u2019s just easier to keep him babyface.\u00a0 At any rate, Bryan previously defended the World Championship as a heel in the same match back in 2012.\u00a0 His opponents then were Big Show, Cody Rhodes, the Great Khali, Wade Barrett, and Santino Marella.\u00a0 Marella and Bryan were the final two in that match.\u00a0 This is a good collection coming up and the matches tonight will be interesting to watch.\u00a0 Notably absent from this match are Rey Mysterio and Andrade.\u00a0 Andrade attacked Rey before his scheduled match last week and you wonder if they will be in the mix to determine the #1 contender for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.\u00a0 Considering they\u2019ve done a handful of TV matches already, I would hope they have a match planned for a PPV.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Items to Anticipate Tonight:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Last week, Becky Lynch punched out Charlotte Flair after Charlotte\u2019s half-hearted and sarcastic congratulations on winning the Royal Rumble.\u00a0 Last night on Raw, Becky was suspended indefinitely by Stephanie McMahon for refusing to get medical attention on her knee.\u00a0 Becky attacked Stephanie afterwards.\u00a0 What I found interesting was Stephanie asking the crowd \u201cDo you want to see Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch at WrestleMania?\u201d which indicates they want to keep the match one-on-one, right?\u00a0 You wonder now if they are clearing the path for Charlotte to get into the match.\u00a0 That may or may not begin tonight.\u00a0 Charlotte didn\u2019t have much to say on Twitter regarding this, but there are several tweets showing her working house shows with Smackdown Women\u2019s Champion Asuka.<\/li>\n<li>Last night, Bayley &amp; Sasha Banks qualified for the Elimination Chamber match to determine the WWE Women\u2019s Tag Team Champions.\u00a0 Over on Smackdown things are done differently, as all you have to do is announce you want to partake.\u00a0 Since last week, the IIconics (Billy Kay &amp; Peyton Royce) announced their participation.\u00a0 One team remains from Smackdown to fill out the match.\u00a0 I\u2019m still guessing it\u2019s Naomi &amp; Carmella, although Lacey Evans is lurking.\u00a0 I can\u2019t imagine her finding a partner though because everyone to her is a \u201cnasty.\u201d\u00a0 Look to see them fill out that match tonight.<\/li>\n<li>Last week, the Usos became the #1 contenders to the Smackdown Tag Team Championship currently held by the \u201cBest Tag Team in the World,\u201d Shane McMahon &amp; the Miz.\u00a0 During Miz &amp; Shane\u2019s celebration of winning the titles, Shane surprised Miz (Mike Mizanin) by having his father on the show.\u00a0 Mr. Mizanin proceeded to tell his son he was proud of him.\u00a0 The Usos challenge Shane &amp; Miz at Elimination Chamber.\u00a0 Buildup for that should start tonight which will be interesting considering the Usos are a babyface team.<\/li>\n<li>Mandy Rose revealed why she has issue with Naomi.\u00a0 During the 2015 version of Tough Enough, Naomi was particularly tough on Mandy and made a point to say she\u2019s not sure she has what it takes.\u00a0 This gave Mandy a complex to the point where her boyfriend at the time couldn\u2019t take it and dumped her.\u00a0 Calling back to Tough Enough gives this feud a little more juice, even if it\u2019s still on the lower end of the card.\u00a0 Look for follow-up tonight.\u00a0 They could tie this somehow into the upcoming championship picture.<\/li>\n<li>According to the <em>Wrestling Observer, <\/em>\u00a0a promo aired in Canada during Raw which featured an \u201cInternational Superstar Shakeup.\u201d\u00a0 It will apparently take place over a two-day period including April 15-16<sup>\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0in the Bell Centre on Montreal.\u00a0 The significance of \u201cinternational\u201d was not explained.\u00a0 It could be because it\u2019s taking place in Canada, but that\u2019s just speculation.\u00a0 I can\u2019t imagine this not being aired during Raw in the U.S. first before Smackdown, but it could be brought up tonight now that it\u2019s out there.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Start Time &amp; Matches Advertised on the Arena Website <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The Angel of the Winds Arena is advertising a start time of 4:45 p.m. local time with doors opening at 3:15.\u00a0 They advertise a \u201cdouble main event\u201d:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A.J. Styles vs. WWE Champion Daniel Bryan<\/li>\n<li>Triple Threat Match: Smackdown Women\u2019s Champion Asuka vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>They also show Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, and New Day appearing.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Follow me on Twitter @FrankPeteani or e-mail me at <a>fpeteani@gmail.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Questions and discussion are welcome.\u00a0 Thank you for reading!<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-3996612054\"><div id=\"pwtor-340102260\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER FEBRUARY 5, 2019 EVERRETT, WASH. AT THE ANGEL OF THE WINDS ARENA AIRS ON USA NETWORK, 8:00 P.M. EST BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH SPECIALIST Announcers: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, and Byron <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2019\/02\/05\/wwe-smackdown-primer-2-5-nakamura-rusev-vs-anderson-gallows-ali-vs-orton-hardy-vs-bryan\/\" title=\"WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER 2\/5: Nakamura &#038; Rusev vs. Anderson &#038; Gallows, Ali vs. Orton, Hardy vs. Bryan\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,52,4403,27,5893,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-74640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-prowrestlingnews","category-opnionandanalysis","category-smackdown-primer","category-specialists","category-tvprimers","category-news_wwe"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/HardyJeff_artTB_3x2_600.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74640"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74640\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74643,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74640\/revisions\/74643"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}