{"id":75680,"date":"2019-02-26T13:04:51","date_gmt":"2019-02-26T19:04:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=75680"},"modified":"2019-02-26T13:04:51","modified_gmt":"2019-02-26T19:04:51","slug":"wwe-smackdown-primer-2-26-aleister-ricochet-vs-rusev-nakamura-johnny-wrestling-vs-cesaro-bryan-and-kofi-sign-asuka-and-mandy-rose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2019\/02\/26\/wwe-smackdown-primer-2-26-aleister-ricochet-vs-rusev-nakamura-johnny-wrestling-vs-cesaro-bryan-and-kofi-sign-asuka-and-mandy-rose\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER 2\/26: Aleister &#038; Ricochet vs. Rusev &#038; Nakamura, Johnny \u201cWrestling\u201d vs. Cesaro, Bryan and Kofi sign, Asuka and Mandy Rose"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-871854092\" 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 26, 2019<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>CHARLOTTE, N.C. AT THE SPECTRUM CENTER<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<h3><strong>Arena and Items Advertised by WWE<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>WWE returns to the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. for Smackdown for the first time since November of 2017.\u00a0 The Raw go-home show for Crown Jewel last November took place here, and the arena has hosted many WWE events since opening for business in 2005.\u00a0 The Spectrum Center is the home of the second incarnation of the NBA\u2019s Charlotte Hornets.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what is advertised by <a href=\"http:\/\/wwe.com\/\">WWE.com<\/a> for tonight.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Aleister Black and Ricochet look to rise up on Rusev &amp; Nakamura<\/li>\n<li>Can Johnny Gargano keep the momentum going against Cesaro?<\/li>\n<li>\u201cThe New\u201d Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston to sign the contract for their WWE Title match at Fastlane<\/li>\n<li>Can Asuka bounce back from her loss to Mandy Rose?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Aleister Black &amp; Ricochet vs. Rusev &amp; Shinsuke Nakamura<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Last week, Aleister Black made his debut on the main roster on both Raw &amp; Smackdown.\u00a0 He defeated Elias on Raw and former rival Andrade on Smackdown.\u00a0 Ricochet did the same by teaming with Finn Balor to defeat Bobby Lashley &amp; Lio Rush on Raw and knocked off Eric Young of Sanity on Smackdown.<\/p>\n<p>Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura have been on the dance floor for a while both as opponents and as teammates recently.\u00a0 They traded the U.S. Championship from Christmas to Royal Rumble week when Nakamura ultimately dropped the title to R-Truth.\u00a0 Truth defeated both men in the same night winning and successfully defending it before being attacked by both Nakamura &amp; Rusev.\u00a0 In the following week, Rusev &amp; Nakamura would team up to defeat the Good Brothers (Karl Anderson &amp; Luke Gallows).<\/p>\n<p>Aleister &amp; Ricochet have teamed up before, as they were paired up with Velveteen Dream and defeated Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano, and Tommaso Ciampa at Halftime Heat during this year\u2019s Super Bowl.\u00a0 They get together again tonight to meet the pair of Rusev &amp; Shinsuke Nakamura.\u00a0 Last night on Raw, they defeated Raw Tag Team Champions the Revival.<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis:\u00a0 Teaming Aleister and Ricochet takes away from what each of them could do individually.\u00a0 Historically, things of this nature have been more effective when the characters are more established and there\u2019s a reason to do the match.\u00a0 Also, Aleister is a character that generally works better alone and should only team up in an extraordinarily necessary circumstance and with someone that compliments his style.\u00a0 As far as Rusev &amp; Nakamura, they appear to be headed for more tag team work.\u00a0 You wonder if they are headed for an opportunity at the Smackdown tag titles at some point considering WWE probably doesn\u2019t have anything for them in the singles scene.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Johnny Gargano vs. Cesaro<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Johnny Gargano also made his presence known on the main roster on Raw &amp; Smackdown teaming with former DIY partner and long-time rival NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa.\u00a0 On Raw they defeated Tag Team Champions the Revival (Scott Dawson &amp; Dash Wilder) in a non-title match.\u00a0 On Smackdown they defeated the Bar (Sheamus &amp; Cesaro).<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1256858266\" 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>This past week on NXT, Gargano dropped the North American Championship to Velveteen Dream with Ciampa looking on in the back.\u00a0 Tonight, Ciampa stands in Gargano\u2019s corner while he takes on Cesaro in a one-on-one with Sheamus in his corner.<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis:\u00a0 This should be a good match between two wrestlers that can deliver.\u00a0 In any other promotion, or if WWE wasn\u2019t run by Vince McMahon, this could be a match pushed on a much higher level.\u00a0 The issue here is Gargano and Ciampa being on the same page.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t fit with what they were doing in NXT over the past year.\u00a0 Knowing WWE\u2019s booking, you can\u2019t be all that confident that they have something in mind for these two that would make sense.\u00a0 We\u2019ll just have to stand by and see things play out.<\/em><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Contract Signing for WWE Championship Match: Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Last week, we were kept in suspense for the entire episode of Smackdown as to whom Daniel Bryan would defend the WWE Championship against at Fastlane.\u00a0 At Elimination Chamber, Bryan retained but had to go against Kofi Kingston for the the last 12-13 minutes to hold on.<\/p>\n<p>The main event of Smackdown last week featured a six-man tag match of all men involved in the Elimination Chamber match from Sunday.\u00a0 Jeff Hardy &amp; A.J. Styles &amp; Kofi Kingston (New Day) squared off against Samoa Joe &amp; Randy Orton &amp; WWE Champion Daniel Bryan.\u00a0 Hardy and Styles were making \u201camends\u201d in the back when New Day showed up and offered a \u201cpancake branch\u201d after all they went through at Elimination Chamber.\u00a0 Later on, prior to the six-man tag, New Day was interviewed in gorilla.\u00a0 They talked about Kofi\u2019s journey and how he had been here for 11 years and deserved this opportunity.\u00a0 Kofi cited how he had his friends \u201cMo and mentum\u201d in his corner.<\/p>\n<p>Kofi would go on to pin Bryan to win the match for his team.\u00a0 Later on, Shane McMahon would come out and announce that facing Bryan for the title at Fastlane would be none other than Kofi himself.\u00a0 Tonight, they sign the contract for that match.<em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis:\u00a0 Typically, the contract signings take place on the go-home show, and thus you wonder what they may have planned for next week.\u00a0 It was discouraging to see Kofi go right back to the child-like antics with New Day after such a great match at Elimination Chamber; however, all went away when Shane made the announcement as it got a huge pop from the crowd.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>I want to offer a different perspective on this match.\u00a0 I\u2019m all for it and happy to see Kofi do something meaningful.\u00a0 The question is does he really \u201cdeserve it?\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m not saying he shouldn\u2019t be given this opportunity, but he\u2019s spent the last five years gyrating and flinging pancakes with New Day.\u00a0 He\u2019s spent the better part of the last ten years doing stunts at the Royal Rumble.\u00a0 Before the gauntlet match and Elimination chamber, where was that amazing run of top-flight matches that made us say Kofi deserves a championship match?\u00a0 I\u2019ve always liked Kofi, don\u2019t get me wrong.\u00a0 I just accepted he was a mid-card act that put on good matches and so be it.\u00a0 Seth Rollins deserves his match with Lesnar and probably should have had it sooner based on his work in 2018.\u00a0 I think the #kofimania hype has more to do with seeing something different and that\u2019s fine but call it what it is.<\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Asuka to Bounce Back? <\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>After not being on TV for a few weeks, Smackdown Women\u2019s Champion Asuka appeared to do an in-ring interview with Dasha Fuentes.\u00a0 Dasha pointed out that more attention has been on the Raw women\u2019s division and asked if she felt lost in the shuffle (duh).\u00a0 Asuka didn\u2019t want to talk about Raw women and wanted to know who was \u201cready for Asuka.\u201d\u00a0 (We have to get those catch phrases in folks.)<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-349246790\" 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>Mandy Rose answered the challenge and was of course accompanied by her Fire and Desire tag team partner Sonya Deville.\u00a0 They went around ten minutes, and Mandy Rose picked up the win in the impromptu non-title match.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s some exchanges on Twitter with Asuka, Mandy, and Sonya:<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/wwe_mandyrose\/status\/1099745436464746503?s=21<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">SHUT YOUR MOUTH\u2757\ufe0f <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cemGXF9rZH\">pic.twitter.com\/cemGXF9rZH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; ASUKA \/ \u660e\u65e5\u83ef (@WWEAsuka) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWEAsuka\/status\/1099907049171742720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 25, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/sonyadevillewwe\/status\/1099847635861729280?s=21<\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis:\u00a0 This is fairly straight-forward, as it looks to be headed towards a championship match between Asuka and Mandy Rose at Fastlane.\u00a0 Mandy has certainly come on as of late, especially with her showing in the Elimination Chamber women\u2019s tag team match.\u00a0 As for tonight, anything is possible ranging from a match between Sonya Deville &amp; Asuka considering their recent Twitter exchange.\u00a0 Which ever they go, they should just be cautious beating Asuka too much on TV.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if WWE realizes this, but last week between Raw and Smackdown three champions took pinfall losses (Revival to Gargano &amp; Ciampa, Asuka to Mandy Rose, and Bryan to Kofi in the six-man tag).\u00a0 Back in the day, it was a big deal when a champion was pinned or submitted.\u00a0 I could still remember the British Bulldogs beating the Hart Foundation in non-title matches and the announcers making a big deal of it with follow-up.\u00a0 These days, it\u2019s just par for the course.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Items to Anticipate Tonight:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>As reported By CBSSports, WWE legend Wayne Ferris, better known as the Honky Tonk Man will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">BREAKING: The Honky Tonk Man will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2019 (via @StateofCombat)<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wIF2BixHmr\">https:\/\/t.co\/wIF2BixHmr<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; CBS Sports (@CBSSports) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CBSSports\/status\/1100440533917462529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 26, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>One could argue that the Honky Tonk Man was one of the greatest heel characters in the business.\u00a0 In 1987, when title changes barely ever happened on TV, Honky shocked everyone when he defeated fellow WWE Hall of Famer Ricky \u201cThe Dragon\u201d Steamboat for the Intercontinental Championship and began his record 454-day reign.\u00a0 He famously lost the title to the late Ultimate Warrior, another fellow HOFer, during essentially a squash match at the inaugural SummerSlam in 1988.\u00a0 You could make the case that those victories launched each of their legendary careers.\u00a0 Honky has had his issues with WWE through the years, but it\u2019s good to see them on the same page now as he takes his rightful place in the \u201cHall.\u201d\u00a0 Congratulations to Wayne Ferris on this honor.\u00a0 This will certainly be brought up on the show tonight.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Last week it was announced that the Usos would defend their Smackdown Tag Team Championship against Miz &amp; Shane McMahon at Fastlane, the gentlemen from whom they took the titles at Elimination Chamber (those guys get a rematch?\u00a0 Well it is Shane so\u2026).\u00a0 Miz announced his father will be at ringside, as Fastlane will take place in Miz\u2019s hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.\u00a0 Look for Miz to take on one of the Usos and plant further seeds for their upcoming match.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Charlotte Flair showed the bruises on her body from Becky Lynch\u2019s attack at Elimination Chamber.\u00a0 Becky was arrested last night on Raw for attacking Natalya and Ronda Rousey during their tag match with the Riott Squad.\u00a0 WWE needs to follow up on what happened with Becky.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Do we still have a U.S. Champion?<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/RonKillings\/status\/1099765599604015105<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Start Time &amp; Matches Advertised on the Arena Website <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The Spectrum Center\u2019s website is advertising a start time of 7:30 p.m. local time, but don\u2019t specify when doors will be opening.\u00a0 They advertise no matches, but rather a list of wrestlers appearing.\u00a0 They incorrectly still show Shinsuke Nakamura as U.S. Champion as well as the Bar (Sheamus &amp; Cesaro) as Smackdown Tag Team Champions.\u00a0 205Live follows Smackdown.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Follow me on Twitter @FrankPeteani or e-mail me at <a href=\"mailto:fpeteani@gmail.com\">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-213609525\"><div id=\"pwtor-1672943940\"><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 26, 2019 CHARLOTTE, N.C. AT THE SPECTRUM CENTER AIRS ON USA NETWORK, 8:00 P.M. EST BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH SPECIALIST Announcers: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, and Byron Saxton Arena and <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2019\/02\/26\/wwe-smackdown-primer-2-26-aleister-ricochet-vs-rusev-nakamura-johnny-wrestling-vs-cesaro-bryan-and-kofi-sign-asuka-and-mandy-rose\/\" title=\"WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER 2\/26: Aleister &#038; Ricochet vs. Rusev &#038; Nakamura, Johnny \u201cWrestling\u201d vs. Cesaro, Bryan and Kofi sign, Asuka and Mandy Rose\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36693,"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-75680","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\/post\/2016\/12\/NakamuraShinsukeBeaven3x2_600.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75680","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=75680"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75680\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75686,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75680\/revisions\/75686"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}