{"id":77449,"date":"2019-04-03T02:05:59","date_gmt":"2019-04-03T07:05:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=77449"},"modified":"2019-04-03T02:05:59","modified_gmt":"2019-04-03T07:05:59","slug":"leclairs-wwe-smackdown-report-4-2-alt-perspective-detailed-report-with-analysis-of-key-segment-including-bryan-kofi-contract-signing-orton-styles-becky-promo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2019\/04\/03\/leclairs-wwe-smackdown-report-4-2-alt-perspective-detailed-report-with-analysis-of-key-segment-including-bryan-kofi-contract-signing-orton-styles-becky-promo\/","title":{"rendered":"LECLAIR\u2019S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 4\/2: Alt-perspective detailed report with analysis of key segment including Bryan-Kofi contract signing, Orton-Styles, Becky promo"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-2108063097\" 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>LECLAIR&#8217;S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT<br \/>\nAPRIL 2, 2019<br \/>\nBALTIMORE, MARYLAND AT ROYAL FARMS ARENA<br \/>\nAIRED LIVE ON USA NETWORK<\/h3>\n<p><em>Announcers: Todd Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton<\/em><\/p>\n<p>-The show opened with a floor shot looking up at the Wrestlemania sign as Phillips, Graves, and Saxton ran down the events of the evening, including follow up from last night&#8217;s Women&#8217;s Title angle. Phillips said the show would kick off with the Kevin Owens Show.<\/p>\n<p>-Greg Hamilton introduced Kevin Owens, who was already in the ring. He welcomed fans to a &#8220;special edition&#8221; of the Kevin Owens Show. Owens said that his guests would be trying to continue their respective legacies this coming Sunday at WrestleMania. He introduced Randy Orton first. Orton came to the ring (in ring gear) as Graves and Phillips briefly touched upon Orton&#8217;s long history in WWE. Owens introduced A.J. Styles next. The announcers threw to a recap of last week&#8217;s Styles\/Angle match that was cut short by Randy Orton&#8217;s interference. Both Styles and Orton took a seat at the patented &#8220;contract signing table.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Owens asked Orton if he was proud of interfering in Styles&#8217; match week. &#8220;Hell yeah I&#8217;m proud,&#8221; Orton said. Orton claimed he saved the audience from watching a broken down old man beat a guy who thinks he&#8217;s still at the top of his game. &#8220;You know what else I saved the WWE Universe from?&#8221; Orton questioned, &#8220;watching the match.&#8221; Styles called out Orton for only having one move after these years in the company. Orton countered, saying when the move is as deadly as the RKO, you only need one. He knocked &#8220;indy&#8221; guys for wrestling in high school gyms to dozens of people while he wrestled in front of &#8220;tens of thousands&#8221; at Wrestlemania for over a decade. A.J. said that while he was out working in gyms, Orton was in WWE getting suspended for failing drug tests. This stoked a loud gasp from the live crowd. &#8220;The truth is, A.J.,&#8221; Orton said, &#8220;if you were as good as you think you are, you would&#8217;ve been in the WWE a long, long, long time ago.&#8221; The crowd booed this statement. Orton said A.J. believes his legacy is that &#8220;hard work pays off.&#8221; In reality, Orton surmised, Styles has assumed the role of &#8220;corporate bitch&#8221; in the wake of John Cena&#8217;s absence. The camera zoomed in on Styles&#8217; face for his reaction. Kevin Owens left the ring.<\/p>\n<p>Styles and Orton stood and met face to face in the center of the ring and began trading blows. Randy threw A.J. to the apron and tried to attack, but Styles delivered an elbow to the head. As Orton recovered, Styles prepared for the Phenomenal Forearm. A.J. flew off the ropes and right into an RKO. Orton talked trash to Styles off microphone as the announcers hyped their match for Wrestlemania.<\/p>\n<p><em>(LeClair&#8217;s Analysis: Quick, but effective segment. Styles and Orton have both gone for shock value with this respective comments in this feud and it&#8217;s served its purpose. This is the first Randy Orton match I find myself actually wanting to see in quite some time, so it&#8217;s hard to fault anything they&#8217;ve done here. Kevin Owens, on the other hand, seems to have been unfortunately reduced to the guy who runs away from his own show before a fight breaks out. I&#8217;m giving WWE somewhat of a pass here, since it appears as though he was to be Bryan&#8217;s original WrestleMania opponent and Kofi&#8217;s meteoric rise called for some shifting. Hopefully he can regain some footing as a babyface after WrestleMania.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>-Backstage, Kofi Kingston was seen holding his contract for the WWE Title match at WrestleMania, to be signed later in the show. Big E and Xavier Woods flanked him at either side. Big E held a feather and ink jar, miming signing the contract.<\/p>\n<p>-Back in front of the live crowd, the lights fell and Aleister Black&#8217;s music hit. Phillips previewed an eight man tag team match, coming up after the break.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3325207732\" 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><strong>(1) ALEISTER BLACK &amp; RICOCHET &amp; THE USOS (Jimmy &amp; Jey) vs. THE BAR (Sheamus &amp; Cesaro) &amp; SHINSUKE NAKAMURA &amp; RUSEV (w\/ Lana)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Returning from commercial, all eight men were already in the ring and the bell sounded. Ricochet and Cesaro started things off. They locked up in the center of the ring and Cesaro used his strength advantage to push Ricochet toward the corner. Ricochet attempted a hurricanrana after being sat on the top rope, but Cesaro countered out, hit an uppercut on Ricochet, and tagged in Sheamus. After a quick exchange, Ricochet tagged in Aleister Black, who took down Sheamus with a number of kicks. Quick tags to Jimmy and then Jey Uso gave the babyfaces a brief advantage, but Sheamus was quickly after to return to his corner and tag in Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura sent Jey off the ropes, but Rusev pulled the top one down and sent Jey plummeting to the outside. Rusev continued his assault around the ring, then brought Jey back inside. He tagged in Nakamura, who hit a quick knee strike. Hey briefly recovered and looked to make a tag, but Shinsuke tagged Sheamus back in and cut Jey off. Sheamus then sent Jey back outside and Phillips threw to a picture-in-picture commercial.<\/p>\n<p>On the small screen, Jimmy came to check on his brother. Sheamus tagged in Cesaro, who slammed Jey on the apron before throwing him back in the ring. The heels continued to beat down Jey, cutting him off well before he could make a tag. Rusev and Nakamura double teamed Jey just before the show returned to full screen. Nakamura propped Jey on the top rope and delivered a jogging knee strike to the gut. He followed up with a front headlock. With the crowd getting behind him, Jey powered up into a Samoan Drop and tagged in his brother Jimmy. Shinsuke tagged in Rusev, but Jimmy immediately took control.<\/p>\n<p>After hitting a super kick, Jimmy Uso covered Rusev. Shinsuke broke up the pin attempt, which brought Ricochet in the ring. He delivered a dropkick to Nakamura, but was immediately taken out by a big uppercut by Cesaro. Aleister Black entered the fold, connecting with Black Mass on Cesaro. Sheamus returned, delivering a Brogue Kick to Black. Jey appeared and delivered a super kick to Sheamus before returning to his corner. This left the two legal men, Rusev and Jimmy Uso, alone in the ring. Jimmy flipped through a backdrop attempt and into his own corner. Jey tagged himself in. Rusev charged and was met with double head kicks from the pair. They followed up with double super kicks out of the corner for the win.<\/p>\n<p>WINNERS: The Usos &amp; Aleister Black &amp; Ricochet in 10:00.<\/p>\n<p>-As The Usos celebrated in the ring, Alexa Bliss&#8217; music hit. Corey Graves came alive, shocked that she was appearing on Smackdown. Bliss stood atop the ramp. &#8220;Long time no see,&#8221; Bliss noted, adding that she didn&#8217;t actually want to be at Smackdown, but, as the host of WresleMania, &#8220;duty calls.&#8221; Bliss said that she&#8217;s noticed Smackdown has lost its spirit of competition. She recalled that The Usos forfeited their match in the tag team gauntlet last week. She called their move noble, heroic, and deserving of repercussions. Bliss announced that, at Wrestlemania, The Usos will be defending the Tag Team Titles against the three other teams involved in the previous match. This brought all three other teams back in the ring, after a brief brawl, Aleister Black and Ricochet emerged atop the pile.<\/p>\n<p><em>(LeClair\u2019s Analysis: Solid match, but it followed the TV formula of having a long stretch of the heel team beat down a babyface through a commercial break, followed almost immediately but a big, ring-clearing brawl and a finish shortly after. It worked fine as a means to set up the tag title match, though, which should be very entertaining. Good to see Alexa Bliss back on the show that initially gave her prominence, as well.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>-At the announcer\u2019s desk, Phillips, Graves, and Saxton discussed last night\u2019s events involving Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte Flair. They showed brief clips of the parking lot altercation that led to their respective arrests. Phillips teased that there was more to come on this situation later in the night.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-4261338458\" 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>-Billie Kay and Peyton Royce made their way to the ring as Todd Phillips threw to a commercial break.<\/p>\n<p>After the commercial, the announcers ran down the WrestleMania week schedule and highlighted the Universal Championship match, and the No Holds Barred match between Triple H and Batista. They then quickly threw to video of The Iiconics\u2019 surprise win over Sasha Banks and Bayley two weeks ago on Smackdown.<\/p>\n<p>Billie and Peyton stood in the ring as Greg Hamilton introduced them. Billie (for some reason) brought up the just-announced Smackdown Tag Team Title match at WrestleMania. She and Peyton then transitioned into talking about all the ways they could win the Women\u2019s Tag Team titles. They talked about pinning Natalya or her \u201cshould\u2019ve stayed retired partner\u201d, Beth Phoenix. They brought up pinning Nia Jax and Tamina as revenge for abandoning them on Raw. Finally, they said they could pin the champions, Sasha Banks and Bayley, because they\u2019ve already done it once. \u201cIt\u2019s a no brainer,\u201d Peyton said, \u201cwe will win the WWE Women\u2019s Tag Team Championships.\u201d The two promised to make WresleMania \u201cIiconic\u201d as their music played them out.<\/p>\n<p><em>(LeClair\u2019s Analysis: I find that I\u2019m usually a little bit higher on Peyton and Billie\u2019s mic work than most people, but this promo served no purpose being delivered in the ring. They could have very easily delivered the same message backstage, with a little direction from Kayla Braxton or the like.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>-Back at the announcer\u2019s desk, Phillips threw to additional footage of last night\u2019s angle involving Ronda, Becky, and Charlotte.<\/p>\n<p>-\u201cI Came to Play\u201d hit the PA system and The Miz confidently strutted to the ring. Phillips teased that he\u2019d be in a 3-on-1 handicap match against Sanity after the break.<\/p>\n<p>After the break, The Miz stood in the ring with a microphone. He said that WrestleMania means different things to different people. For the women in the main event, it means making history. For Kofi Kingston, it means finally breaking through. \u201cFor me, \u201c Miz stood tall, \u201cit means retribution.\u201d Miz plugged Miz and Mrs., but said it\u2019s not a cheap plug. He said it\u2019s something he did with his family and that he\u2019s proud of it. He promised that he\u2019s given his family the best version of himself. Miz recounted what Shane McMahon has done to him, and said that in the past, he fought for his father\u2019s approval, but now he\u2019ll fight for his honor. \u201cAnd Shane, you\u2019ve got a dad,\u201d Miz stared directly into the camera, \u201cso I guess that makes you a son of a bitch.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>(LeClair\u2019s Analysis: I thought the early portion of this promo was strong, and continued to build on the babyface persona Miz has been working toward. The shock line at the end didn\u2019t have much of a punch, though, and it didn\u2019t really make a whole lot of sense without any precursor or context.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Saxton called this match a product of Shane McMahon stacking the deck against The Miz as Sanity made their way to the ring. Shane McMahon\u2019s music hit, and he danced on the entranceway. \u201cI just wanted to come out here and see this up close and personal,\u201d Shane said. He forced Greg Hamilton to introduce him with his preferred exaggeration. \u201cDing, ding, ding, Mr. Referee\u201d said Shane.<\/p>\n<p><strong>(2) THE MIZ vs. SANITY (Eric Young &amp; Killian Dain, &amp; Alexander Wolfe) \u2013 3-on-1 Handicap match<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Miz immediately began throwing shots at Eric Young. He mounted Young in the corner and continued his attack until the referee forced him down. Miz took Dain and Wolfe off the apron and the show went to a quick commercial break.<\/p>\n<p>Back live, Miz was outsmarting Killian Dain. Dain tagged out and Miz continued his dominance, connecting with \u201cyes\u201d kicks on Eric Young in the corner. He hit Dain with a running knee in the opposing corner. At this point, Shane returned. He announced that, like their match at WrestleMania, this match would now be falls count anywhere. Before leaving, Shane put up the image of him grabbing Miz\u2019s father\u2019s face on the tron. With Miz distracted, Sanity took control, mounting a 3-on-1 attack. Miz regained control, side-stepping a bulldoze attempt by Dain on the outside and brawling with Wolfe into the crowd. Miz backdropped Alexander Wolfe through a table in the crowd and covered him. Eric Young managed to break up the pin attempt.<\/p>\n<p>Miz and Young fought to the backstage area. Miz threw Eric Young into trash cans, walls, and in and out of rooms. Killian Dain returned, attacking Miz and carrying him out toward the parking lot. Miz slid down Dain\u2019s back and shoved him face first into an electrical box. Eric Young returned, and he and Miz battled outside into the parking lot. Miz drove his knee into Young\u2019s face, who was propped against covered equipment. Miz found a cart near a production truck and ran it into Young\u2019s head, crushing him between the cart and the equipment. He pinned Young for a three count.<\/p>\n<p>WINNER: The Miz in 10:00<\/p>\n<p><em>(LeClair\u2019s Analysis: A nice win for Miz here, who I think continues to show off his ability to not only function well as a babyface on the mic, but in the ring as well. Sanity is pretty much a non-factor, so a loss here doesn\u2019t really mean a whole lot. Conversely, while the win isn\u2019t anything of note for Miz, it shows an aggressive side of him that we are to assume he\u2019ll need to beat Shane on Sunday.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>-Miz sat stoic on the ground for a moment, then stood in time to see Shane McMahon in the back of an SUV parked nearby. Shane smiled at Miz before the vehicle drove off. Miz looked on in disgust as a police car pulled into the lot. Becky Lynch stepped out of the backseat, jovially slapped the rim of the driver\u2019s window, and headed toward the arena, glancing at a downed Eric Young on her way. Phillips excitedly declared that Lynch was in Baltimore as the show cut to break.<\/p>\n<p>-After commercial, a video package highlighting the Ronda\/Becky\/Charlotte angle from last night aired (again), with added headlines from media outlets about the women main eventing for the first time.<\/p>\n<p>In the ring, Corey Graves confirmed that Ronda, Becky, and Charlotte were all released from prison earlier today. He then introduced Becky Lynch, who headed to the ring wearing her mugshot t-shirt and signature leather jacket. The crowd stood and cheered in approval.<\/p>\n<p>Becky took the microphone from Corey, but immediately left the ring and hopped onto the announcer\u2019s desk. \u201cNo disrespect to you, Corey,\u201d Becky said, \u201cbut I don\u2019t answer to you \u2013 I answer to these people!\u201d Becky pointed to the audience. She said that, while in the back of a cop car, she thought about what a difference a year makes. She said all the stars had aligned for Ronda Rousey to face Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania, until The Man came along and slapped Charlotte in the face at Summerslam. \u201cThat one strike changed everything,\u201d Becky said. Lynch said after that, she became determined to whatever it took to get into that match, and she did it. \u201cThe real revolution\u2026is going to explode this Sunday,\u201d Becky said. She said that, after Sunday, she\u2019ll be the champ she always said she was, \u201cthe double champ!\u201d Becky dropped the mic and pointed to the WrestleMania sign as the crowd cheered her on.<br \/>\n-Backstage, Daniel Bryan and Rowan were shown looking over the details of Bryan\u2019s WrestleMania contract. The announcers teased the signing for later on tonight. In another backstage area, a random crew of babyfaces talked amongst themselves in preparation for an 18-person mixed tag team match coming up after the break. \u201cIt\u2019s the largest match involving men and women in the history of WWE,\u201d said Saxton. At ringside, the camera focused in on the trophies for the respective WrestleMania battle royals before going to a picture-in-picture commercial.<\/p>\n<p><em>(3) THE HARDY BOYS (Matt Hardy &amp; Jeff Hardy) &amp; R-TRUTH &amp; HEAVY MACHINERY (Tucker Knight &amp; Otis Dozovic) &amp; ASUKA &amp; NAOMI &amp; NIKKI CROSS &amp; CARMELLA vs. LUKE GALLOWS &amp; KARL ANDERSON &amp; ANDRADE &amp; SHELTON BENJAMIN &amp; EC3 &amp; MANDY ROSE &amp; SONYA DEVILLE &amp; ZELINA VEGA &amp; LANA \u2013 18 Person Mixed Tag Team Match<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Nikkie Cross and Zelina Vega started things off. Nikki screamed at Zelina and Vega begged off. They locked up and Nikki quickly took control. Lacey Evans\u2019 music hit, and she strutted down the ramp and back up again, as usual. Vega used this distraction to her advantage, kneeing Nikki Cross from behind. After a brief exchange, Zelina retreated to her corner and ECIII tagged himself in. Jeff Hardy entered from the opposing team. Jeff quickly tagged in his brother, Matt, who hit a side effect on ECIII. Matt quickly tagged in Otis, who then immediately tagged in Tucker Knight. The two performed a modified version of the Hardy\u2019s Poetry in Motion. \u201cWonderful!\u201d Matt screamed from ringside. Otis hit a big elbow on ECIII as the show went to commercial.<\/p>\n<p>Back from the break, Naomi and Mandy Rose were fighting to their respective corners. Andrade and R-Truth were tagged in and Truth took Andrade down. This brought Carmella into the ring, and the duo shared a brief dance break. It was broken up by Gallows and Anderson. Mayhem ensued, with all competitors entering the ring. The referee called for the bell. Men and women began throwing one another out of the ring. Otis briefly locked eyes with Mandy Rose, screaming \u201cpretty lady\u201d and oddly girating his hips. Shelton Benjamin cut\u2026whatever this was short by throwing Otis out of the ring. Nikki Cross climbed onto Shelton\u2019s back and both tumbled out of the ring. Jeff Hardy hit a Twist of Fate on ECIII. Asuka kicked ECIII in the head, then Jeff threw him over the top rope. Asuka threw Jeff Hardy over the top rope to become the last person standing.<\/p>\n<p>WINNERS: No contest in 8:00<\/p>\n<p><em>(LeClair\u2019s Analysis: A clunky affair that made the battle royals out to be little more than a joke. I\u2019m not sure when Anderson and Gallows turned heel, either. Each year, WWE seems to take these matches less seriously, which leads to ridiculous multi-person matches like this that can\u2019t possibly end in any satisfactory manner. I\u2019ll give them a slight nod of approval for at least giving Asuka the moment at the end of the brawl, but it corrects the trajectory of her career of the last several months.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>-Todd Phillips quickly ran down the two battle royals taking place at WrestleMania, then again highlighted the Universal Title match between Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins, before throwing to a brief hype video. The announcers continued running down the major matches on the WrestleMania card.<\/p>\n<p>-The New Day were briefly shown backstage, hyping themselves up for Kofi\u2019s contract signing later on in the night.<\/p>\n<p>-Samoa Joe\u2019s music hit and he calmly walked to the ring, U.S. Title in tow. Corey Graves said Joe\u2019s road to WrestleMania hits a detour tonight, when he takes on Ali after the break.<\/p>\n<p>Back from commercial, a Hall of Fame graphic is shown. Phillips remarks that tickets for the event are still available.<\/p>\n<p><strong>(4) SAMOA JOE vs. ALI<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>(No longer Mustafa) Ali headed to the ring as the announcers talked up his participation in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Samoa Joe charged quickly when the ball ring, cornering Ali and delivering a series of body shots. Out of the corner, Joe hit Ali with a pair of chops, dropping Ali to his knees. Ali fought back with a dropkick, which sent Joe to the outside. Ali followed it up with a dive through the middle rope. After battling back into the ring, Ali kicked Joe in the mouth and took to the middle rope, connecting with a tornado DDT on the U.s. Champion. Ali hit a rolling jawbreaker, then headed to the top rope. He attempted a 450 splash, but Joe rolled out of the way. Samoa Joe returned to his feet, looking crazed. He locked in the Coquina Clutch on Ali, who faded quickly. The referee called for the bell. \u201cAli passes out at the hands of Samoa Joe,\u201d Phillips remarked. He said the same thing could happen to Rey Mysterio on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>WINNER: Samoa Joe in 2:00<\/p>\n<p><em>(LeClair\u2019s Analysis: Good, strong win for Samoa Joe. I\u2019m not entirely sure Ali was the right opponent here, given how quickly he lost relative to the push he was receiving, but alas, Joe needed this. I wish there was more to his match with Mysterio, but unfortunately, what we\u2019ve got will have to do.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>-Before Joe could exit the ring, Daniel Bryan\u2019s music began. He and Rowan walked out on the stage. Under his blazer, Bryan wore a t-shirt with a black-and-white image of a sloth. That\u2019s not heel. The show went to commercial break.<\/p>\n<p>Returning from commercial, Daniel Bryan sat at the \u201ccontract signing table\u201d, and Michael Cole was in the ring with a microphone. (Why Cole?) He introduced Bryan, then Kofi Kingston. Big E\u2019s voice came over the speaker system, and the crowd chanted along. New Day casually bounced to the ring, still dispersing pancakes. Kofi took in a modest \u201cKofi\u201d chant and took his place opposite of Bryan.<br \/>\nCole said that Kofi requested time, but Bryan cut him off. The crowd broke into a loud \u201cKofi\u201d chant. \u201cShhhhh,\u201d Bryan said. \u201cMichael, I\u2019ve got it from here.\u201d The crowd\u2019s chant grew louder, abruptly died off, then resurfaced as \u201cKo-fi Rocs.\u201d Bryan said he\u2019s come to educate the masses. The crowd erupted into a \u201cKofMania\u201d chant. Bryan asked the crowd to shut up, because he was about to teach them an important life lesson.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBaltimore is so ignorant,\u201d Bryan said to Rowan. He told the crowd not to be complacent like Kofi Kingston. He told them not to think \u201cgood\u201d is good enough for eleven years. The crowd grew louder. Bryan told the crowd not to be bystanders in their own lives. He accused Big E and Xavier Woods and the audience of pushing Kofi to the top while Kofi just sat idly by. Bryan said he had one more life lesson before he lets Kofi sign the contract. The crowd broke into another huge \u201cKofi\u201d chant. Bryan grew more irritated. \u201cDon\u2019t mistake a fad for reality,\u201d Bryan said. Daniel said he\u2019s been in this spot before. He told Kofi that he knows how it makes him feel. \u201cYou don\u2019t feed off of them, they feed off of you,\u201d Bryan said angrily. He called the crowd parasites. A loud \u201casshole\u201d chant broke out. \u201cThis is the best it\u2019s going to be,\u201d Bryan said.<\/p>\n<p>Kofi stood up and took his mic. \u201cNow it\u2019s time for you to shut your mouth while I educate you!\u201d Kofi yelled. Kofi said Bryan claims to be him, but in reality, he knows nothing about him. He reminded Bryan that he became World Champion within two years of coming to WWE. \u201cYou have not been what I\u2019ve been through,\u201d Kofi proclaimed. \u201cYou know that I am ready.\u201d Kofi stared down at Bryan intently. The crowd broke into a \u201cyou deserve it\u201d chant. Kofi said the one thing that the two of them have in common is that they both know what comes next \u2013 \u201cI beat you and I become the WWE Champion!\u201d Kofi signed the contract and stood tall. Bryan stood to meet his glare as the show faded to black.<\/p>\n<p><em>(LeClair\u2019s Analysis: Wow. What a segment. Bryan continues to knock it out of the park with these heel promos, knowing exactly what to say to ensure the crowd never sides with him. Meanwhile, Baltimore finally came to a fever pitch for Kofi Kingston and added plenty to the segment. Big E and Xavier\u2019s reactions behind Kofi were excellent, and Kofi delivered his speech with passion and fire and fury. Despite the convoluted false-starts over the last month and half involving Vince McMahon, Kofi and Bryan were able to rise above it all tonight and deliver a truly memorable go-home moment for WrestleMania.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>FINAL THOUGHTS:<\/strong> The multi-person matches were a bit of a chore, but the closing segment more than made up for an otherwise uneventful go-home show. Bryan and Kofi deserve a lot of credit for overcoming the obstacles unnecessarily placed upon them by creative, and the energy of the crowd in the final segment is a testament to how good the two of them can be without any needless shenanigans.<\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-1643524378\"><div id=\"pwtor-3845544642\"><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>LECLAIR&#8217;S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT APRIL 2, 2019 BALTIMORE, MARYLAND AT ROYAL FARMS ARENA AIRED LIVE ON USA NETWORK Announcers: Todd Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton -The show opened with a floor shot looking up at <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2019\/04\/03\/leclairs-wwe-smackdown-report-4-2-alt-perspective-detailed-report-with-analysis-of-key-segment-including-bryan-kofi-contract-signing-orton-styles-becky-promo\/\" title=\"LECLAIR\u2019S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 4\/2: Alt-perspective detailed report with analysis of key segment including Bryan-Kofi contract signing, Orton-Styles, Becky promo\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27171,"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":[46,18,48,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spotlightarticles","category-tvshowsandevents","category-tv_wwesmackdown","category-tv_wwetvreports"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2016\/07\/Logo_SmackdownLive2016_3x2_600.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77449","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=77449"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77449\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77450,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77449\/revisions\/77450"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}