{"id":92868,"date":"2020-02-07T13:22:19","date_gmt":"2020-02-07T19:22:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=92868"},"modified":"2020-02-07T13:27:51","modified_gmt":"2020-02-07T19:27:51","slug":"wwe-smackdown-primer-2-7-a-night-of-returns-for-goldberg-daniel-bryan-firefly-funhouse-and-the-dirt-sheet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/02\/07\/wwe-smackdown-primer-2-7-a-night-of-returns-for-goldberg-daniel-bryan-firefly-funhouse-and-the-dirt-sheet\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER 2\/7: A Night of Returns for Goldberg, Daniel Bryan, Firefly Funhouse, and the Dirt Sheet"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-1204055458\" 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>WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER<br \/>\nFEBRUARY 7, 2020<br \/>\nSAN JOSE, CA. AT THE SAP CENTER<br \/>\nAIRS ON FOX NETWORK, 8:00 p.m. EST<br \/>\nBY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH SPECIALIST<\/h3>\n<p><em>Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Arena, Top 10 Moments of Last Week\u2019s Show, and Items Advertised by WWE<\/h3>\n<p>WWE Smackdown returns to the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The building opened in September of 1993 as the San Jose Arena and became home to the then-expansion team San Jose Sharks of the NHL. It has gone through several names including the Compaq Center (c\u2019mon you know you had a Compaq computer at one time or another). WWE has been a frequent guest with Raw, Smackdown, and several PPVs including the 1998 Royal Rumble won by Hall of Famer \u201cStone Cold\u201d Steve Austin. Here are the top 10 moments of last week\u2019s show:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Top 10 Friday Night SmackDown moments: WWE Top 10, Jan. 31, 2020\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tvZCOBHpMBU?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>We have Super Showdown on February 27 emanating from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (you know, that place they won\u2019t mention). Philadelphia, PA. gets ready to host Elimination Chamber on March 8. After a mildly newsworthy (annoying actually) Smackdown, we\u2019ll start to head towards these shows as well as think about WrestleMania. Here\u2019s what\u2019s on the menu for tonight thus far, as it will be a night of returns:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Who\u2019s next for Goldberg?<\/li>\n<li>Firefly Funhouse return\u2019s after Bray Wyatt\u2019s Royal Rumble victory<\/li>\n<li>Daniel Bryan returns to Friday Night Smackdown<\/li>\n<li>Alexa Bliss, Naomi, Carmella and Dana Brooke meet in high-stakes Fatal Four-Way match<\/li>\n<li>John Morrison and the Miz to bring back the Dirt Sheet<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Goldberg to Appear<\/h3>\n<p>As we head towards Super Showdown you start to think about legends and Hall of Famers returning. Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and others have all made their way back for the big pay day in Saudi Arabia. Let\u2019s call it what it is. That said, the main event of Super Showdown last year was Undertaker vs. WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg. Undertaker won in a highly criticized poorly executed match.<\/p>\n<p>We learned on Raw that Goldberg will check in on Smackdown to let us know \u201cwho\u2019s next\u201d as he typically does, using his long time catch phrase. I\u2019m sure there\u2019s speculation abound as to why he\u2019s returning. I didn\u2019t know this personally, but Roman Reigns responded to (I believe) a fan on Twitter in regard to a comment he made about Roman\u2019s entrance when he puts his fist down. Anyway, here\u2019s the tweet and you should be able to understand why it may have been a shot at Goldberg:<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWERomanReigns\/status\/1218591092356067328?s=20<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis: It\u2019s funny I was typing this and initially I was going to comment about Goldberg coming back because it was WrestleMania season. The Saudi Arabia shows have changed expectations on that, as a lot of the legends and Hall of Famers seem to be reserved for those shows rather than \u2018Mania. At any rate, I suppose if Goldberg faces Roman Reigns at Super Showdown it\u2019s fine. I want to not like it, and I probably shouldn\u2019t, but it doesn\u2019t bother me. As long as they don\u2019t try to have a long match, it should be fine. Two guys that use the spear going at it is pretty cool. That said, we\u2019ll see if that\u2019s the direction. I can\u2019t think of others on Smackdown that make any sense.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Returns for Firefly Funhouse and Daniel Bryan<\/h3>\n<p>We\u2019ll talk about these items concurrently as they may or may not be likely connected. \u201cThe Fiend\u201d Bray Wyatt retained the WWE Universal Championship when he defeated Daniel Bryan at the Royal Rumble in a strap match. Neither wrestler was on last week\u2019s show, but there was an exclusive video of Bryan contemplating his career. You can refer to last week\u2019s Smackdown primer to see the exclusive. They also showed it on last week\u2019s show.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1166508819\" 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>Bray had this to say on Twitter:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Now that the dust has settled&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Let our scars remind us that WE&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Are stronger together than we are apart. <\/p>\n<p>I forgive you Bryan. <\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll always have Rumble.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; WYATT 6 (@Windham6) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Windham6\/status\/1223696431434928128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 1, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>As we move away from the Royal Rumble and head towards Super Showdown, we\u2019ll see what the plans are for both the Universal Champ and his long-time rival Bryan. Remember, they feuded back in late 2013-\u201914 when Bryan briefly joined the Wyatt family but then left in time for them to have a match at that year\u2019s Rumble.<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis: Maybe Bryan shouldn\u2019t wrestle Bray at Royal Rumble events. He doesn\u2019t seem to have luck. Jokes aside, I don\u2019t see them continuing this feud since it feels like it\u2019s reached the end for now. Last week on the Wade Keller post-show I gave Bryan a very small chance to be facing Bray at WrestleMania. I see that more reserved for Roman Reigns. They could revisit the Bray-Bryan feud down the line if they want to finally get Bryan a win over him. To my knowledge Bryan hasn\u2019t defeated him. I don\u2019t know if that means anything to WWE, but if they want Bryan to revisit the championship picture later on, they could tell the story that Bray is an obstacle he must overcome.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>John Morrison and the Miz to Bring Back the Dirt Sheet<\/h3>\n<p>As a result of winning a fatal four-way match last week, John Morrison and the Miz are set to challenge New Day (Big E &amp; Kofi Kingston) for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship at Super Showdown. If successful, it would be their third run as tag team champions after previously holding the WWE and World Tag Team Championships during their initial run as a team from 2007-\u201909. The WWE tag title was exclusive to Smackdown while the World title was exclusive to Raw. Ironically the WWE tag title is now the Raw tag title (my head hurts trying to keep up).<\/p>\n<p>Before they do that, they will bring back their infamous show that ran on WWE.com known as the Dirt Sheet. They made fun of wrestlers and celebrities and often furthered feuds including with D-Generation X. Here\u2019s a \u201cbest of\u201d playlist WWE put out that runs about 20 minutes and also a WWE.com exclusive following their win last week:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The best of &quot;The Dirt Sheet&quot; with The Miz &amp; John Morrison: WWE Playlist\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LYle-kmaRFg?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><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Miz &amp; John Morrison are always winners: SmackDown Exclusive, Jan. 31, 2020\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BxQe6TMQwv4?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>With the reunion of Morrison and the Miz, we had to expect that the return of the Dirt Sheet was inevitable. That takes place tonight.<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis: I\u2019ll refrain from offering too much analysis on this, as this was a time frame in which I struggled to stay a WWE fan. From what I gathered watching, this seemed to be a show that worked for that time and got Miz and Morrison over. It\u2019s good to bring this back for nostalgia, but I don\u2019t see this lasting long term.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Other Match Results and Segments from Last Week<\/h3>\n<p>Bliss Cross Applesauce (isn\u2019t that what they call Alexa Bliss &amp; Nikki Cross?) defeated Mandy Rose &amp; Sonya Deville. After the match Otis of Heavy Machinery asked Mandy out on date for tonight. She said she had plans (doesn\u2019t the whole Smackdown roster?), but she wasn\u2019t busy next week (Valentine\u2019s Day).<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3468122612\" 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>Braun Strowman defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to win his first Intercontinental Championship and first singles title in WWE. He previously challenged unsuccessfully for the Universal Championship having matches against Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, and a fatal four-way involving both plus Samoa Joe. Here\u2019s a WWE.com exclusive with Braun:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Braun Strowman emotional after championship moment: SmackDown Exclusive, Jan. 31, 2020\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qoKnfz4-OfA?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>As Sami Zayn was complaining about Braun\u2019s win, Elias interrupted. After several minutes, Cesaro went to the ring and was met with a running high knee.<\/p>\n<p>Sheamus defeated Shorty G.<\/p>\n<p>Smackdown Women\u2019s Champion Bayley was cutting a promo and was interrupted by a returning Naomi.<\/p>\n<p>Roman Reigns &amp; the Usos (Jimmy &amp; Jey) defeated King Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, and Robert Roode in a loser eats dog food. It was \u2026 oh who cares, enough with this dog food already.<\/p>\n<h3>Final Thoughts<\/h3>\n<p>Are you done Vince? Can we move on from dog food, silliness, and nonsense and build up matches for the next batch of shows? This is not the type of show I expected when Fox paid WWE a billion dollars for five years. Feeding (pouring) dog food on wrestlers and having the crack announce team talk about it six ways until Sunday is not what I had in mind when I got into wrestling nearly 35 years ago. What do you say boss, can we get back to business? That would be very nice, thank you very much.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Follow Frank on Twitter @FrankPeteani. Questions and discussion are welcome. Thank you for reading!<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>CATCH UP&#8230;\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/01\/31\/leclairs-wwe-smackdown-report-1-31-alt-perspective-on-going-coverage-of-reigns-usos-vs-corbin-ziggler-roode-strowman-vs-nakamura-more\/\">LECLAIR\u2019S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 1\/31: Alt perspective, detailed coverage of Reigns &amp; Usos vs. Corbin\/Ziggler\/Roode, Strowman vs. Nakamura for the IC title, what\u2019s next for Bayley, more<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-3053591737\"><div id=\"pwtor-2700253993\"><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 7, 2020 SAN JOSE, CA. AT THE SAP CENTER AIRS ON FOX NETWORK, 8:00 p.m. EST BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH SPECIALIST Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves Arena, Top 10 Moments <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/02\/07\/wwe-smackdown-primer-2-7-a-night-of-returns-for-goldberg-daniel-bryan-firefly-funhouse-and-the-dirt-sheet\/\" title=\"WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER 2\/7: A Night of Returns for Goldberg, Daniel Bryan, Firefly Funhouse, and the Dirt Sheet\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":92874,"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-92868","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\/2020\/02\/Screen-Shot-2020-02-07-at-1.20.50-PM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92868","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=92868"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92879,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92868\/revisions\/92879"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}