{"id":94921,"date":"2020-03-20T15:16:53","date_gmt":"2020-03-20T20:16:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=94921"},"modified":"2020-03-20T15:16:53","modified_gmt":"2020-03-20T20:16:53","slug":"wwe-smackdown-primer-3-20-continued-audience-free-show-gronk-in-the-house-reigns-goldberg-contract-signing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/03\/20\/wwe-smackdown-primer-3-20-continued-audience-free-show-gronk-in-the-house-reigns-goldberg-contract-signing\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER 3\/20:\u00a0Continued Audience-Free Show, Gronk in the House, Reigns-Goldberg Contract Signing"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-121767856\" 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>MARCH 20, 2020<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>ORLANDO, FLA. AT THE WWE PERFORMANCE CENTER<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>AIRS ON FOX NETWORK, 8:00 p.m. EDT<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH SPECIALIST<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><em>Announcers: Michael Cole and Corey Graves<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Top 10 Moments from Last Week<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Top 10 Friday Night SmackDown moments: WWE Top 10, March 13, 2020\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Pj2Bvp3He1M?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<h3><strong>Arena and Items Advertised by WWE<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Tonight\u2019s WWE Smackdown will once again take place in the WWE Performance Center with essential personnel only as we continue to navigate the current global pandemic that is the coronavirus.<\/p>\n<p>We continue towards WrestleMania, which will also take place in the Performance Center as we found out prior to this week\u2019s episode of Raw and will now take place over two nights beginning April 4 and ending the originally scheduled night of April 5.\u00a0 They have sold it as WrestleMania being \u201ctoo big for one night.\u201d\u00a0 (It wasn\u2019t too big the last four WrestleManias that we sat there for seven hours each?) Here\u2019s what\u2019s on tap for tonight thus far:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Rob Gronkowski set to appear.<\/li>\n<li>Roman Reigns and Goldberg set for WrestleMania contract signing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Rob Gronkowski <\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Retired Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has been connected to WWE for quite some time now.\u00a0 He appeared in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania in 2017 to help his friend Mojo Rawley eliminate, at the time, soon-to-be WWE Champion Jinder Mahal to win the match.\u00a0 (Aren\u2019t you glad I reminded you of the days of Jinder being WWE champ?)<\/p>\n<p>Last week on Smackdown, Rawley joined Michael Cole at ringside to confirm Ryan Satin\u2019s announcement on Backstage earlier in the week.\u00a0 That being that Gronkowski was \u201cclose to signing with WWE,\u201d and he\u2019ll be here next week (tonight).\u00a0 He then obnoxiously \u201cplay fought\u201d with Cole.<\/p>\n<p>Gronkowski appears tonight.<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis:\u00a0 You know, I used to wish Mojo was used a little better because I thought he was decent enough to serve in a lower-occasional mid card role.\u00a0 After last week, I couldn&#8217;t care less about him. The guy is so obnoxious and unlikable I don\u2019t care what they do with him.\u00a0 He\u2019s that annoying jock from high school that picked on everyone but thought he was being funny.\u00a0 As far as Gronkowski goes, maybe it\u2019s the N.Y. Giants fan in me, but I also could care less about him coming to WWE.\u00a0 It does nothing for me.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think I was all that excited when Lawrence Taylor showed up to wrestle Bam Bam Bigelow at WrestleMania 11, and Taylor is a Giants legend! This is another attempt to grab a certain audience.\u00a0 We\u2019ll see how it goes.\u00a0 Maybe I\u2019ll be pleasantly surprised.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Roman Reigns and Goldberg to sign WrestleMania Contract<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3754320406\" 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>(Sigh)<\/p>\n<p>Okay, here we go.\u00a0 Last week on Smackdown Roman Reigns sat down with Michael Cole talking about his upcoming match at WrestleMania against Goldberg for the Universal Championship.\u00a0 Reigns of course had to surrender the title back in October of 2018 when announced a relapse of leukemia.\u00a0 He returned in the run-up to WrestleMania last year and defeated Drew McIntyre one-on-one in his first singles match back.\u00a0 McIntyre, ironically, vies for the WWE Championship this year against Brock Lesnar.<\/p>\n<p>Reigns talked about this business being in his blood, how he\u2019s mastered the art of entertainment, and how he\u2019s going to kick Goldberg\u2019s ass.\u00a0 He said he was the hardest working guy in the company and pointed out how Goldberg is a part-timer.\u00a0 (Alright sorry, I can\u2019t anymore.)<\/p>\n<p>Tonight, Reigns and Goldberg sign the contract for the match at WrestleMania.<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis: Wade Keller and I beat this up pretty good on the Smackdown post show last week, and he did the same in his report as well.\u00a0 There\u2019s no need to pile on.\u00a0 A contract signing is what it is.\u00a0 There probably won\u2019t be any physicality, but then again you never know.\u00a0 Considering everything that\u2019s going on, I\u2019m assuming Reigns is taking extra precautions given his history with leukemia?\u00a0 Now on the bright side, at least Vince McMahon doesn\u2019t have to worry about a negative reaction for Reigns when he beats Goldberg for the title.\u00a0 He also doesn\u2019t have to worry about the crowd dumping all over the match the way they did with Goldberg and Brock Lesnar back in 2004 at WrestleMania.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Other Match Results and News Items from Last Week<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Triple H was the commentator in place of Corey Graves<\/li>\n<li>Smackdown Women\u2019s Champion Bayley &amp; Sasha Banks defeated Alexa Bliss &amp; Nikki Cross (Bliss Cross Applesauce?).\u00a0 Here\u2019s Bayley and Banks in a WWE exclusive:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Bayley and Banks consider their victory a foregone conclusion: SmackDown Exclusive, March 13, 202..\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/X5e7wGIdous?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<ul>\n<li>They replayed the Smackdown Tag Team Championship Elimination Chamber match.<\/li>\n<li>Daniel Bryan asked Drew Gulak for help.\u00a0 He later defeated Cesaro with Gulak in his corner.\u00a0 They ran a post-match angle with Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura attacking Bryan.\u00a0 Gulak came to Bryan\u2019s aid.\u00a0 Here\u2019s Cesaro in a WWE exclusive:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Cesaro considers the latest SmackDown a positive experience: SmackDown Exclusive, March 13, 2020\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AgpmpJlX5cI?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<ul>\n<li>Jeff Hardy returned to WWE television and defeated King Corbin.\u00a0 Here\u2019s Jeff in an exclusive:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Jeff Hardy celebrates his return victory &amp; his new back tattoo: SmackDown Exclusive, March 13, 202..\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0GZ5KEB1un8?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<ul>\n<li>John Cena returned to talk about his upcoming WrestleMania match with \u201cThe Fiend\u201d Bray Wyatt.\u00a0 He talked about dusting himself and getting back up after losses to CM Punk, RVD, Rock, the Miz, and the Undertaker.\u00a0 He put over Tomasso Ciampa, Matt Riddle, Velveteen Dream, Rhea Ripley.\u00a0 Bray interrupted, coming out in his Firefly Funhouse character.\u00a0 He told Cena that he broke him when he beat him at WrestleMania 30.\u00a0 He eventually stopped fighting voices in his head and started listening to them.\u00a0 He credited \u201cThe Fiend\u201d for putting him back together.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Final Thoughts<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>It feels like all the craziness with the coronavirus has lasted a month, but it\u2019s only been a little over a week if you pinpoint last Wednesday as the night everything started.\u00a0 We just wait for that one big of news that\u2019s going to turn things around.\u00a0 I try to enjoy the things I love, spend time with my family, speak to my friends, watch wrestling and other things I enjoy, but it\u2019s difficult knowing what looms ahead.\u00a0 I pray for everyone\u2019s health &amp; safety.\u00a0 I especially hope the wrestlers are safe, given the body contact that goes with what they do.\u00a0 Stay safe everyone and enjoy the things you love.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Follow Frank on Twitter @FrankPeteani.\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-3920272106\"><div id=\"pwtor-2164301911\"><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 MARCH 20, 2020 ORLANDO, FLA. AT THE WWE PERFORMANCE CENTER AIRS ON FOX NETWORK, 8:00 p.m. EDT BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH SPECIALIST Announcers: Michael Cole and Corey Graves Top 10 Moments <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/03\/20\/wwe-smackdown-primer-3-20-continued-audience-free-show-gronk-in-the-house-reigns-goldberg-contract-signing\/\" title=\"WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER 3\/20:\u00a0Continued Audience-Free Show, Gronk in the House, Reigns-Goldberg Contract Signing\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48507,"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-94921","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\/2017\/09\/ReignsRomanTeschJoel3x2_600.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94921","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=94921"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94926,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94921\/revisions\/94926"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}