The WWE Universe has been waiting on pins and needles for the return of their favorite warrior Daniel Bryan and last night’s Smackdown did not disappoint. Not only were we privy to seeing him at the start of the night taking on Kane, but seeing Bryan involved in a 6-man tag match also rewarded us later on. Truly he was the main focus on an evening filled with returns. Outside of Bryan we saw the return of Jerry The King Lawler to the announce booth and the return to Thursday nights for Smackdown after a decade.
The match between Bryan and Kane started off a little shaky but one thing that was good to see was the Bryan’s pace. Being able to fly around the ring in the insane style we have come to expect from him put to bed any concerns about his ability to move. We have to give tons of credit to Kane for really helping Bryan along in his return match. Having the rest of The Authority’s goon squad present could only lead to a DQ (J&J security interrupted the match). Daniel escaped with his life and soon found himself partnered up with Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose. This prompted the 6-man match between them, Rollins, Kane and Big Show. Clearly The Authority is not finished making your favorite superstars lives a living hell.
The feud between the Usos, Naomi and The Miz, Damien Mizdow and Alicia Fox continues. Hopefully this will not be a part of the Royal Rumble as we assume a few of these guys will be in the pay per view later this month. The usual antics were on display, as the highflying Usos and Naomi seemed to have their way during most of the match. Mizdow saves the day once again and help him The Miz and Alicia score an unexpected pin fall. The Miz and Damien will face the Usos for the titles at Royal Rumble, which could actually start the turn between Damien and The Miz.
Not at all happy with the recent curb stomping dished out to his client “Brrrooock, Leeeessssner”, Paul Heyman had a few choice words for Seth Rollins. Love him or hate him Seth Rollins is a damn good heel. Rollins brings a lot to the table a pesky demeanor that we don’t find in too many heels lately. At first it seemed as if Heyman was going to be able to get a few things off his chest but he cut quite short by Rollins. Seth became the aggressor and got to the point of threatening Paul with a curb stomp sandwich of his own.
For those unaware of the greatness of Paul Heyman they saw a glimpse as he completely changed the whole scope of the conversation by pretty much declaring that he has the true power in the WWE since his client is the champion. In a sense he was explaining to Seth that if you are the future of the WWE that future goes through Paul Heyman. With expectations of Lesnar bolting back to the octagon maybe Paul is already lining up his next client. God could you imagine a universe with Heyman and Rollins unified? It would be something that’s for sure.
The Divas were up next and they have to be feeling the pressure from the outside world. One of our writers wrote a spot on article on how misfortunately used the divas are as opposed to other promotions. The champ Nikki Bella was in action against Natalya but this time it was Nattie and Paige who got the upper hand. It’s hard to see where they are going with this and it shows how important AJ Lee is still the brand. There are still rumors of a triple threat for the title at RR but it’s hard to see how that will play out. Brie is still a factor and Paige has yet to turn on Nattie. It may be possible that the only Divas we get to see are backstage at RR is they don’t find some way to figure this out. Nattie please become a heel it is really your saving grace.
In a rematch from an unexpected victory for Sin Cara over Bad News Barrett the powers that be allowed this to be a title match for the Intercontinental title. Not sure how the NXT co tag team champion got this high up on the rankings but it's not like Sin hasn't been on the big stage before. He dished out another very good performance on a Barrett still regaining his footing. The surprise of the night was not the highflying assault that kept Barrett on edge it was the display of power by Cara. If you look the Lucha Dragons then you are aware as funny as this sounds that Sin is the power to Kalisto’s finesse.
He was unable to pull off another victory as he ultimately fell to the elbow of Barrett. It’s nice to see these wrestlers get this opportunity while Dolph Ziggler is enjoying the time off. The question is why is Luke Harper not in this mix. He has no loyalties to anyone so he and Barrett would be a great match up at RR but we have a feeling the show off will be back soon.
The created main event tonight saw the tag team of Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose against Seth Rollins, Big Show and Kane. Bryan stood out the most as he really came into his own the second time around. It was an all out brawl with the good guys pulling out the victory. After a flurry of assaults by each member of the teams all chaos broke out and that’s why Bryan was able to take advantage and hit Kane with a running knee to end it. It was a short lived celebration as Triple H made the announcement that Kane will get his rematch next week and if Daniel loses he won’t be in this years Royal Rumble. It should be a busy week next week for the WWE as we have many questions still leading up to the pay per view.