WWE SmackDown recap and reactions: Parttime-Mania runs wild

The latest episode of WWE SmackDown featured plenty of build to both WrestleMania and Elimination Chamber.

Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair on WWE SmackDown. (Image: WWE.com)
By Shayne Dias | Feb 5, 2022 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

The latest episode of WWE SmackDown came our way live from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. And the show was centered around Ronday Rousey choosing her title challenger for WrestleMania.

But she wasn’t the only part-timer back on the show. Nope, because as a recent reporrt claimed, Goldberg was at hand too to stake his claim for the Universal championship.

So make that two part-timers brought back around WrestleMania season. And, one suspects, quite a few more to come.

Part-timers at WrestleMania has become WWE’s modus operandi in recent years. On one hand, it’s a good way to draw in lapsed fans. On the other… what does it say about your ability to create new stars?

Of two headline acts, one is a wrestler whose peak came in the late 1990s – and the other is an MMA star. Oh well.

On the bright side, Goldberg will get his shot at Elimination Chamber given Roman Reigns is set to take on Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania.

The way they chose to set up the match was simple – Goldberg came out to acknowledge Reigns… as his next victim. Smart, simple and effective.

On the other hand, Rousey simply chose Flair because she wanted to teach her new-born daughter how to kick ass. And Flair is first in a long list of names.

Flair responded with a doozy of a line, claiming her title is prettier than Rousey’s new-born. Given ‘The Rowdy One’ is known to be touchy over such things, the line went over well with the live crowd.

Also, it’s worth noting that Rousey seemingly played the babyface here. She interacted with fans on the way to the ring too! So what happened to not caring about them?

WWE SmackDown – full results

  • The show opened with Paul Heyman explaining his actions. Heyman, ever the master on the mic, simply said there was no plot. He merely did what is best for him and chose to manage Lesnar when Reigns got infected. He’d have continued to do so had Lesnar not chosen to pick a fight with Reigns. So now he has to choose a side, and he chooses his Tribal Chief. Masterful storytelling all around.
  • Ricochet beat Ridge Holland in a quick match that commentary hyped as a “big win”. But for reasons never mentioned, Ricochet and Cesaro had to immediately team up to face Sheamus and Holland. And Holland pinned Cesaro to win. Hello 50-50 booking!
  • Jimmy Uso beat Erik of the Viking Raiders in a singles match.
  • Natalya lost to Aliyah in another quick match. The reason? She can’t get over her Guiness World Records. This is actually an interesting angle so let’s hope it keeps going.
  • Drew McIntyre cut a promo talking about his Rumble comeback. He then beat up Madcap Moss and promised Happy Corbin he’d do the same to him. Fun segment all around.
  • Shinsuke Nakamura beat Jinder Mahal in a non-title match. Intercontinental championship #1 contender Sami Zayn was on commentary, hyping his title match against Nakamura on the February 18 edition of WWE SmackDown.
  • Naomi intimidated Sonya Deville to the point of getting a SmackDown women’s title match. The crowd popped for this one too.
  • New Day crashed Los Lotharios’ Valentine’s Day photoshoot then beat Angel Garza and Humberto Carillo in a tag match. Good stuff.
  • Rousey picked Flair as her WrestleMania opponent to close the show.

Grade: B-