If you weren't a keen observer Tuesday night, you might have thought you were watching a rerun of last week's episode of SmackDown Live.
A day removed from an outstanding Monday Night Raw episode, SmackDown had an impossible act to follow, and it did little to prove it can hang with the flagship show. The so-called land of opportunity looked little more than a wrestling ring set atop a sea of sameness with the usual suspects spewing familiar words on a platform that currently has no clear sense of direction.
Sure, SmackDown shuffled the deck and changed up some of the matchups, but instead of focusing on truly advancing storylines, the show appeared as if it were content wasting time until the Fastlane pay-per-view, which is still nearly three weeks away.
But despite the lack of forward movement, not all was lost. AJ Styles was again stellar, taking out Baron Corbin in the main event, while Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn did what they do best and made their presence felt in the most nefarious of ways when they attacked Styles after the match -- only to watch as their tactics backfired when Corbin got a hold of them.
It was a reminder that Styles will need some luck on his side at Fastlane. In an opening promo, he sold the lack of faith he has in leaving the upcoming pay-per-view -- where he'll take on four other opponents -- victorious. He explained in hypothetical terms that while he might be cleaning Owens' clock outside of the ring, Dolph Ziggler could be inside pinning Zayn for the title. In other words, the odds are not on Styles' side.
But in one-on-one competition, Styles has few worries. He proved that again Tuesday by withstanding the powerful Corbin, who was ruthless and determined. At one point, he struck Styles with a clothesline with enough force that it sent Styles into a full 360 backflip. Later, Corbin nearly pulled off the upset with a Deep Six that gave him a two-count. Corbin dominated a good part of the bout, but a calf-crusher followed by a Phenomenal Forearm by Styles ultimately ended the match.
.@AJStylesOrg is in for A RIDE!!!!! #DeepSix @BaronCorbinWWE #SDLive pic.twitter.com/gJiIl8xoxn
- WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) February 21, 2018
Perhaps buried in all the jagged hoopla the past few weeks have been the standout performances by Corbin. He had led a squirrely existence in the ring since a failed Money in the Bank cash-in just before SummerSlam last August. But it seems as though the creative team again has faith in Corbin. He has size, strength and speaks well.
But for now, SmackDown still belongs to Styles. He reminds us of that every week, but he's earned the right. Still, he continues to be hurt by the lack of a heated feud. His beef with KO and Zayn has exceeded any reasonable length of what a bona fide rival should be.
The idea that Corbin and Ziggler are intertwined in the Fastlane matrix hardly masks the fact that Styles needs a fresh foe to make the show more interesting. But then again, the crowd in Phoenix, Arizona, went bananas for Styles, so maybe all the storytelling shortcomings aren't as big of a problem as they sometimes appear to be.
It's just too bad the creative team doesn't have the vision to try something truly unique like Raw did a night earlier, when it sent the seven men scheduled to compete in the main event of Elimination Chamber into a Gauntlet elimination match.
Not only was the stipulation fun, but the byproduct of having Seth Rollins rebuild himself with two incredible wins against Roman Reigns and John Cena was fascinating and, more importantly, memorable.
For now, though, we have no choice but to ride out the next couple of weeks of SmackDown and hope the Fastlane payoff will be worth the wait.
Hits and misses
After a meaningless six-woman tag-team matchup, the WWE came back from a commercial break to announce Charlotte Flair will take on Ruby Riott for the SmackDown title at Fastlane. Why not have Riott -- who gave her team the win by pinning Becky Lynch -- earn her spot against someone (anyone!) in singles competition. This storyline seems like a wasted opportunity.
Dolph Ziggler and Kevin Owens put on an impressive performance Tuesday. Both are athletic, intense competitors, and while there was absolutely no heat between them, it didn't seem to matter. The match ended when Sami Zayn ran to the ring from the backstage area and faked jumping into the squabble, a distraction that allowed Owens the superkick the stuffing out of his opponent for the three-count.
As the show went off the air Tuesday, an indebted Zayn ostensibly put to rest any tension he had with Owens in the past couple of weeks by telling him he'll not only help KO at Fastlane, but if it comes down to it, he'll lay out in the middle of the ring so his best friend can get the easy pin walk away with the championship. Something tells me this plan isn't going to work out so well for Owens. Could Zayn's reunion with KO all be a ruse? We'll find out soon enough.
I'm still not understanding why Jinder Mahal is involved in the United States Championship discussion. The third wheel in a Bobby Roode-Randy Orton feud, Mahal won't even get a shot at the title at Fastlane. Isn't there anyone else Mahal can throw jabs with for a few weeks until it's his turn to vie for the belt? Apropos of nothing, Rusev was a no-show Tuesday.
For the life of me, I cannot understand why Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable continue to lose against high-profile opponents. For the second straight week, they fell to the New Day, handing the latter another shot at the SmackDown tag-team championship at Fastlane. Benjamin and Gable are not The Ascension. This is a legit team that needs gold. Maybe WrestleMania will be their moment? We're not holding our breath.