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Defending WWE Super Showdown 2020
Submitted by Justin Watry on 03/02/2020 at 12:12 PM


This is not going to be your traditional WWE Super Showdown 2020 review. This is going to be more of an overview on everything that transpired and why I enjoyed the show and think there is a bright future ahead for WrestleMania 36 season.

Defending WWE Super Showdown 2020

Undercard – Look, I thought the WWE Network special was pretty darn good, so let’s start off with the main positives. The company has a stacked roster and despite the usual (pointless) whining and complaining about going to Saudi Arabia, there they are. Minus a few guys and gals, everybody is there ready, willing, and able to wrestle. Whether for the love of the game or for the love of the money. You tell me which matters more to them. With that comes a whole heck of a lot of talented stars. We saw that on full display once again Thursday afternoon.

– The OC defeated The Viking Raiders. A tiny bit of credibility to Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson for winning the best tag team tournament months ago. Cool to see them keep on rolling during these specials. Not that The Viking Raiders should be losing but it works. Of course we saw more of The OC later, which fits the current story line concerning AJ Styles and WrestleMania 36.

– Mansoor defeating Dolph Ziggler was just plain fun. I do not have any complaints about Mansoor always showing up in Saudi Arabia and winning. My one minor gripe is that the momentum does not carry over. The dude has potential. Place him on NXT and give him a win or two every month. No harm, no foul. We see filler bouts on USA Network throughout the week. it would not matter one bit and when it comes time for another WWE Network pay-per-view thingy in Saudi Arabia, we have an actual backstory. Easy.

– Angel Garza over Huberto Carrillo may have been predictable. However, that is the good kind of predictable. The live crowd may not have reacted much, but these two wrestlers are here to stay. For 2020 and beyond. We are only seeing a small dose of what they’re capable of.

Trophy – First off, I do not give two hoots about the gauntlet, trophy, or whatever prize is being given out. Who cares? This thing belongs next to Braun Strowman’s big green belt in the trash. Nobody cares, so scratch that complain off right now. Throw that to the side and move on. As for the actual wrestling, this was really good. We had R-Truth with his usual underdog, funny self. We had Bobby Lashley out there showing off his strength, including a Lana cameo! Nice payday there. Then there was the returning Andrade, who is SO good. Too bad no Zelina Vega though. Dang.

Nothing wrong with Andrade being back on our television screens. Erick Rowan can go. He does nothing for me and never has. Then there was the closing stretch, which was beautifully done. AJ Styles was waiting for Rey Mysterio to come out as the final entrant, yet he didn’t quite make it. The recently victorious Anderson and Gallows had attacked him. Brilliant plan by The OC, right? Wrong. The Undertaker showed up, took out The OC and boom! There it is. AJ Styles and The Undertaker will have a legitimate dream match at the grandest stage of them all – WrestleMania 36.

Again, I ask. What is so wrong with this picture?

Taker gets the cheap ‘win’ here, and Styles gets the real win at Mania.

Title Matches – We also got a dose of actual title matches from this WWE offering. Not a wasteful house show live event as many like to claim. This thing has actual scores to be settled ladies and gentlemen.

– Bayley defeated Naomi to retain the Smackdown Womens Title. Correct move and I hope Naomi is nowhere near the championship scene come WrestleMania 36 in Tampa Bay. I already saw her WM Moment live in Orlando three years ago. No thanks. Laugh all you want, but history was made by WWE once again. Congrats to the ladies. It bears repeating because just a couple of months ago people SWORE we would never see this happen. Now it is just another match on the card, almost feeling normal. Progress.

– Seth Rollins and Murphy beat The Street Profits to keep their RAW Tag Team Titles. Ho hum stuff to be honest. I just hope this is the beginning of The Street Profits being featured IN RING performers. Their backstage, pre taped crap is garbage. In ring, these guys are stars.

– The New Day THANKFULLY lost the Smackdown Tag Team Titles! Just for that, this show is getting a positive review. The Miz and John Morrison as heels make for better champs going into Mania. The New Day doing their same song and dance for the 585,576th times – YAWN! Miz and Morrison have certain chemistry that can’t be taught, and this is not feeling like a re-run at all, unlike The New Day. A reboot as the commentators talk about. I am all for it.

– Brock Lesnar crushed Ricochet to keep his WWE Championship. The right call. I do not know why there was a big uproar on my Twitter feed about this. I don’t get it. Just like Lesnar dominating the Royal Rumble, this is all to benefit The Stud Drew McIntyre. It paid off BIG TIME with the Claymore Kick and eventual victory. Brock wiping the floor with Ricochet (or anybody here) is all to show viewers at home that The Stud has some serious competition at WrestleMania 36. Let’s not jump the gun here and crown a new WWE Champion quite yet. Brock Lesnar is still The Beast. Don’t cry for Ricochet. He will be fine. This was never going to be his day in the sun, and we all knew that going in.

Cage Match – The big Roman Reigns/King Corbin feud should have ended at Royal Rumble. Heck, one could argue it should have ended at TLC (with Reigns winning). It DEFINITELY should have ended after Corbin got dog food dumped all over his head on Smackdown. Regardless, it dragged to Super Showdown. Whatever. The Big Dog gets the final victory, stands tall and is now going to WM with momentum…assuming he heads to the title scene for the first time in nearly 18 months. There should be no complaining over that fact. He returned over a year and has stayed far away from the Raw and Smackdown title pictures ever since. It’s his time to go for the Universal Championship he never lost.

Main Event – Well, if you followed me on Twitter, you knew this was coming. I have said as such for weeks now. Bill Goldberg was becoming Universal Champion and before all the Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt (The Fiend) rumors started, the original plan was The Big Dog taking on a legendary name. Such as The Rock...or Goldberg.

Now here we are.

Look, Bill Goldberg has a spear and a jackhammer. At this point, if you are expecting anything else, the blame falls on your shoulders. You know what’s coming. The Fiend was never, EVER going to beat Bill Goldberg. Clean or otherwise. Again, if you seriously thought that, take a good look in the mirror. Da Man was not returning during WrestleMania season and NOT doing WrestleMania itself. Silly reporting over the past few weeks and silly sourcing as well. Once the bout was announced, it was lights out on Bray Wyatt’s latest title reign.

Here is the thing. I was at WrestleMania 33 in Orlando. The one where Goldberg walked in as champ and shocked everybody by delivering a high energy, memorable match against Brock Lesnar. Most assumed that would be a dude and get booed out of the building. Kinda like this (not yet announced) showdown against Reigns we have looming. Of course, I am assuming that is the plan. Guess what? It was great. On the flip side, remember who held the other championship at WrestleMania 33 in 2017?

It was Bray Wyatt…and his title defense was one of the low points of the entire evening for me. Wyatt lost to Randy Orton, and the next match went on as if nothing even happened. Same scenario here. The “rumored” (made up) WM card needed a shakeup. John Cena vs. Elias was a bad idea (in fantasy land apparently this was being built up) from the get go, and I said as such on this very website. Check the archives. Check my Twitter. That stunk. The Fiend vs. Roman Reigns for the Universal Title would have been fine but also meh. Bill Goldberg coming in as a monster and facing off against The Big Dog for the top prize in a first ever clash? With the FOX promotion behind it and potential big pay-per-view distribution? That is money. Right below that is the returning John FREAKIN’ Cena facing off against a new aggressive and angered Fiend. Instant interest in a Friday night program that has been dragging as of late. Not all Wyatt’s fault, but his title victory and feuds with Seth Rollins, The Miz, and Daniel Bryan have not exactly set the world on fire.

Enter Bill Goldberg. You know, that guy Paul Heyman is a big fan of and brought back. You know, that Heyman (not Vince McMahon) who is working his magic these days. Yeah, that internet darling. Huh.

Within minutes, we have buzz. Spear, jackhammer, new champion. I love it. Bill Goldberg is back at the big dance against a brand new opponent, Cena is back to battling an old foe, and Smackdown may actually get some attention come WrestleMania season.

Again, I ask. What’s wrong with that?

Follow @Justin Watry on Twitter - thanks for reading!







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