SmackDown In A Nutshell: Fiendishly Bloody Rumble?

It’s another Friday night (or Saturday, when you’ll be reading this), which means it’s another SmackDown In A Nutshell coming your way. But, to be fair, this isn’t just any SmackDown In A Nutshell. Nope, this SmackDown In A Nutshell is the go-home show as WWE heads towards Sunday’s Royal Rumble-the first major PPV of 2020, and the official kickoff on the Road To WrestleMania. So what are we getting on the blue brand’s Friday offering? Simply put, it’s all about the final hype for Sunday. The cherry on top? A contract signing between Daniel Bryan and The Fiend. Will their strap match make Sunday a Fiendishly Bloody Rumble? Let’s crack open this Nutshell and find out!

Best Match of the night:

If you check out social media, fans were mixed, offering up a few choices. For me, I can understand the dilemma. Fans got treated to several solid matches.

For me? The opening six man tag match was the one that stood out the most.

Worst match of the night:

The women’s tag match. That broke down quickly…

Spot of the Night

I shall just leave this one right here…

Though to be fair, Lacey using her heel as a weapon was interesting too.

Star of the Night

The Usos and Roman Reigns looked good in the opening bout. I’m guessing WWE will be pushing this one as The Bloodline or some such moniker before too long

Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:

That was a rather intense closing segment. As far as contract signings go, it was a more entertaining one than usual. I consider that some form of high praise, considering that first, these signings are over-done and obvious setups and second, I hate the red light. I am not alone…

That said, stabbing oneself with a pen, in order to sign in blood (though I assume it was all gimmicked), that has to make the list…

Noteworthy Moment:

Overall lowlights:

I honestly don’t have a ton to complain about.

I do wish the women had more time to hype their Rumble, but it was what it was.

Overall highlights:

We got a contract signing involving blood, and it didn’t suck either.

We had several good matches, and even the shorter ones or less good ones served a purpose. Maybe not the best show, but it seemed to be, for the most part, well thought out.

After the final bell:

When all is said and done, I think we got a decent to good go home show. Not outstanding, but good and it hit some key notes on the way to Houston.