Gauntlet match for the Tuwaiq Trophy

R-Truth vs. Bobby Lashley

Super ShowDown PPV Record: Bobby Lashley is 1-1 at Super ShowDown, R-Truth wrestles at this event for the first time.

Match: Bobby Lashley is breifly acompanied by Lana but she heads straight to the back. It’s a back and forth start to the match with Lashley’s strength against Truth’s pace. Lashley keeps a slow pace and despite Truth starting the occasional comeback, he can’t build momentum for long enough. Truth does hit a five knuckle shuffle but can’t get Lashley up for an attitude adjustment. Lashley attempts a spear but Truth ducks and Lashley goes into the ringpost. R-Truth then rolls Lashley up for the three! R-Truth eliminates Lashley, what a shocker! After the match Lashley attacks Truth, throwing him into the ringpost and steps. Lashley hits Truth with a spear and leaves him laying.

Result: R-Truth beats Bobby Lashley by pinfall.

R-Truth vs. Andrade

Super ShowDown PPV Record: Andrade is 0-1.

Match: Andrade goes right to work on the injured R-Truth. Andrade hits a running knees but can’t hit the finish. Truith avoids a running. knees which sends Andrade flying out of the ring. Truth fires up but can’t hit a suplex. The two men then collide heads, Truth lands on top of Andrade and the referee counts the three!

Result: R-Truth advances by pinfall.

R-Truth vs. Erick Rowan

Super ShowDown PPV Record: Rowan is 0-1 at Super ShowDown.

Match: Rowan goes rightto work on Truth but against Truth fights back, managing to evade some of the offence and then hitting a plancha to the outside. The fight continues on the outside where Rowan throws Truth into the ring steps. Rowan’s weird cage goes flying off the steps which makes Rowan even more angry. Rowan picks up the steps and nails Truth with them which causes a disqualification! After the match Rowan wipes Truth out with a clawslam.

Result: R-Truth advances by disqualification.

R-Truth vs. AJ Styles

Super ShowDown PPV Record: AJ Styles is 1-0 at Super ShowDown.

Match: R-Truth is really out of it at this stage. AJ knocks him down and then mocks Truth with some dancing. Styles is quite the dancer. Styles locks on the calf crusher and R-Truth taps out.

Result: AJ Styles advances by submission.

AJ Styles vs. Rey Mysterio

Match: Rey Mysterio’s music hits a couple of times but there’s no sign of Rey. AJ stands in the ring laughing. We then get a shot backstage where Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson are attacking Mysterio backstage. Styles gets on the mic and announces himself as the winner. There’s an announcement that if Styles’ opponent doesn’t make the count of 10 then AJ will be announced as the winner. The count starts and we see basckstage that Gallows and Anderson have both been taken out. A man walks past and the crowd pop, The Undertaker’s music hits!

AJ Styles vs. The Undertaker

Super ShowDown PPV Record: The Undertaker is 1-1 at Super ShowDown.

Match: AJ gets right in the face of Undertaker who hits him with a chokeslam and pins him for the three!

Result: The Undertaker wins the gauntlet match for Tuwaiq trophy by pinfall.

Review: This was quite a fun match. It was mostly short matches, especially at the end but the first couple of matches were given a bit more time. I think the matches got gradually shorter actually as the night went on. Still, The Undertaker wins and that got a big pop. The real story here is between AJ Styles and The Undertaker but R-Truth gave a real good showing tonight.

Rating: 6/10

The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Big E) (c) vs. The Miz & John Morrison – Smackdown Tag Team Championship match

Background: After WWE announced that John Morrison—who last wrestled in WWE in November 2011—had re-signed with the company, Morrison made his first appearance on the January 3 episode of SmackDown in a brief backstage interview, coming out of The Miz’s locker room. The two formally reunited the following week during a segment of “Miz TV”, in which Morrison criticized the fans for turning on Miz the previous week after he attacked Kofi Kingston following his match. Miz and Morrison then began a rivalry with SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) in which Morrison would defeat Kingston and Big E on the next two episodes, respectively. On the January 31 episode, Miz and Morrison defeated Heavy Machinery (Otis and Tucker), Lucha House Party (Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik), and The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder) in a fatal four-way tag team match to earn a championship match against The New Day at Super ShowDown.

Previous PPV matches: This is a first time PPV match between these two teams.

Super ShowDown PPV Record: Kofi Kingston is 2-0, The Miz is 0-1 and both Big E and John Morrison wrestle at this event for the first time.

Match: Big E and The Miz kick off the match. Big E has some fun in the early going causing Miz to tag out to Morrison. Kofi tags in and gets a two count following a legdrop. Morrison hits a lovely corkscrew plancha on Big E. There’s some nice double teaming form both teams as they go back and forth for much of this match. Big E avoids starship pain. Kofi misses Miz with a trust fall and then Big E kicks out of a skull-crushing finale. The Miz and Kofi then go at it, Kofi counters a skull-crushing finale with a victory roll that Miz kicks out of. Miz shoves Kofi into the ropes where Morrison nails Kingston with a chair! The referee didn’t see it, Miz rolls up Kofi and gets the three!

Result: The Miz and John Morrison win the Smackdown Tag Team Championships by pinfall.

Review: This was a pretty good match between two very good teams. Despite the “this is awesome” chants the sound from the crowd was lost a bit, whether that is because they are quiet or because the sound leaves the stadium I don’t know. I like Miz and Morrison as champions though. It’s a nice change.

Rating: 6/10

Humberto Carrillo vs. Angel Garza

Background: Angel Garza recently debuted on Raw andtook out Rey Mysterio. Humberto Carrillo would come to the aid of Mysterio and the match was made between these two cousins.

Previous PPV matches: This is a first time PPV match between these two men, it’s actually a PPV debut for Angel Garza.

Super ShowDown PPV Record: Humberto Carrillo is 0-1, Angel Garza wrestles at this event for the first time tonight.

Match: I’m expecting a fast-paced match between these two men. And that is exactly how the match begins. Carrillo in particular bounces off the ropes. The fight goes to the outside where Humberto hits a suicide dive. Garza takes control and rips off his pants. Garza slows down the pace with a camel clutch but Carrillo doesn’t submit. Humberto breaks out of the hold and once again picks up the pace, this time hitting some nice kicks. I like both of these guys. The two men exchange blows and Carrillo hits a destroyer. Garza and Carrillo exchange pinfalls until Garza gets the 3!

Result: Angel Garza wins by pinfall.

Review: This was a good match that feels like it could have been a great match if the crowd was hotter. I wasn’t a big fan of the finish, it wasn’t decisive enough for me. It’s a big win for Angel Garza though on his PPV debut.

Rating: 6/10

Seth Rollins & Murphy (c) vs. The Street Prophets (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) – Raw Tag Team Championship match

Background: On the February 17 episode of Raw, after Kevin Owens and The Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar) defeated Murphy and AOP (Akam and Rezar) via disqualification due to Seth Rollins’ interference, The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) came out and aided Owens and The Viking Raiders by attacking Murphy, Akam, and Rezar while Rollins retreated. Later, Rollins and Murphy were scheduled to defend the Raw Tag Team Championship against The Street Profits at Super ShowDown.

Previous PPV matches: This is a first time PPV match between these two teams.

Super ShowDown PPV Record: Seth Rollins is 2-0, Murphy is 1-1 and The Street Prophets makde their PPV debut on this show.

Match: Dawkins and Murphy kick off the match and The Street Prophets start well with some quick tags. It’s not long before all four men are in the ring. Mintez Ford has great leaping ability. A distraction from Seth Rolins gives his team the advantage. Rollins and Murphy make quick tags, laying into Montez Ford both in and out of the ring. Ford manages to evade a couple of attacks but can’t make the hot tag to Dawkins. Seth hits a buckle bomb for a near fall. Montez manages to flip over both opponents to make the tag to Dawkins. Ford hits a nice sliced bread off his partner for a near fall on Rollins. Montez hits Rollins with an enzeguri and then heads to the top and hits a frog splash but Murpy saves the match. Dawkins then wipes out Murphy on the outside with a pounce. All four men get in the ring and the Prohpets hit DDT’s. Montez looks for a dive to the outside but gets caught and thrown into the barricade. Murphy hits a pump knee on Dawkins and Rollins follows it up with a stomp on the apron for the three.

Result: Seth Rollins and Murphy retain the Raw Tag Team Championships by pinfall.

Review: This was a good match. It didn’t feel like Seth Rollins was in the match much but Montez Ford was in the match a lot and looked like a star. There’s no doubt the Street Prophets will be champions one day but it won’t be today.

Rating: 6/10

Mansoor vs. Dolph Ziggler

Background: Saudi’s Mansoor was announced to face Dolph Ziggler last week, there’s no history but Mansoor tends to do very well when fighting in Saudi Arabia.

Previous PPV matches: This is a first time PPV match between these two men.

Super ShowDown PPV Record: Dolph Ziggler is 0-2, Mansoor is 1-0.

Match: Robert Roode is in the corner of Dolph Ziggler for this match and he gets in the face of Mansoor before the bell so Mansoor takes him down with a dropkick. The referee sends Roode to the back. The match begins and Ziggler dominates for a long time. He actually wrestles a slow match with plenty of submissions. Mansoor kicks out of a zigzag. Mansoor sidesteps a splash in the corner and hits a strange looking sliced bread into a DDT. Mansoor hits a moonsault and that’s enough for the three.

Result: Mansoor wins by pinfall.

Review: Yeah, this wasn’t great. Dolph did the hob of carrying the match and it was a slow one. Mansoor wins though, like he always does. Mansoor actually got a few boo’s tonight.

Rating: 3/10

Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Ricochet – WWE Championship match

Background: On the January 20 episode of Raw, WWE Champion Brock Lesnar declared himself as the first entrant in the men’s Royal Rumble match as he felt that no one was worthy of challenging him for the title. Ricochet interrupted and declared that he was not afraid to fight Lesnar and asked if Lesnar was scared to fight him. In response, Lesnar attacked Ricochet with a low blow and stated he was not scared. At the Royal Rumble, Lesnar dominated the first half of the Royal Rumble match until Ricochet entered as the fifteenth entrant. In response to what Lesnar did to him on Raw, Ricochet attacked Lesnar from behind with a low blow, which allowed eventual winner Drew McIntyre to eliminate him with a Claymore Kick. On the February 3 episode of Raw, Ricochet defeated Bobby Lashley and Seth Rollins in a triple threat match to earn a WWE Championship opportunity against Lesnar at Super ShowDown.

Previous PPV matches: This is a first time PPV match between these two men.

Super ShowDown PPV Record: Ricochet is 0-1 at super ShowDown, Lesnar wrestles at this event for the first time.

Match: Paul Heyman is by the side of Brock Lesnar as always and says that the winner of this match goes on to face Drew McIntyre at Wrestlemania, and gives the spoiler that it’s going to be Brock Lesnar. Ricochet tries to hit a dropkick as the bell rings but Lesnar swats him away and slams him before hitting three German suplexes and an F5 for the three.

Result: Brock Lesnar retains the WWE Championship by pinfall.

Review: This was short and sweet. Brock Lesnar squashed Ricochet tonight very quickly. Considering the VT building this match was all about Ricochet doing the unthinkable, the exact opposite happened and Brock won very quickly. We knew it would happen but I’d have rather seen more of a fight.

Rating: N/A

Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin – Steel Cage match

Background: At the Royal Rumble, Roman Reigns defeated King Corbin in a falls count anywhere match; both also unsuccessfully competed in the Royal Rumble match. Reigns and The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) then defeated Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, and Robert Roode on the following SmackDown in a six-man tag team match, in which the loser ate dog food. The following week, Corbin stated that he should have won all of those matches and that he would have won the ones against Reigns had it not been for The Usos’ interference. He then demanded one more match with Reigns, who came out and attacked Corbin, who managed to escape. Afterwards, Reigns accepted the challenge as a steel cage match, which was scheduled for Super ShowDown.

Previous PPV matches: This is the third PPV match between these two men, both have won a match each prior to tonight. It’s actually the only match tonight that we have seen on PPV before.

Super ShowDown PPV Record: Roman Reigns is 1-0 at Super ShowDown, Corbin is 0-1.

Match: Roman Reigns bring a chain to the ring to lock up the cage door behind him. As he is doing that, King Corbin attacks him from behind. It’s a slow paced back and forth match with much of it based around Corbin trying to get the key off Reigns to unluck the cage door. Corbin does get the key and unlocks the door but Reigns stops him from leaving the ring. Corbin wraps the chain around his fist and mocks Reigns, looking for a superman punch but Roman hits a superman punch of his own. Reigns nearly gets out of the cage but Corbin pulls him back in. Reigns hits two more superman punches before wrapping the chain around his first and hitting one more superman punch for the victory.

Result: Roman Reigns wins by pinfall.

Review: This was a slow match and not a very interesting one. The psychology was based around the chain and both men wanting to use it. Reigns gets the victory tonight in what should be their last match in this rivalry. Both men can then move on to their Wrestlemania rivalries and I’m sure Reigns will be involved in the main event against Bray Wyatt (or Goldberg if he wins tonight).

Rating: 4/10

Bayley (c) vs. Naomi – Smackdown Women’s Championship match

Background: At the Royal Rumble during the women’s Royal Rumble match, Naomi made a surprise return following a six-month hiatus, while later on the show, Bayley successfully retained the SmackDown Women’s Championship. On the following SmackDown, Bayley claimed that she had defeated every woman on the roster. Naomi interrupted, taking exception to the claim as Bayley had never defeated her. The following week, Naomi participated in a fatal four-way match to determine Bayley’s next opponent, which was won by Carmella, who faced Bayley for the title on the February 14 episode; however, Bayley retained after using the ropes as leverage to pin Carmella. After the match, both Carmella and Naomi attacked Bayley. A match between Carmella and Naomi was then scheduled for the following week that Naomi won, thus earning her a title match against Bayley at Super ShowDown, marking the second women’s match to be held in Saudi Arabia, but the first to be contested for a championship.

Previous PPV matches: This is a first time PPV match between these two girls.

Super ShowDown PPV Record: Both girls wrestle at this event for the first time tonight.

Match: I’ve only just really noticed how big the set is for this event, I wonder if that is shipped in from the US. Both girls are wearing gear that fully covers their legs and arms. This match doesn’t feel as safe as the previous women’s match in Saudi between Natalya and Lacey Evans. Bayley applies a unique hammerlock through the ropes but it’s her only offence in the early going. Naomi has a lovely arsenal of moves including a corkscrew plancha over to the outside. Bayley has really improved since turning heel. Bayley takes control and slows down the pace. Naomi has a nice array of kicks but Bayley catches her with a Bayley to belly just for Naomi to kick out at 2. Bayley avoids a split-legged moonsault and Bayley then traps Naomi’s foot in the back of her shirt before smashing her face into the mat for the three! A very unique finish for Bayley, I’ve never seen that before. She retains the Smackdown Women’s Championship tonight.

Result: Bayley retains her Smackdown Women’s Championship by pinfall.

Review: This was a good match between two talented women. Bayley is on fire at the moment so I don’t mind her as champion but Naomi is really good too. This was better than the previous match in Saudi Arabia between Natalya and Lacey Evans. Good match here.

Rating: 6.75/10

“The Fiend” Bray Wyatt (c) vs. Goldberg – Universal Championship match

Background: On the February 7 episode of SmackDown, WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg was interviewed from his home via satellite. He stated that after watching the Royal Rumble, it made him want to get back in the ring—his last match was at SummerSlam in August 2019. With his old rival Brock Lesnar tied up with Ricochet and Drew McIntyre over the WWE Championship, Goldberg turned his attention to the Universal Championship, as he never received a rematch for the title after losing it to Lesnar back at WrestleMania 33 in April 2017. After Universal Champion Bray Wyatt interrupted Goldberg with a special news version of the Firefly Fun House, Goldberg challenged Wyatt’s alter-ego “The Fiend” for the Universal Championship. Wyatt then stated that “The Fiend” accepted. The match was then scheduled for Super ShowDown.

Previous PPV matches: This is a first time match between these two men.

Super ShowDown PPV Record: Goldberg is 0-1 at Super ShowDown, Bray Wyatt wrestles at this event for the first time tonight.

Match: The two men square off, face to face as the bell rings and then as Wyatt takes off his jacket, Goldberg hits him with a spear. Wyatt kicks out straight away and then locks the mandible claw on but Goldberg breaks it off and hits three more spears but Wyatt kicks out again. The Fiend sits right back up and locks on the mandible claw again but Goldberg fights out with a head butt and knees before hitting a jackhammer for the three. Goldberg wins the Universal Championship. After the match Wyatt gets to his feet, the lights go out and when they come back on Wyatt has gone.

Result: Goldberg wins the Universal Championship by pinfall.

Review: This was short. Too short for my liking, I’d have liked to have seen Wyatt put up more of a challenge. Sadly, Goldberg matches tend to be short. Wyatt getting back up to his feet after the match does get his heat back slightly. But all of the ducks are being put in a row for Wrestlemania and it looks as though Goldberg will be the man to defend the Universal Championship at Wrestlemania.

Rating: 3.5/10