Author: Erik Beaston / Source: Bleacher Report
The final SmackDown Live before Fastlane hit the USA Network airwaves Tuesday night and featured an explosive Fatal 5-Way main event pitting five of the six Superstars in Sunday’s pay-per-view against each other.
Bookending it was a show-starting promo in which Ruby Riott revealed the emphasis for The Riott Squad’s creation, selling the match with Charlotte Sunday as a heated bout.
With the rekindling of the rivalry between Randy Orton and Jinder Mahal, the ignition of the latest chapter in Becky Lynch and Carmella’s rivalry, and another passionate promo from Dolph Ziggler, the show did just enough to make Sunday’s show that much more anticipated.
Dasha Fuentes Interviews Ruby Riott
With Charlotte Flair in the ring, her Fastlane opponent—Ruby Riott—wasted little time snatching the microphone from Dasha Fuentes and addressing both the SmackDown women’s champion and the WWE Universe.
She admits that she watched the myth that is Charlotte being the sole personification of the Women’s Revolution and formed The Riott Squad in response to it.
Charlotte took exception, claiming the only myth is that she was handed everything because her father is the legendary Ric Flair.
Riott claimed that when she dethrones Charlotte at Fastlane, she will be but another bleach-blonde failure.
As Riott was joined by Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan for a beatdown on Charlotte, United States champion Bobby Roode’s music played. He entered the arena to serve on commentary for the night’s opening match.
Grade
B+
Analysis
The promo was harder hitting than one would have expected and actually provided a reason for The Riott Squad’s existence, something WWE Creative has not explained to this point.
The most interesting aspect of the segment was Roode’s interruption of the beatdown.
There has been a chemistry between Charlotte and Roode during the Mixed Match Challenge that has hinted at potential romantic involvement between the two going forward, including Charlotte exclaiming “that’s my man” during their victory in round one.
Whether that is a direction the two characters take heading into WrestleMania or afterward remains to be seen.
Randy Orton vs. Jinder Mahal
The rivalry absolutely nobody wanted to see rekindled was Tuesday night as Randy Orton battled former WWE champion Jinder Mahal ahead of The Viper’s United States Championship opportunity against Bobby Roode at Fastlane.
The Maharaja and The Viper fought their standard match, with Mahal wearing the future Hall of Famer down and relying on the interference of Sunil Singh to keep him in the match.
Late in the match, Bobby Roode distracted Orton, allowing Mahal to deliver the Khallas and score yet another victory over his most hated foe.
Result
Jinder Mahal defeated Randy Orton
Grade
B-
Analysis
Mahal and Orton have history and chemistry, but this was an unspectacular match that was used to set up an even more unspectacular match between Orton and Roode Sunday night.
Positioning Roode as the heel in the match via the distraction is an interesting decision. Orton is a much better heel than babyface and could have built some sympathy for a Roode character that is not catching on with audiences beyond his theme music.
Another questionable bit of booking by a SmackDown creative team that has made more than its…
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