WWE SmackDown Grades: Kofi Earns The Opportunity Of A Lifetime

The Feb. 19 edition of WWE SmackDown was a successful follow-up to the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view this past Sunday that also featured the same NXT stars seen on Raw the night before.

Last night’s WWE SmackDown shifted the focus towards the upcoming Fastlane pay-per-view and also saw the blue brand debuts of the few NXT stars that debuted the night before on the red brand.

There’s plenty of intriguing scenarios surrounding Tuesday nights at the perfect time with only one pay-per-view before the granddaddy of them all.  With that being said, let’s take a look at a few grades from the Feb. 19 edition of WWE SmackDown.

5. Opening Segment

The Miz and Shane McMahon’s tag team has been a breath of fresh air over the past couple of months with both men having great chemistry together on-screen.  However, their team chemistry took a hit at Elimination Chamber when they took on The Usos.

Jimmy and Jey won the SmackDown Tag Team Championship and The Miz blamed himself for the loss.  Shane O’Mac opened up last night’s show with a brief rundown of what is going to happen throughout last night’s show, but The A-Lister couldn’t wait to address the situation any longer and he came out to apologize to Shane.

Miz said he let the team down and he took things farther when he thanked Shane for helping mend his relationship with his father.  It was a nice emotional segment that felt genuine more than just a typical wrestling storyline, but The Miz wasn’t content with losing and he told Shane to make the rematch with The Usos for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, even though automatic rematch clauses are over with.

The Usos came out and had a few words for Miz and Shane, namely Miz by saying he is holding back Shane.  They said The Miz is a loser, failure, fraud, and a few other choice words.  This rubbed Shane the wrong way and he said not to talk to his partner like that, just before making the rematch that will take place at Fastlane.  This was a very good segment that had some real emotion and intensity at the same time.

This was one of the better opening segments SmackDown has had in a while and it may have even subtly turned The Usos heel in the process.

Final Grade: A-