WWE: More “downs” than “smacks” for Feb. 28, 2020

Down: what is going on with the Intercontinental Championship segments?

Did we really need a contract signing segment for this? Even though it was seemingly well received, this is much like last week’s unneeded “Symphony of Destruction” match (I think people just like seeing carnage).

Before I get to the “down” part, two moments stuck out for me. First, HELLUVA KICK!

Second, the end of the segment put some “oomph” into it to make fans happy with their tandem offense: a Helluva Kick/double suplex through a table combo!

Those Helluva Kicks had to feel good for Sami Zayn considering he hasn’t wrestled much, particularly on television. I would have liked Braun Strowman to stay down a little longer to sell the spot more, but maybe it was made up by his stumbling.

Here’s where the down part comes in: They could easily have reached the 3-on-1 match with a simple promo from Strowman.

He merely had to say exactly what he said that led to Zayn “amending” the contract, and emphatically ending it with something like, “Here’s a gift for you: it’s you three versus me for my Intercontinental Championship, and I’m walking out of Elimination Chamber with the title still wrapped around my waist.”

That would have taken two minutes.

Furthermore, Shinsuke Nakamura lost to Strowman (albeit in a tag match) clean in that “Symphony of Destruction” match last week…at least as clean as a match with a Falls Count Anywhere stipulation. Every time the trio of Zayn, Nakamura, and Cesaro went after Strowman before this, they pretty much ended up on the wrong side of a beating.

If anything, considering his winning streak, Daniel Bryan should have been the #1 contender to Strowman’s championship, and this segment is a perfect encapsulation of the next “down” from the show.