2026-03-29 WOL: SmackDown Underdelivers on the Way to WrestleMania!

Friday Night SmackDown this week might have been one of the more disappointing shows on the bill to WrestleMania so far. I discussed the show and the disappointing parts outside the main event, built around Cody Rhodes vs Randy Orton, which has been good, but there’s too much repetition throughout the rest of the show. I also previewed this week's Monday Night Raw, which takes place at Madison Square Garden, and I discussed whether they are doing too much of the same thing when it comes to the build to the main event between Roman Reigns and CM Punk. AEW Collision, Saturday night, saw a great main event between Kevin Knight and Okada, in which Knight had a great showing in the loss. Also, the “who-done-it” storyline continues as AEW was forced to pivot after Toni Storm's absence. Is this leading to a Mina Shirakawa title run in the future? Plus, Wrestlemania ticket sales, the Intercontinental title in Triple A, and American Gladiator names revealed. Grab your Dave Meltzer year books Don't have access to this video? Sign up now! The F4W Live tier now has Dave Meltzer live on Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez. You can see the Wrestling Observer Newsletter with a subscription here: Grab some awesome T Shirts here: #wrestlingobserver