WWE SmackDown: Best and Worst Moments Include The Rock's Counter Challenge, Main Event Questions, and More

The March 1st, 2024 episode of WWE SmackDown is officially in the books, and there is a lot to discuss. The show began with The Bloodline getting in the ring with its newest member The Rock, and there was plenty of drama to be had for the group internally as well as Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins. WrestleMania 40 was a major focus of tonight's show, as in addition to Rock and Reigns there were also important developments in the saga between Bayley, Iyo Sky, and her former Damage CTRL teammates. Throw in some much-anticipated returns from injury and matches featuring several new additions to the roster and you've got yourself quite an eventful SmackDown, and here are our 3 best moments and our 3 worst moments from the show.

Best Moments

The Rock's Challenge to Cody and Seth: During Rock's promo, he addressed Cody's challenge for a one-on-one match, and his answer was no. That said, he did have a counteroffer, and it was a rather compelling one, challenging Cody and Seth to a Tag Team match at WrestleMania 40 with significant stakes. Banning the Bloodline from interference is a big get, and the Bloodline Rules stipulation makes the odds of Cody winning all the more improbable. That kind of has me leaning towards that eventuality, just to put that last hurdle in front of Cody, but the tag match allows Rock to be in an actual match at WrestleMania 40 and add to Cody's story as opposed to stepping in the way of it, and that's a good thing in my book.

Dakota Kai's Turn: This moment could have been in the worst section, but not because it was the wrong decision. It's because the moment and the turn by Kai on Bayey was effective, and it only makes Bayley that much more endearing and easy to root for, at least for the five people who weren't already rooting for her (seriously, what more do you need!). Bayley's facial expressions sold this all so well, and now it appears to be four-on-one unless Bayley gets some help. Like in Cody's case, this is one more obstacle to overcome for the Role Model on her way to Title Gold, and it was effective here as well.

Rey's Return and LWO Win: The LWO really needed a win tonight, but they got far more than that. The LWO has been feuding with Legado del Fantasma since Rey was injured, but they have been on the losing end of many of those confrontations. It was starting to get to the point where you just assumed they would lose, and having their leader back in Rey instantly gives the group a shot in the arm, as does tonight's win. Hopefully, WWE can pick up on the plans they had when Rey was hurt and give the group some new momentum, as this feud still has legs if it actually feels like both sides are competitive.

Worst Moments

Looking at the Clock Rock: While The Rock did have some compelling things to say during his promo, there was a point where I was glancing at the clock to tap into my vaunted powers of time manipulation in hopes of bringing it to a close. Seriously, this thing was long, way too long in fact, and it only became more apparent when he doubled down on certain points and put-downs. The first segment (including a commercial break) ended up going around 40 minutes, and while that's not inherently a bad thing, this promo noticeably dragged the pace down.

Bron's Squash Match: I'm all for squash matches in theory, but we don't actually get them as much anymore in WWE as we once did. That's a good thing as far as I'm concerned, and that should make the rare ones that pop up more effective as a result. Bron Breakker got a one-move squash during tonight's SmackDown, but I'm not sure how effective it ended up being. Breakker's speed and his ability to get ramped up quickly are immensely impressive, and that's part of what makes him so fun to watch. Having a one-move match, even if it's a spear, doesn't show any of that off, so while the win is great, I just think additional time doing what he does best would have made for a better spotlight.

Main Event Taking a Back Seat: The first hour and a half were stacked, with Bloodline and Rock drama, WrestleMania stakes, welcome returns, and betrayals with more WrestleMania repercussions. You might assume then that the main event was going to play off of one of those points of interest, but that wasn't the case, as we got Randy Orton vs Austin Theory in that spot. Those two are extremely talented of course, and Kevin Owens and Grayson Waller would also end up getting involved. The whole thing just felt kind of thrown together though, and there wasn't much in the way of story progression for any of the four superstars involved. In comparison to what came before, it was difficult to get invested, and an odd close to an overall thrilling SmackDown.

WrestleMania 40 Updated Card

• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Match: Roman Reigns (C) vs. Cody Rhodes
• WWE Women's Championship Match: IYO SKY (C) vs. Bayley
• Women's World Championship Match: Rhea Ripley (C) vs. Becky Lynch
• World Heavyweight Championship Match: Seth "Freakin" Rollins (C) vs. Drew McIntyre
• Challenge Issued – Tag Team Match: The Rock and Roman Reigns vs Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins (Winner either bans Bloodline or Adds Bloodline Rules Stipulation to Undisputed Title Match)

What did you think of tonight's WWE SmackDown and how it shook up WrestleMania 40? Let us know in the comments, and you can also talk all things wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!