Super ShowDown (2020) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE Network event, produced by WWE for their Raw and SmackDown brands. It took place on February 27, 2020 at the Mohammed Abdu Arena on the Boulevard in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was the third event promoted under the Super ShowDown chronology and the fifth event under WWE's 10-year partnership supporting Saudi Vision 2030.
Ten matches were contested at the event including one on the Kickoff pre-show. In the main event, Goldberg defeated "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt to win his second Universal Championship, giving The Fiend its first loss. Goldberg also became the first wrestler to win a world championship after being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Other prominent matches saw Brock Lesnar retain the WWE Championship against Ricochet, Bayley defeated Naomi to retain the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship and Roman Reigns defeated King Corbin in a Steel Cage match. The Undertaker also made a surprise return as an unannounced entrant in the gauntlet match and lastly eliminated AJ Styles to win the Tuwaiq Trophy.
Quickie Results:
The O.C. (Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson) def. The Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar)
Gauntlet match for the Tuwaiq Trophy
The Undertaker def. AJ Styles, Andrade, Bobby Lashley, Erick Rowan, and R-Truth
Tag team match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship
The Miz and John Morrison def. The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) (c)
Angel Garza def. Humberto Carrillo
Tag team match for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship
Seth Rollins and Murphy (c) def. The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford)
Mansoor def. Dolph Ziggler
Singles match for the WWE Championship
Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman) (c) def. Ricochet
Steel Cage match
Roman Reigns def. King Corbin
Singles match for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship
Bayley (c) defeated Naomi
Singles match for the WWE Universal Championship
Goldberg defeated "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt (c)
Afterthoughts:
I have listened to a wealth of podcasters seething with rage and read a lot of angry tweets and reactions online following this show after it aired live while I was at work yesterday, but I'm honestly not as outraged and flipping over desks like most people it seems. I think it's comical at this point to invest this much emotion in WWE's current product, especially with the main roster when they have a documented track record of disappointing modern fans time and time again with anything and everything (not named Roman Reigns) that doesn't have to deal with NXT.
I had a few friends message me with the results when I got off from work and I literally busted out laughing when I read them. I got home and only watched the WWE Championship and Universal Championship matches out of morbid curiosity. I have to ask, what did people really want from this show going into it?
AJ Styles getting laid out by the Undertaker didn't bother me much, especially if that means that's a lock for a match between the two at WrestleMania, even though I would have preferred Aleister Black versus The Undertaker for 'Mania just for the entrances alone. (Laughs) Taker didn't even take his hat and coat off though. From as stiff as he looked walking down to the ring, I hope Taker finally hangs it up at Survivor Series this year. That would bring his career around full circle at this point. He's got nothing else left to prove in my eyes. Let this man finally rest before he's so beaten down and immobile like Kurt Angle in retirement.
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| If the bodysuits weren't enough, the ladies had to wear t-shirts over their outfits too. |
Was it really worth it to have the WWE SmackDown! Women's Championship defended in Saudi Arabia when they were forced to have the women dressed like nuns just to perform there? I get it though. It's the first SmackDown! Women's Title match there and a big deal for those women getting to inspire change in that country whether we liked the match or not. I'll give them props for the creative finish, even though the match itself was a little hit or miss.
People laughed at me when I said who in their right mind actually believed that Ricochet stood a chance at dethroning Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship. Even the damn promotion package they put together even made a joke of it with Ricochet asking, "What if?" as a poorly made graphic of him against Drew McIntyre for WrestleMania flashed on the screen for a few seconds. This ended EXACTLY how I figured it would. One F-5 got the job done after Brock cut him off immediately. Ricochet could at least say that he lasted longer than Kofi Kingston did though. Maybe Ricochet should've opened with that nutshot that he gave Brock during the Rumble that assisted Drew McIntyre in eliminating the Beast during that match, but I'm sure that would have made Brock even more pissed off.
(Laughs) Now I see why a lot of people I was talking to online were butt hurt about short/squash matches. When everyone sung the praises of WWE picking up Ricochet and saying that he's going to be such a big star in this company I was dreading it. It was painfully aware when this match started that Ricochet isn't even remotely in Brock Lesnar's weight class in terms of size nor presence. That bell rung and it looked like Brock was about to fight a kid fresh out of high school. Boy was I deceived about his size and height from watching him in New Japan and Lucha Underground. I was always under the impression that Ricochet was a bigger lightweight than most out of there. I thought Ricochet would've benefited in the long haul from a longer tenure in NXT instead of the short stay he had on the yellow brand and it's showing that he would have had a better chance to make a name for himself there instead of being another minor footnote in Brock's road to WrestleMania. Sure, he'll bounce back from this like 90% of the guys who Brock tossed out of the Rumble match within seconds, but damn, WWE doesn't have the slightest clue how to make new stars anymore. I'm starting to think their decision to have Drew McIntyre win the Rumble was a fluke accident at this point.
One of my friends sent me a clip of Goldberg's confrontation with the Fiend from SmackDown a week or two ago and it didn't look like they were setting him up to lose. He wasn't cowering in fear and crying like a complete wuss like Seth Rollins was last year. Goldberg stood his ground and speared Bray out of his shoes, only for the Fiend to leave unceremoniously without any comeuppance. It was the EXACT same thing here. The Fiend took four spears and a half-assed Jackhammer only to lose the Universal Championship in less than 3-5 minutes and left without any sort of rebuttal to Goldberg as he posed on the top rope. I really don't get it. Was WWE that against the Fiend gimmick at this point to completely bury it in one fell swoop? I mean, damn, at least let Bray drop it at WrestleMania instead of one of these throwaway shows before then. This is the same treatment that WWE gave to Asuka during the build to WrestleMania last year. I guess we should be grateful that Bray didn't lose it on free TV at least, but damn, it sucks to see the Fiend go down that easily. They could easily rehab him in a new program - namely with Cena later tonight during his appearance tonight on Friday Night SmackDown!, but it's just sad that WWE thinks this lightly of their treatment of their talents in the modern era.
Willy G has been watching his Broserweight tapes. PS Sweet BroHammer for the win 👌 pic.twitter.com/7hA2JwQq9y— matthew riddle (@SuperKingofBros) February 27, 2020
It looks like the rumors are true though with the plans set for Goldberg defending the Universal Championship against Roman Reigns after he beats everyone else in his way in the Elimination Chamber next month. On paper that would be the bigger match, but c'mon, it wouldn't have killed WWE to do Roman vs. the Fiend. The character has been on top as this unstoppable monster for this long, only to get squashed like every other geek on the main roster was disappointing. At the end of the day, I didn't put any stock into WWE booking for what I wanted to see nor do I invest any interest into going out of my way to check out these Saudi shows, but I can understand why people are royally pissed.
Sad but true, despite the fact that people got #CancelWWENetwork trending yesterday.
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