WWE SmackDown LIVE results, March 5, 2019: The Man eyes WWE Fastlane, “damaged” but still standing tall

After the success of his previous United States Title Open Challenge, R-Truth decided that, despite being exhausted after retaining the championship last week, he would give it another whirl Tuesday night on SmackDown LIVE. At first it appeared that the “Sassy Southern Belle” Lacey Evans was answering the call, but, as she often does, Evans simply was gracing the “nasties” of the WWE Universe with her presence. From there, who actually answered the call was Samoa Joe … and Rey Mysterio … and Andrade. Fatal 4-Way Match, anyone?

The action was furious, with all four Superstars showing out in hopes of leaving with the historic United States Championship. In the height of the action, Mysterio was able to break up a Coquina Clutch that Joe had locked on Truth by connecting with a picture-perfect 619 on both Superstars. This led to a melee that saw all four Superstars land on the outside, with Andrade brutally powerbombing Mysterio onto the floor. Then, behind the referee’s back, Zelina Vega struck Truth with a hurricanrana from the apron, taking the U.S. Champion out. Carmella would not stand for that, however, dropping Vega with a superkick immediately afterward. With Vega down, it appeared that Mysterio was going to be able to thrive through the chaos, seemingly having Andrade on the ropes, but Joe eliminated Rey from contention by sandwiching him onto Andrade, then sealed the deal by drilling Andrade with a ring-rattling Yurinagi for the first championship victory of his WWE career.

After it was announced earlier in the night that they would compete in a Triple Threat Match for the Raw Tag Team Championship at WWE Fastlane, Ricochet & Aleister Black aimed to head into that bout with some momentum as they took on The Bar on SmackDown LIVE.

Cesaro & Sheamus attempted to use their size and strength advantage to keep the dynamic pairing down, but The One and Only & Dutch Destroyer’s versatile offensive attacks could not be kept in check for long, with Aleister delivering Black Mass to Cesaro then taking out Sheamus as well, followed by Ricochet finishing Cesaro off with the astonishing 630 Splash.

However, Black & Ricochet would have no time to celebrate, as they were instantly ambushed from behind by Rusev & Shinsuke Nakamura. That blindside attack would be fleeting, though, as The Hardy Boyz hit the scene to even the odds, helping Black & Ricochet take all four of their foes down in incredible fashion, as matters only continued to intensify in the blue brand’s tag team division.

After their scuffle earlier in the evening, Kevin Owens battled Rowan with “The New” Daniel Bryan keeping a close eye on the match.

From his guest commentary seat, Bryan taunted Owens throughout the contest. Finally fed up with the verbal abuse, Owens lunged at Bryan and the two Fastlane opponents got into it at ringside. KO notched the better of the exchange, leaving Bryan floored, but Rowan would then ambush Owens, leading to KO receiving a 2-on-1 beatdown from Rowan and Bryan on the outside. The match was awarded to Owens via disqualification, but the damage he suffered far outweighed any triumph. However, reinforcements would arrive in the way of the returning Mustafa Ali, who surged into the fray and took down both Bryan and Rowan. “The Planet’s Champion” was able to briefly capitalize on the odds and respond to Ali, but that would only last so long, as Owens re-entered the skirmish and dropped the WWE Champion with a Stunner.

The WWE Universe soon began to wonder: If Owens hit that same move on Sunday, would he be crowned the new WWE Champion?

After Ronda Rousey’s vicious assault on Becky Lynch just 24 hours prior on Raw, Charlotte Flair personally invited Lynch to SmackDown LIVE – ahead of their high-stakes matchup at WWE Fastlane – for what she claimed would be a “friendly discussion.”

Lynch, still hurting from Ronda’s attack, arrived and made it clear that although she took Rousey’s best last night, she was still standing tough. The Man let the WWE Universe know that she was still in Charlotte’s head, a claim that angered Charlotte enough to beat the tar out of The Irish Lass Kicker. Charlotte’s hubris would get the best of her though, as her persistent taunting allowed Becky to use her crutch as a weapon to take Charlotte down and then lock in the Dis-arm-her before officials rushed out to separate the two Superstars.

However, there will be no separating The Man and The Queen this Sunday at WWE Fastlane, when they meet with major WrestleMania implications on the line.