Greg DeMarco brings the Three Stars of The Night back once again with the March 19 episode of WWE Smackdown!

Smackdown was a pivotal episode on the Road To WrestleMania, as the world waited for Kofi Kingston to solidify his spot at WrestleMania. And in true WWE brilliance, Vince McMahon pulled the carpet out from under Kofi’s feet, continuing the story for a little longer. Now, it’s Three Stars time…shall we?

The Third Star:

The Miz is one of the greatest heels WWE has ever seen, even if you don’t want to admit it. Now, he’s a big babyface, and he’s standing opposite another great heel in Shane McMahon. Conventional wisdom would say that Miz should be a heel and Shane a face, but the roles are flipped and it’s working. It was interesting to see The Miz call out Vince McMahon along the way, but Vince is the baddiest of bad bad guys in the history of ever, so it works. Either way, Miz delivered in this promo, and got his coveted spot on the Three Stars.

The Second Star: Elias

Randy Orton is one of the most underappreciated wrestlers in WWE. We’re headed to WrestleMania 35–Orton appeared at his first WrestleMania at #20. He faced The Undertaker at 21. Triple H at 25, ten years ago. And he’s still going strong. Orton worked his ass off for Kofi, and he’s delivering a great program with AJ Styles on the Road to WrestleMania.

Honorable Mention: The IIconics, Cesaro, Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch.

And now… a distinction usually reserved
for the top performer of the night …the first star!

The First Star: Kofi Kingston

If you need me to explain to you why Kofi Kingston is the First Star, you should pick up a new hobby. Or at least, hit me up on social media and we can talk about what he did here, and has been doing since the build to Elimination Chamber. WWE keeps throwing curveballs, and they very well might continue through WrestleMania itself, but Kofi will come out on top. He did just that tonight, until Daniel Bryan (well, really Vince McMahon) showed up.

Who are your Three Stars of WWE Smackdown Live? Comment on social media @ChairshotGreg, @theCHAIRSHOTcom, and use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

In hockey, a game’s “Three Stars Of The Night” represent the top three performers of the night. For more clarification, I defer to this Pittsburgh Gazette explanation:

“The tradition dates to the 1936-37 season, when Imperial Oil became the principal sponsor of Hockey Night in Canada radio broadcasts and was seeking a way to promote one of its products, Three Star gasoline. The idea of doing so by selecting the top three performers in a particular game purportedly came from a Canadian advertising agency.

Many clubs do recognize the player with the most three-star selections with an award or trophy, usually in conjunction with a corporate sponsorship, at the end of the season (or sometimes, each month). All six Canadian franchises, for example, have an affiliation with a well-known brewery.

The NHL keeps track of its own Three Stars Of The Night selections, but that is done on a league-wide basis. The league employs a system that awards 30 points to a first star, 20 to a second star and 10 to a third – a running total can be found on the league’s website – but it does not present an award based on them.”

In hockey tradition, the first star represents the best of the three, but all three are considered to be receiving a high honor.