Cody Rhodes starts SmackDown, Santos Escobar and Zelina Vega VS Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio
Cody Rhodes came out to start this week’s edition of Friday Night SmackDown before he quickly asked Kevin Owens to come down. He then asked Sami Zayn to also make his way down to the ring (which Owens wasn’t happy about) before Rhodes tried to get the two men on the same page. Sami clearly wants to work with Kevin to tear down the Bloodline, but KO still doesn’t want to. The best part was when he said “why would I fight alongside someone that doesn’t even want to be my friend”. That showcases how WWE carefully places every single word to make these stories feel more realistic.
Grade: B
As Kevin Owens was about to drive off in a pretty fancy car, Sami Zayn came up to him and apologised for everything before he said that he loves him. KO looked at him before he drove off. We then got our first match of the night as Santos Escobar and Zelina Vega teamed up for the first time ever to take on the Judgment Day’s Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio. I thought this was a pretty fun match and they used the mixed-tag team rules pretty well. I did particularly like it when Rhea dropped Santos with a Powerbomb (from the top rope) whilst Zelina was hitting hurricanranas on Dominik. In the end, though, it was Rhea Ripley who got the win with a devastating Riptide. After the match, Dominik called out Rey Mysterio and after another one of their back-and-forth promos, Rey said that he still can’t fight his son. The promos are always delivered well, but the end result has been the same for the past few weeks (story of the Judgment Day really).
Grade: B- for the match, C+ for the promo segment
Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan VS Tegan Nox and Emma, Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley brawl
Wade Barrett announced on commentary that they’ll be two Fatal 4-Way tag team matches at WrestleMania (one for the men and one for the women). We then got a qualifying match to see who would be heading to the show of shows as Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan reformed their partnership to take on the team of Tegan Nox and Emma. Tegan Nox looked pretty solid in this match, but unfortunately for her, she and Emma were never going to win this match and that’s exactly what happened. After Raquel Rodriguez delivered the Tejada Bomb to Emma, Liv hit the ObLIVion onto the Aussie to get the victory. I’m still not totally sure what these matches are for, but both Raquel and Liv deserve a spot on WrestleMania so that’s pretty cool.
Grade: C
Charlotte Flair made her way down to the ring as she said that “if Rhea Ripley wants to be a star, she has to be the champion and if she wants to be the champion, she has to beat me”. Rhea Ripley then came out and said that everyone fears her except Charlotte Flair and she’s looking to change that. She then said that “I don’t just want to be a star, I need to be a star”. After a little distraction by Dominik Mysterio, Ripley blasted Flair with a cheap shot before the two started a mad brawl. Officials and security guards tried and failed to stop the two brawling with one another and it eventually ended with Charlotte standing in the ring whilst Rhea was laughing on the other side of the barricade. This was really good. This year’s WrestleMania has star power written all over it, but that doesn’t mean that the booking for the big matches has been particularly good. Charlotte and Rhea was a prime example of this and even more of an example as to why just one great segment can massively up people’s intrigue levels.
Grade: B+
LA Knight VS Xavier Woods, Drew McIntyre VS Sheamus
Kayla Braxton interviewed Sami Zayn backstage and you could tell that Sami was upset about the whole Kevin Owens saga. Xavier Woods then made his way down to the ring as he was about to go one-on-one with the Megastar LA Knight. This match really didn’t go on very long and the only thing I took from this match was a surprise as Xavier Woods picked up the victory with the BackWoods. I like Xavier so I have no problem with him winning, but it feels like Knight needs to start winning some more matches.
Grade: C
LA Knight was then walking backstage and he insulted Rey Mysterio which resulted in the Legendary Luchador punching him in the mouth. The two will have a match next week. Drew McIntyre then made his way down to the ring as he was about to take on his “frenemy” Sheamus in an Intercontinental Championship Number 1 Contenders match. Gunther and Imperium were watching from ringside as the two British boys beat one another up for a while. In the end, both McIntyre and Sheamus booted one another in the face at the same time resulting in both men going down for the 10. Well, almost the 10 as Gunther came into the ring and he was not happy about what was going on. For some reason, Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser then decided to attack Drew and Sheamus from behind resulting in a double DQ. Gunther then laid both men out before he walked up the entrance ramp. Adam Pearce then appeared on the titantron and told the Ring General that because of his actions, he would now be defending his Intercontinental Championship against both Drew McIntyre and Sheamus in a triple threat match at WrestleMania. None of this made that much sense, but the match should be awesome.
Grade: C+
Kansas City Showdown: Sami Zayn and Jey Uso
Jey Uso was already in the ring when we came back from the commercial break and Sami Zayn quickly made his way down to the ring. Jey Uso then cut this brilliant promo about how he finally let his guard down and loved someone else (Sami) and look how that’s turned out. Sami then brilliantly flipped it on him saying that Jey’s not mad at Sami for smashing Roman with the Steel Chair at the Royal Rumble, he’s just mad that he didn’t do it sooner. Jey then wrecked Sami with a right hand before the two men brawled. As Sami looked to get on top, Jimmy Uso arrived and attacked his former Dawg before Kevin Owens’ music hit. As The Usos were looking down the ramp, KO was standing behind them and he delivered a Stunner to Jimmy before he hit a Pop-Up Powerbomb onto Jey to send the Usos packing. KO and Sami then hugged and the arena went bonkers. I thought this was great. Particularly the promos by both Sami Zayn and Jey Uso as both things feel genuinely true. Also, the pop for KO and Sami hugging one another was pretty cool and WWE have now got two weeks to fully get over why Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn deserve, not should, deserve to be the ones to dethrone The Usos for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships.
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