Jey Uso Starts the Show, Bianca Belair VS Piper Niven: Women’s Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match
This week’s edition of Friday Night SmackDown kicked off the same way that Monday Night Raw did as Jey Uso came out to talk about his Royal Rumble victory! Jey then asked Cody Rhodes to come out so he could weigh up his WrestleMania options, but Cody made it clear that whilst this is a nice moment for the two of them, this will be the only fun they have if Uso decides to go after the Undisputed WWE Championship! Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga then arrived as Jacob Fatu made it clear that he wants the WWE Title which is when a brawl broke out, setting up a Tag Team match for the show’s Main Event! All of this was fine, but very simple!
Grade: C+
It was then time for the first match of the night as Bianca Belair and Piper Niven clashed for the right to head to Elimination Chamber! This was a fine match, but the structure of it was a bit frustrating. See, Piper completely dominated this match, overpowering The EST whilst simply getting a lot more offense in! However, you could never buy into any of the near-falls, and ultimately, Belair was able to get the win with a single K.O.D., and yeah, this was just here!
Grade: C
DIY Promo, Drew McIntyre VS Jimmy Uso VS LA Knight: Men’s Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match, Akira Tozawa VS Carmelo Hayes
Katana Chance and Kayden Carter were interrupted by Carmelo Hayes who wanted to speak to Nick Aldis about getting a bye to the Elimination Chamber! Aldis rejected this and instead told Melo that he will face Akira Tozawa tonight before DIY came out to cut a promo about how they’re the Best Tag Team in the World! DIY also wanted to give the Motor City Machine Guns a minutes silence before Pretty Deadly interrupted to say that they’re sick of the way that Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano have been acting! This brought out Nick Aldis who booked a “Non-Title” match between the two teams, and if the point of this was to get the crowd to be a bit more behind Pretty Deadly, it worked! The crowd got more and more behind Kit Wilson and Elton Prince as the match went on, and using a trick from the old PD playbook, Prince was able to steal a win over Ciampa to earn themselves a shot at the WWE Tag Team Championships!
Grade: C+ (Overall)
Andrade disrespected The Miz backstage which brought Miz to telling Cody Rhodes that the younger Superstars don’t respect them! Drew McIntyre then cut a promo officially announcing himself as a SmackDown performer before Drew was interrupted by Jimmy Uso who wanted to make it clear that he will earn his way to WrestleMania! LA Knight was then out next to cut a promo of his own before all three men squared off for the right to head to Toronto! This was definitely the match of the night in my opinion, it flowed really well, Drew looked great, Jimmy did well, and I was also impressed by LA Knight! I actually thought Knight had gotten the win with a roll-up, but in the end, McIntyre got back into the ring and nailed The Megastar in the back of the head with a Claymore (whilst Knight dropped Big Jim with a BFT) to get the win! This was good!
Grade: B-
Damian Priest made his intentions clear when it came to the Elimination Chamber, but Braun Strowman reminded Priest of who stands in his way! Kevin Owens then cut a terrific promo on Sami Zayn, and all I can say about this is you should go and watch this because I can’t do it justice! The Alpha Academy’s music then hit as Akira Tozawa headed down to the ring looking to get a measure of revenge over Carmelo Hayes! This was a fast-paced match, both guys went at it, and I thought it was decent enough. Unfortunately, it didn’t really feel important at all, which is rare for a Hayes match, but I actually think that potentially proves a point! However, Melo was at least able to get the win here with Nothin’ but Net, so that’s at least a small positive!
Grade: C+
Tiffany Stratton Interrupts Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss VS Candice LeRae: Women’s Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match
R-Truth was meant to be helping Akira Tozawa in the back, but he decided he’d rather speak to Jey Uso who wanted to speak to Cody Rhodes about their upcoming Tag match! Charlotte Flair was then out next to cut another promo about how great she is, and that everyone is obsessed with her! Charlotte then went through her list of potential opponents for WrestleMania before Tiffany Stratton interrupted to talk about how big of a fan she is of The Queen, but that she’s not needed anymore! Flair then called Stratton a child before Nia Jax showed up to say that she’s getting a rematch for the WWE Women’s Championship next week! Once again, I’m honestly not bothered anymore when it comes to Charlotte Flair, her promos are just weak!
Grade: C-
Alexa Bliss’ interruption in the previous segment led straight into this one as Little Miss Bliss clashed with Candice LeRae in a Women’s Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match! This was a decent contest between two veteran performers, but it was also just great to see Alexa Bliss back in the ring! This was actually a closely fought contest too, with Candice getting in her own shots too, but in the end, Bliss nailed LeRae with Sister Abigail to get the win and book her ticket to Toronto!
Grade: C+
Chelsea Green and Piper Niven were being interviewed backstage before B-Fab and Michin once again laid claim to the Women’s United States Championship! Zelina Vega also threw her hat into the ring when it comes to getting a shot at Chelsea’s Title before The Street Profits cut a promo saying they’re putting everyone on notice! The Motor City Machine Guns then had a backstage interaction with Legado Del Fantasma before we got a great video package hyping up next week’s Triple Threat between Braun Strowman, Damian Priest, and Jacob Fatu!
Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso VS The Bloodline
It was then Main Event time as Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso teamed together to take on The Bloodline! Cody Rhodes sold his injuries throughout here, being worked over by Tama Tonga as Jacob Fatu just continued to wreak havoc! However, what I didn’t like here is despite how battered Cody was supposed to be, and how good Jacob and Tama are supposed to be, Rhodes still got the win in the end with a Cross Rhodes, and I’m not a fan of that! Also, why didn’t Jey Uso get the pin here, it’s such an easy storyline to tell! Anyway, after the match was over, Solo Sikoa returned and laid out The American Nightmare with a Samoan Spike so there you go!
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