WrestleMania opponents, Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey, came face-to-face in multiple segments over the course of two hours.
Follow Us
Charlotte Flair finally got the upper hand on her WrestleMania 38 opponent Ronda Rousey. Flair and Rousey’s feud kicked into a new gear on WWE SmackDown.
SmackDown was the Flair and Rousey show on Friday night as the rivals developed their WrestleMania rivalry over two segments throughout the evening. The SmackDown Women’s champion Flair got a measure of vengeance on Rousey after being out-grappled on last week’s SmackDown and the Elimination Chamber event.
Big E suffered a very serious injury in SmackDown’s opening match, the WWE Intercontinental title was defended by Ricochet, The Usos’ WrestleMania opponents were revealed and Brock Lesnar gave Paul Heyman a serious scare. Lots of developments on Friday’s program.
Read more: WWE star Jeff Hardy latest to sign deals with AEW
Tensions between Rousey and Flair continue to escalate on SmackDown. The WrestleMania opponents came face-to-face in multiple segments over the course of two hours.
Rousey’s in-ring segment was interrupted by Flair, who made excuses for tapping out to Rousey’s ankle lock in the aftermath of Rousey vs. Sonya Deville on last week’s show. Flair promised to embarrass Rousey at WrestleMania and Rousey challenged Flair to scrap but the reigning SmackDown Women’s champion promptly exited the ring. The former UFC champion assured Flair that her only escape at WrestleMania will be to tap out.
Brock Lesnar chased Paul Heyman through the arena. Lesnar kicked off the show calling for Roman Reigns’ blood after The Bloodline assaulted Lesnar in Madison Square Garden as a house show last week. Heyman interrupted Lesnar, claimed that Reigns was not backstage and subsequently fled from his former client.
Sheamus and Ridge Holland (w/ Butch) defeated New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) via pinfall after Sheamus cracked Kingston with the Brogue Kick after interference from Butch. Sheamus and Holland introduced Butch in a pre-match segment, better known to fans as NXT’s Pete Dunne.
Drew McIntyre fought off Happy Corbin, Madcap Moss, Jinder Mahal and Shanky. McIntyre was scheduled to team with The Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar) vs. Corbin, Moss and Mahal. The heels attacked Erik and Ivar backstage and tried to overwhelm McIntyre in the ring. The segment concluded with McIntyre landing a Michinoku Driver on Shanky as Corbin fled.
Naomi and Sasha Banks defeated Natayla and Shayna Bazler via pinfall. Banks made quick work of Natalya, finishing her with a low-angle codebreaker.
Rick Boogs defeated Jey Uso via pinfall after landing a pump-handle powerslam. Boogs and tag team partner Shinsuke Nakamura earned a shot at The Usos’ (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso) SmackDown Tag Team titles at WrestleMania with the win. Jimmy offered Boogs and Nakamura the title opportunity in a pre-match segment.
Pat McAfee attacked Austin Theory after Theory slapped the SmackDown commentator. McAfee was escorted away, building more tension to their announced WrestleMania match.
