The Bloodline replied with a powerful counter-assault when Sami Zayn stormed in on Roman Reigns with a violent attack during the last seconds of WWE SmackDown, and The Head of Tables pledged to end his enemy at WWE Elimination Chamber.
Follow Us
Following a notable Royal Rumble premium live event, WWE SmackDown attempted to solve the burning issue on everyone’s mind: what is the condition of The Bloodline following Sami Zayn’s betrayal of Roman Reigns and Jey Uso’s walkout on his family? This was the focus of Friday’s Fox program, which also included a title defense by women’s champion Charlotte Flair, an Elimination Chamber qualifying match, and the conclusion of the tag team contender’s tournament.
To open off Friday’s program, Braun Strowman and Ricochet reignited their feud with Imperium in the finals of the tournament to crown the future No. 1 contenders to the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship. Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci dominated at various stages throughout the match, isolating and cutting off their opponents from their partners.
Even Gunther’s departure could not stop their attack. The babyfaces won when an observant Strowman broke up a pin on Ricochet, a hot tag to The Monster Among Monsters, and a Swanton Bomb by The One and Only off his partner’s gigantic shoulders.
Winner: Braun Strowman and Ricochet
Sonya Deville brilliantly prodded Charlotte Flair into defending her SmackDown Women’s Championship for the second time in a month on Friday night. The outcome was identical to the first. Flair successfully defended her championship by defeating Deville with the Figure Eight submission. To do so, she had to battle from the ground up, braving an attack from a challenger hellbent on capitalizing on a second opportunity.
Winner: Charlotte Flair
Backstage, Roman Reigns wanted to know where Jey Uso was. They weren’t with Jimmy or Solo Sikoa. The Tribal Chief is a fantastic, cunning evil villain. Everything he does is aimed at retaining his position at the head of the table. This was no exception.
The Viking Raiders faced The Brawling Brutes’ Ridge Holland and Butch one week after attacking Sheamus and Drew McIntyre, denying them the opportunity to fight for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship.
The babyface brawlers brought the battle to the heels, but the actual reason for this was to promote Ivar and Erik. The Raiders prevented a babyface comeback and, allegedly with Valhalla’s permission at ringside, won after Ragnarok to Butch.
Following the contest, McIntyre and Sheamus reappeared and battled the heels off, indicating that the feud between the two teams is far from done.
Winner: The Viking Raiders
A spot in the Elimination Chamber to decide the top challenger to Bianca Belair’s Raw Women’s Championship was on the line in a Fatal 4-Way Match on Friday night. Shayna Baszler, Zelina Vega, Shotzi, and Natalya competed for a WrestleMania championship chance. Baszler briefly dominated, shaking her opponents with hard-hitting punches.
Prospective competitors threw caution to the wind as the pace accelerated. However, it was a sequence of entries that went right to the finish line. Natalya broke off a Karifuda Clutch to Vega, knocked Baszler to the mat, and applied her Sharpshooter to the mouthpiece of Legado del Fantasma for the Tapout victory.
Winner: Natalya
Roman Reigns, the undisputed WWE Universal champion, makes his way to the ring to finish out the night and address the situation of The Bloodline. Sami Zayn was assaulted out of nowhere after accusing everyone of demanding more and more from him. Zayn sent The Head of the Table running to the floor’s shelter and declared his plan to go after Reigns and his championship.
This resulted in a beatdown by Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa before Reigns talked to a fallen Zayn, pledging to beat him in front of his family at Extreme Chamber in Montreal.
