SmackDown Notes: WWE Draft announced, Riddle saves Zayn

April 7, 2023 John Kleinchester NEWS, Show Reports
Photo Courtesy: WWE

April 7, 2023
Moda Center – Portland, OR

By: John Kleinchester

SmackDown began with a Bushwacker Butch Miller tribute title card and yet another extensive WrestleMania recap video. The first match of the evening was a Six-Man Tag Team match with The Brawling Brutes facing off against Imperium. Sheamus scored the victory after hitting Vinci with the Brogue Kick.

Next, a recap of Brock Lesnar’s attack on Cody Rhodes from Monday Night Raw was shown and lasted almost three and a half minutes (Note: the opening Mania recap was nearly six minutes long). Wade Barrett said that he heard that Brock’s reason for attacking Cody was that he was livid that his match went on first at WrestleMania.

Backstage, Kayla Braxton asked Paul Heyman why Brock attacked Cody, but Heyman just deflected and pumped up that Roman Reigns is now approaching one thousand days as champion. Jey Uso interrupted and said he hadn’t seen Jimmy all night. Heyman revealed that Jimmy had been kept at home by Reigns. Heyman referred to Jey as “Main Event Jey” and once he left, Heyman said to Solo “He solves the Sami Zayn problem tonight, or you do”. 

Next on the show was Ricochet versus Ivar with Braun Strowman and Erik banned from ringside. Ricochet defeated Ivar with a Shooting Star Press in just over four minutes. 

Backstage Kevin Owens told Sami Zayn that tonight was a great opportunity to put all of The Bloodline stuff behind them with Sami facing Jey in the main event. Sami said that he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had to talk to Jey. Owens said he shouldn’t do it and Sami agreed but said he had to do it anyway. 

Number One contenders for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan took on Natalya & Shotzi next, the latter of which claimed they believed they should be the number one contenders. Rodriguez & Morgan defeated their opponents in under three minutes.

Backstage we saw Ridge Holland with Emma playing WWE 2k23 with Xavier Woods. LA Knight interrupted and repeated his routine about not getting a match at WrestleMania. Xavier said he should be like him and create his own solution to be on the show. Knight impressively crushed a PlayStation 5 DualSense controller with his bare hands and it seemed like a match between the two was imminent. 

Triple H came out at the top of the second hour and touted how WrestleMania 39 exceeded all expectations. He said every record was broken last weekend including almost a billion views on “digital” this week alone. Triple H then announced the WWE Draft in “just a few weeks” with “every single Superstar eligible” and “this year’s draft will truly change the game”. He then introduced SmackDown Women’s Champion “The Eradicator” Rhea Ripley.

Ripley came out with the full complement of The Judgment Day and Michael Cole wondered if they would remain intact with the draft right around the corner. Ripley cut a promo asking everyone to “rise for Mami”. Then Finn Balor grabbed the mic and asked “What sort of sicko has to resort to splitting my head open to get the W”? Balor said that Edge was nowhere to be seen and he is still standing. Dominik took the mic and got the loudest chorus of boos. Dom said he held back and pulled his punches at WrestleMania because he loves his Dad but could see the anger in his eyes. A recap of Monday’s events with Bad Bunny was shown and Michael Cole said that Bunny’s medical status hasn’t been revealed but word is “he’s in a bad way”. Damian Priest took the mic and said he forgives Bad Bunny for allowing him to do what he did to him.

Rey Mysterio’s music hit and he and Santos Escobar were accompanied to the ring by the LWO. The finish of the match saw outside interference by Rhea Ripley who then was attacked by Zelina Vega. Ripley then chased Vega off through the crowd. Damian Priest scored the pinfall on Santos Escobar amid the chaos. 

A promo aired announcing that Shinsuke Nakamura would be returning next week on SmackDown.

Sami Zayn approached Jey Uso backstage and reiterated that there was a way out for him and that he would beat it into his head if need be. Suddenly a loud noise startled Sami and he found Kevin Owens being attacked by Solo Sikoa. 

We then rolled into the main event with Sami Zayn facing off against Jey Uso. Before he went out to the ring, Sami admitted that Kevin was right and The Usos were more dangerous than before. A few minutes into the match, Solo Sikoa marched out to the ring and had a staredown with Sami while the show went to commercial break. During the match, Michael Cole was using the moniker “Main Event Jey Uso” during the match. Jey Uso won the match after Solo Sikoa hit the Somoan Spike behind the ref’s back. 

After the match, Solo started beating down Sami with Jey Uso looking on. Jey then stopped Solo from hitting the Somoan Spike and instead superkicked Sami himself. Matt Riddle then came out and attacked Jey and Solo. Michael Cole reminded us that he had been taken out by Solo months prior. 

Announced for SmackDown Next Week in Lincoln, NE:

  • Xavier Woods vs. LA Knight
  • Shinsuke Nakamura Returns

Friday Night SmackDown Results:

  • The Brawling Brutes over Imperium in 11:45
  • Ricochet over Ivar in 4:07
  • Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan over Natalya & Shotzi in 2:53
  • Dominik Mysterio & Damian Priest over Rey Mysterio & Santos Escobar in 10:17
  • Jey Uso over Sami Zayn in 9:49
About John Kleinchester 155 Articles
New Jersey born and raised. Wrestling fan since Lex slammed Yokozuna on the deck of the USS Intrepid. Favorite Wrestler of all time is Owen "The Rocket" Hart.
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