WWE Friday Night SmackDown Results
March 5, 2021
St. Petersburg, Florida (Tropicana Field)
Commentary: Michael Cole and Corey Graves
Results by: Roy Nemer of Wrestleview.com
WWE SmackDown kicks off with a video hyping up Edge vs. Roman Reigns for WrestleMania.
Michael Cole is in the ring as he introduces Daniel Bryan to the ring. Cole mentions that it will be Bryan vs. Jey Uso tonight in a steel cage match and should Bryan win, he will face Roman Reigns at FastLane for the Universal Championship. Cole asks him why he turned his focus to Roman when initially it was he and Edge vs. Roman and Jey Uso.
Bryan says Cole is making a lot of assumptions, the biggest one is that anyone even asked him if he wanted to team with Edge to face Roman and Uso. Bryan says they know Bryan rolls with the punches, he shows up and works. He understands why Edge didn’t ask him. He understands why Roman didn’t ask him. He says he won’t be the old Daniel Bryan anymore. They have a dream match, Edge vs. Roman at WrestleMania and he gets it. Attitude era vs. The Thunderdome but he doesn’t want to see that and he is going to do his best that it doesn’t happen.
Daniel tells Cole he can take it from here as he has something to show everyone. We see a clip of Bryan winning the Elimination Chamber and losing to Roman. We see Edge attacking Roman after the match.
Back in the ring, Bryan says he lost a lot in his career. He got beat up a lot, you’d think after winning his third Chamber match and fighting against Roman that it wouldn’t be such a big deal. But when he rolled to the floor and Edge rolled into the ring and speared Roman and pointed at the WrestleMania sign, never in his life has he felt like such a failure.
Bryan says a lot of people don’t know this but he doesn’t have a ton of ambition. WWE did these personality test years ago on personalities and Bryan had the lowest ambition score. Bryan says he loves this and if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life. And he feels like he never had to work a day in the last 21 years. And it rings true because for the last year, he had in the back of his mind that he is a step more into being a full time dad and less a full time wrestler. And he put himself on the back burner and put other talents first.
Daniel mentions how when he rolled to the floor and Edge pointed at the sign, he failed himself. Because he put himself on the back burner and only then did he realize that he had more ambition than that personality test can ever show. He knew that he should be in the main event of WrestleMania. Not Edge, not Roman, him. He got upset because he loves this and in the last 3 weeks he has wrestled more matches than Roman and Edge have combined in the last 3 months.
Bryan says he loves what he does and he knows that he can be the absolute best. Tonight, he steps into a steel cage with Jey Uso and if he beats him, he gets a chance to face Roman at FastLane and that is the only way that he will main event WrestleMania and this could be his last chance. Out comes Roman Reigns to the ring with Uso and Heyman.
-Commercial Break-
Back from commercial, all four guys are in the ring. Roman says he is looking at the same guy but he doesn’t sound like the same guy. The way Bryan is talking is confusing and if it confuses him, it’s confusing the audience. Bryan is the little guy, underdog, a lotto winner. He’s the guy who waits on the opportunity and sometimes it works out. He’s not ambitious, men like Roman and they aren’t many, they are ambitious.
Roman says ever since he was young, he’s been driven. Bryan says he loves the business, Roman says Bryan doesn’t love it, he needs it. That’s not love because love is based off service, what you will do for others. Roman says he loves this business, he doesn’t need it. He does it because everyone needs him. SmackDown needs him. The roster needs him, the crew needs him. Heyman, Jey, they need him. Roman says Bryan needs him. And after Jey gets the win tonight, Bryan will know that he needs Roman and once he knows that, he will acknowledge him.
Bryan is about to speak as Jey grabs the microphone from him. He tells Bryan this is as close as he will get to the Championship. You’re not locking Roman out of the cage, Bryan is locked in with him. Uso goes for a right hand but Bryan with a hip toss as he throws Jey to the outside. He and Roman are one onn one in the ring as Roman gets out of the ring.
We see a clip of last week where The Street Profits got the win vs. Sami and Corbin.
-Commercial Break-
The Street Profits vs. Sami Zayn and King Corbin
Sami says last week they got a fluke win and tonight they will prove it was just a fluke. Out comes Corbin who tells him the are not tag partners and he is a singles competitor. He asks one of them if they want a singles match. The Street Profits says they got a lot of time for matches. Sami disagrees and says he agreed to a tag team match.
Montez Ford vs. King Corbin
The bell rings and we are under way. Ford with a drop kick as he runs to the ropes but a spine buster by Corbin. He goes for the cover but Ford kicks out. Right hands by Corbin as he slams Ford chest first into the turnbuckle. Corbin taunts Sami as Ford jumps onto Corbin’s back. And a DDT by Ford. He goes for the cover but Corbin kicks out.
Sami and his crew approach Dawkins and that gets Ford’s attention. Ford with a kick to the head but Corbin comes back with The End of Days. He goes for the cover and gets the pin.
Winner: King Corbin
Sami is on the ring apron as Dawkins pushes Sami off the ring apron and he falls onto Corbin. He and Corbin argue on the outside as Corbin leaves the ring and Sami tells him he helped him during his match.
-Commercial Break-
Sami Zayn vs. Angelo Dawkins
We are back from commercial with the match already under way. Dawkins with a drop kick takes Sami down. He goes for the cover but Sami kicks out. Sami rolls to the outside as Dawkins follows him. Sami slams Dawkins face first into the barricade and into the ring apron.
Both men back in the ring as Sami knocks Dawkins down. He goes for the cover but Dawkins kicks out. Sami stomps on Dawkins as he sends Dawkins to the ropes and a clothesline takes Dawkins down. He goes for the cover but Angelo kicks out. He goes for another cover but again Dawkins kicks out. He sends Angelo to the ropes but Dawkins with a clothesline. A spinning elbow followed by a bulldog. Dawkins goes for the cover but Sami kicks out.
Dawkins with a jumping spinning neck breaker called the silencer. He goes for the cover but Sami kicks out. Dawkins goes for a back elbow but Sami moves and Sami with the exploder into the corner. Dawkins in the corner but Ford gets in the camera crew’s face which distracts Sami. Dawkins rolls him up and gets the pin.
Winner: Angelo Dawkins
Sami attacks one of his camera men saying he doesn’t work for him and asks him who hired him.
Reginald is backstage with Carmella. She says to play a game. She says one took a chance on someone while that person betrayed her. She calls Reginald a snake and fires him.
-Commercial Break-
A video hyping up Big E as it’s announced that he will return to SmackDown next week.
Dominik Mysterio with Rey Mysterio vs. Chad Gable with Otis
The bell rings and we are under way. A take down by Gable as Gable wrestles Dominik on the mat but Dominik throws Gable to the outside. Gable gets back in the ring and an arm drag by Dominik followed by an arm bar. Gable acrobatically gets out of it as he trips Dominik up and gets works on Dominik’s leg.
Gable goes for the cover but Dominik kicks out. Gable continues to work on Dominik’s left leg but Dominik gets out of it and a kick to the head by Dominik. A hurricanrana off the second rope but Dominik. He goes for a tornado DDT but Gable reverses it into a tiger suplex but Dominik kicks out. Gable climbs the second rope, he goes for a moonsault, Dominik moves out of the way, Gable lands on his feet as Dominik rolls Gable and gets the pin.
Winner: Dominik Mysterio
Otis tries to get in the ring but Rey with knocks Otis down as he and Dominik celebrate.
Kayla is backstage with Seth. She asks him about Seth being spun around last week. Seth asks her if she has ever seen Cesaro spin someone around that many times before. It’s a rhetorical question, of course not. He says Cesaro is afraid of him, afraid to embrace the vision. He wanted to humiliate him. But he will never forget that.
In comes Murphy who tells Seth that he was thinking he could assist him with the Cesaro situation. Seth tells him to leave.
-Commercial Break-
Sasha Banks makes her way down to the ring before the match as Reginald follows her.
Bianca Belair vs. Shayna Baszler with Nia Jax
The bell rings and we are under way. A headlock by Shayna as Bianca reverses it. A shoulder block by Bianca knocks Shayna down. Bianca goes for a drop kick but Shayna grabs her leg. She tries a submission but Bianca kicks her away. Bianca with a roll-up but Shayna kicks out. Shayna with a kick to the arm slows Bianca down.
Shayna with a running knee. Shayna goes for another arm bar but Bianca reverses it into a bodyslam. Bianca spears Shayna in the corner. Kicks by Bianca in the corner followed by a snap suplex. Shayna runs towards Bianca but a back drop by Bianca. She lifts Shayna up but Shayna reverses it throwing Bianca to the outside. She lands in front of Reginald and she pushes him away.
Bianca gets in the ring but Shayna with a knee to the face. Jax runs towards Reginald on the outside but he moves out of the way and she runs into Sasha on the outside. Shayna goes for the clutch but Bianca reverses it and hits her with the KOD. She goes for the cover and gets the pin.
Winner: Bianca Belair
Reginald is apologizing to Sasha as Bianca tells Sasha that he almost cost her the match and she tells Sasha to take care of it. Sasha gets to her feet and slaps Reginald.
Roman is backstage with Jey and he tells him if Jey wins tonight, the Championship is safe until WrestleMania. And if not, he will have to defend it at FastLane. And that is fine but if Jey loses, he will embarrass the family. Jey tells him he has this win and walks away.
-Commercial Break-
Seth Rollins makes his way down to the ring before the match and joins the commentary team.
Murphy vs. Cesaro
The bell rings and we are under way. Cesaro slams Murphy down. He lifts Murphy back up and throws him around the ring. He goes for the cover but Murphy kicks out. Both men back up but Murphy with a back elbow. He jumps but Cesaro catches him and hits him with a back breaker. He goes for the cover but Murphy kicks out.
Cesaro grabs Murphy but Murphy throws him to the outside. A kick by Murphy as he flies over the top rope onto Cesaro. He throws Cesaro back in the ring. Murphy on the top rope and he hits him with the meteora. He goes for the cover but Cesaro kicks out.A knee to the back by Murphy as he climbs the second rope. Murphy jumps but an uppercut by Cesaro takes Murphy down. Cesaro with several uppercuts followed by a knee to the face.
With Murphy down, Cesaro swings Murphy around. He slams Murphy and puts him in the sharpshooter as Murphy taps out.
Winner: Cesaro
Reginald has his suitcase as he’s walking backstage and knocks on Sasha’s door. She opens the door, says no and slams it. As he’s walking, he’s stopped by Shayna and Nia. They make fun of him as Nia tells Shayna that Reginald is kind of cute.
-Commercial Break-
Apollo Crews with two men in army uniforms make their way down to the ring. Crews, speaking in an accent says everyone is telling him how they don’t like the new Apollo. But this is the real Apollo. This is who he is, this is how he talks. He is a descendant of Nigerian royalty. He is a real African American. He says when he was young, his father would tell him stories about these Gods and he was ashamed as a kid because at school people would make fun of him. Even his friends would want him around to ask ignorant questions. If he lived in a jungle.
Crews says the stories his father would tell him about his ancestors were powerful one’s. They would defeat you and haunt you for generations. He says history is repeating itself because Big E tried to conquer him, to humble him. And every single time he disrespected him, he would hear his ancestors in his head say to stand up and claim his birth right. He tells Big E he knows that he is coming back next week and that makes him happy because he has changed and he demands. Crews says he demands a rematch for the Intercontinental Championship. He tells Big E he will be haunted by his complete and total victory.
Adam Pearce and Sonya are backstage with Natalya and Tamina. They say they don’t know how they aren’t in the women’s tag team match at FastLane. Adam says it’s the decision that was made and he walks away.
Kayla is backstage with Jey and she asks him about his match. Jey says he isn’t worried as Daniel Bryan attacks him from behind.
-Commercial Break-
Ding Dong Hello with Bayley
She says she will debut a segment called sweet tweets. She reads a few tweets praising herself. She skips the last tweet and gets angry. She opens the door and leaves slamming it shut.
Steel cage match -Daniel Bryan vs. Jey Uso – If Bryan wins, he faces Roman Reigns at FastLane for the Universal Championship
Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman make their way down to the ring before the start of the match.
-Commercial Break-
The bell rings and we are under way. Jey throws Bryan into the steel cage. Roman looks at Jey and tells him more. Jey lifts Bryan up and once more throws him into the steel cage. They open the door as Jey tries to escape but Bryan grabs Jey’s leg and stops him. A right hand by Jey and he starts to climb the cage. Bryan climbs the cage and grabs Jey by the leg. Both men fight on the top rope as Jey trips Bryan up on the top rope followed by a right hand.
Jey tries to throw Bryan into the cage but Bryan blocks it and he throws Jey face first into the steel cage. Bryan off the top rope and a dropkick takes Jey down. Bryan with a kick to the arm and he throws Jey shoulder first into the cage. Bryan again throws Jey into the cage as he continues to attack the shoulder. Bryan starts to climb the cage but Jey trips Bryan up on the top rope. Jey stomping on Bryan on the top rope. Jey slowly climbs the cage but Bryan slows him down.
Both men high up the cage but Jey grabs Bryan and a Samoan drop off the top rope by Jey takes Bryan down.
-Commercial Break-
Back from commercial, both men are fighting on the top rope and Bryan with the yes kicks but Jey with the super kick knocks Bryan down. A splash off the top rope by Jey onto Bryan. He goes for the cover but Bryan kicks out. Jey tries to escape through the door but Bryan grabs his leg. Both men exchange kicks and Jey with a super kick. He goes for the cover but again Bryan kicks out. Jey climbs the cage but Bryan slows him down. Both men at the top of the cage. Bryan makes it to the other side of the cage but Jey grabs him by the neck and drags him back in the ring.
Both men on the top rope. Bryan with a double underhook suplex off the top rope and he gets the Yes Lock in on Jey who makes it to the ropes but it doesn’t count. Jey taps out.