WWE Friday Night SmackDown Results
February 24, 2023
Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.
Commentary: Michael Cole and Wade Barrett
Results by: Roy Nemer of Wrestleview.com
WWE SmackDown kicks off with highlights of the Elimination Chamber main event. We also see clips of Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens in the ring from Raw.
Kayla is backstage and in comes Jimmy Uso who enters the arena. She asks about the Bloodline. He tells her he has not spoken to Jey since the Elimination Chamber. He texted him, called him and told him he can meet him in the middle of the ring later tonight. And he could look him in the face and tell him what he has to say.
Braun Strowman, Ricochet and Madcap Moss vs. Imperium
The bell rings and we are under way. Madcap and Vinci start the match. A running shoulder tackle by Madcap. Ricochet is tagged in. Ricochet with a standing shooting star. He goes for the cover but Vinci kicks out. Ricochet goes for the tag but Vinci with a clothesline. Kaiser is tagged in. He throws Ricochet to the ropes but a chop to the throat by Kaiser. He chops Strowman who is on the ring apron and that distracts the referee as Imperium triple team Ricochet.
-Commercial Break-
Back from commercial, Kaiser with a clothesline in the middle of the ring onto Ricochet. He goes for the cover but Ricochet kicks out. Gunther is tagged into the match. A European uppercut by Gunther as Drew McIntyre slowly walks down. Vinci is tagged in. A clothesline onto Ricochet. He goes for another clothesline but Ricochet ducks and Strowman is tagged in. Strowman runs through Kaiser and Vinci. In comes Gunther and a chop by Gunther onto Strowman but Strowman remains standing. Gunther with a head lock but Strowman gets out of it. A drop kick by Gunther but Madcap is tagged in. Madcap with a spear in the corner and right hands. He runs to the ropes but Kaiser distracts Madcap and Gunther with a chop. Gunther with the powerbomb. He goes for the cover and gets the pin.
Winners: Imperium
The Viking Raiders attack Drew from behind on the ramp. They throw him into the barricade and out comes Sheamus who attacks the Viking Raiders. He pushes Erik into the ring apron but Ivar with a clothesline. Strowman with the Strowman express onto the Viking Raiders. Ricochet runs and flies over the top rope onto the Viking Raiders. Drew and Sheamus with kicks onto the Viking Raiders and they go over the barricade.
We cut backstage and Kayla is backstage with Rey Mysterio. He says tonight, he will put an end to Karrion Kross. In comes Santos Escobar. He tells Rey that there is one thing that he and his family value and that is respect. He says he had the honor of receiving a mask from the legendary Rey Mysterio. And he wants to show the WWE Universe how much eh respects Rey. He tells Rey that he won his respect as Rey tells him it’s a mutual feeling.
In comes Dominik with Rhea Ripley. He asks Santos how much he is going to keep kissing Rey’s ass. Sanos tells him if he needs to be taught some respect, he will show him. Dominik tells him that in prison, those who didn’t back up what they said, got dealt with. Dominik and Rhea walk away.
Santos tells Rey not to let it bother him but Rey tells him that’s his son.
-Commercial Break-
Jimmy, Solo and Heyman are backstage. Jimmy tells him since the Royal Rumble, things have been crazy with the Bloodline. But since Montreal, things are different. Jimmy says Jey might be spooked over Zayn. Heyman tells Jimmy if that is the case, Solo can stay backstage with him and Jimmy can handle Jey in the ring. Man to man, brother to brother, twin to twin. Jimmy agrees.
-Commercial Break-
LA Knight walks down to the ring. He tells the fans “Let me talk to ya”. And that it is the season, every one is talking about their WrestleMania moments. LA Knight says he didn’t come for a WrestleMania moment, he came to make money, win titles and be recognized as being the best. And that is by going to WrestleMania. But the twist is that he is not the one who will be having a WrestleMania moment. You can’t have an LA WrestleMania without LA Knight.
What that means is that he is going to give WrestleMania an LA Knight moment. Out come the New Day. Kofi makes fun of LA Knight. He says that he has only been on the roster for two and a half months. Who is he to be demanding anything. LA Knight says he doesn’t recall inviting the nerd day put here. If they were not so busy playing their video games, they would realize that they are looking at the mega star LA Knight.
Woods tells him that being nerds has made them a lot of money. Woods tells him WrestleMania moments are not handed out, they are earned. Case in point is Kofi Kingston. LA Knight tells him that he doesn’t care about their path. He is a creator of circumstance. He asks Kofi how that KofiMania thing worked out for him. The New Day get in the ring.
Kofi says it worked out pretty well, he won the title. And he was not waiting for a WrestleMania moment. But what he will not wait for is the chance to shut him up tonight. LA Knight laughs as the fans chant “New Day Rocks”. He asks Kofi if that is a challenge. Woods tells Adam Pearce if he can hear him and he approves it, to send a referee out. A referee runs to the ring.
-Commercial Break-
LA Night vs. Kofi Kingston with Xavier Woods
Back from commercial and the match is already under way. LA Knight with a shoulder tackle. He runs to the ropes but Kofi with a spinning back elbow. He goes for the cover but LA Knight kicks out. Kofi climbs the second rope and a splash onto LA Knight. He goes for the cover but another kick out. Kofi climbs the top rope and a cross body. He goes for the cover but LA Knight kicks out. Kofi with an arm bar but LA Knight with a back elbow to the face. A spinning back elbow to the face onto Kofi.
LA Knight with kicks onto Kofi. Right hands by LA Knight followed by a bodyslam. He goes for the cover but Kofi kicks out. LA Knight goes for a neck breaker but Kofi hangs on to the ropes. Kofi with a splash in the corner. Kofi goes for another splash but LA Knight catches him and slams him face first into the top turnbuckle.
-Commercial Break-
Back from commercial, LA Knight throws Kofi to the outside of the ring. Woods checking on Kofi as LA Knight pushes Woods. He tells Woods to hit him. LA Knight grabs Kofi and throws him back into the ring. LA Knight tells Woods he could be next, a two for one special. LA Knight gets in the ring and with Kofi under the bottom rope, he catapults Kofi into the bottom rope. LA Knight with a knee to the face. LA Knight on the ring apron as he jumps over the top rope and hits Kofi with a flying shoulder tackle. He goes for the cover but Kofi kicks out. LA Knight with kicks to the face. He runs towards Kofi but Kofi hits him with a knee to the face. Kofi with a right hand.
Kofi with a heel kick. He rolls LA Knight up but LA Knight kicks out. Kofi with a splash onto LA Knight. Kofi goes for Trouble in Paradise but LA Knight ducks and slams Kofi onto the mat. He goes for the cover but Kofi kicks out. LA Knight rolls to the outside and attacks Woods from behind, who was playing the trombone. Kofi with a splash over the top rope onto LA Knight. He throws LA Knight back into the ring. Kofi climbs the top rope but a right hand by LA Knight. He runs towards Kofi but Koi ducks and Woods plays the trombone and distracts LA Knight. Kofi hits him with Trouble in Paradise. He goes for the cover and gets the pin.
Winner: Kofi Kingston
-Commercial Break-
Out comes Charlotte Flair to the ring. Charlotte says 35 days until WrestleMania. She knows that Rhea likes to run her mouth on Raw, she can’t wait to hear what she has to say to her face. She calls Rhea out to the ring. Rhea doesn’t come out and Flair says she thinks she smells hesitation. Flair asks if she is remembering the last time they were in the ring together.
Dominik walks out calling her Queeny. He says he will not let her run down Mami. Flair tells him he is out here taking orders like a good little niño. He says this is adult time and he should go get mommy, instead of her hiding behind her boy toy. He says she sounds jealous, almost bitter because she knows that the hottest thing in WWE right now is Rhea bloody Ripley. And no other mamacita has ever entered the Royal Rumble at number one and won it all. Flair smiles, trying not to laugh.
He tells Flair she should smile more often, she is a beautiful woman. He says the women is the softer sex, delicate but mami is strong. She is real strong. When she hugs him, she breaks his back. And when she makes sweet… Charlotte breaks him up. He says she has a real latino man at home who calls her mommy with a much thicker accent. She doesn’t know what he is talking about.
Dominik says he just wanted to chat because they have a lot in common. They are both generational WWE superstars. She is second generation, he is third generation. They both know what it is like to be compared to their fathers, be better than them, surpass them, even though the fans don’t like to see it. But he knows that his dad was a lot worse. His dad was a dead beat. He didn’t even bother showing up, he was an afterthought of a father. And that messed him up. He says and that put a big chip on his shoulder, just like her. But at WrestleMania, when momi beats her, she will know that her dad was right. She’s just not good enough.
Flair says unlike him, she loves her dad. And he is 74 tomorrow as she wishes him a happy early birthday. And he still could go. And if he was here, he would kick his butt but since he is not here… Flair drops the microphone and goes face to face with him.
Rhea’s music hits. Rhea goes face to face with Flair as she and Dominik slowly back away and leave the ring. Flair lifts her WWE SmackDown Women’s title and Rhea gets back in the ring. They go face to face as Dominik holds Rhea back.
-Commercial Break-
Natalya with Tegan Nox vs. Shayna Baszler with Ronda Rousey
The bell rings and we are under way. Right hands by Natalya as Shayna rolls to the ring apron. Natalya grabs her and throws her back into the ring. Shayna grabs Natalya by the arm and slams her onto the mat. Baszler twists Natalya’s left arm and Natalya with right hands and a hip toss. A kick by Shayna. She lowers her right knee pad. Shayna runs towards Natalya but Natalya grabs her leg and rolls her up but Shayna kicks out. Natalya with a Russian leg sweep. A kick by Natalya.
Right hands by Natalya followed by a German suplex. Natalya with a clothesline. She goes for the cover but Shayna kicks out. Natalya goes for the sharpshooter but Shayna kicks her away. Shayna rolls to the outside of the ring. Natalya with a baseball slide. She grabs Shayna and throws her back into the ring. Natalya and Ronda are face to face. Natalya on the ring apron and Shayna with a knee to the face. She grabs Natalya and rolls her into the ring. Shayna with an arm bar submission and Natalya taps out.
Winner: Shayna Baszler
Shayna and Ronda try to double team Natalya but Nox attacks Ronda as Ronda and Shayna roll to the outside of the ring. Ronda asks who that is and Shayna tells her that is Nox. Ronda calls her skittles and that she will be tasting the rainbow next week.
Firefly Fun House with Bray Wyatt
The lights turn red in the fun house with the TV flickering. We get two hands playing with vintage Undertaker action figures in the funhouse. We cut to Bray watching his promo from last week and laughing and that cuts to a clip of Lashley speaking on Raw saying he will not be disrespected.
We cut to Funhouse News. And Bray, playing a news anchor, says things are not great. He asks who opened the door and laughs. And it’s time for the weather. Uncle Howdy gives the weather and we cut to a game show called “Can you Keep a secret” with Bray playing a game show host.
Bray says can you? And it cuts to a “still to come”. We cut back to the funhouse with Bray repeating the words can you keep a secret as dark visuals play through the funhouse door. We cut to Bray wearing a mask saying if I told you a story, can you keep a secret?
Back in the arena, Jimmy is sitting with Solo. Heyman says he got a text from Roman who tells him that Reigns will be on SmackDown live next week. And he wants him to know that he will handle Jey tonight or Roman will handle Jey for him next week, personally.
-Commercial Break-
Rey Mysterio vs. Karrion Kross with Scarlett
The bell rings and we are under way. Rey with an acrobating head scissor take down. Kross to the outside of the ring. Rey with a suicide dive.
-Commercial Break-
Back from commercial, Rey on the top rope and a sit down senton onto Kross. Rey runs to the ropes but Kross throws him to the outside of the ring. Kross grabs Rey and throws him back into the ring. Kross back in the ring and he lifts Rey up on his shoulders. Kross climbs the second rope but Rey with elbows to the face. Rey on the top rope and a hurricanrana off the top rope. He goes for the cover but Kross kicks out. Rey trips Kross up on the second rope. Scarlett is on the ring apron, Rey goes for the 619 and that slams Scarlett into the ring. Rey is distracted. Rey goes for the 619 but Dominik, out of nowhere, grabs Rey by the legs and to the outside with the referee distracted. Dominik gets in Rey’s face. Rey gets back into the ring and Kross hits him with the Kross Hammer and gets him in the Kross Jacket as Rey passes out.
Winner: Karrion Kross
Dominik gets in the ring after the match. He tells Rey to get up and to hit him. He pushes Rey and he tells Rey to hit him. Dominik continues to push Rey and tells him to hit him. Rey gets in Dominik’s face and Dominik tells him to hit him. Rey turns around as Dominik grabs him. He tells Rey to hit him. Rey kicks the bottom rope and leaves the ring.
-Commercial Break-
Jimmy Uso walks down to the ring. Jimmy says if he is not here, he knows he is out there watching somewhere. From brother to brother, he knows he is torn. He knows he is hurt. And when Jey is hurt, he is hurt. But he wants to tell him that he will always be there for him, no matter what. Just like he needs him to be there for him right now. Jimmy says people are saying there are cracks in the Bloodline. He knows there are issues, they have a Zayn problem, an Owens problem, they need to defend their tag team titles. He knows Jey has issues with the Tribal Chief.
Zayn runs through the crowd wearing a black hoodie and stands behind Jimmy as Jimmy turns around. Zayn says he is not here to fight. He knows he wants to talk to Jey and he would too. But right now, he needs to talk to him. Every time he hears him say brother, that breaks his heart because that’s what Jimmy was to him. They were dawgs, he had his back in the Bloodline from day one. When Jey didn’t trust him, he did. He was the one who made him the honorary Uce. Without Jimmy, there is no honorary Uce, no feeling Ucy. But when things went south at the Royal Rumble, he didn’t even think twice. He took him down with zero hesitation. He tells Jimmy that hurt.
Both men are standing in the ring. Jimmy tells Zayn he is selfish. He wants to put the blame on Jimmy but it was Zayn that made that choice. He pulled the trigger, he stepped on Jimmy and Jey. He tells Zayn that he did what he had to do. He says family don’t betray you. Zayn tells him family doesn’t make you test your loyalty every week. They don’t make you jump through hoops, they don’t try to manipulate you. That’s what Roman did to his twin, not for days, months but years.
We see Jey standing in the crowd. Zayn says the Bloodline is not about Roman Reigns, it is about one man. And if it’s the last thing he will do, he will make the Roman crumble down. Just like he told Jey, he is telling Jimmy. He doesn’t have to go down with the ship. He knows Jimmy knows what he is saying is true. Jimmy with a right hand on Zayn as Jey walks down. Jimmy tells Jey to come down and Zayn hits him with the Helluva Kick. Jey stands by the barricade and out comes Solo Sikoa as Zayn leaves the ring. Zayn jumps the barricade and Jey is standing by the barricade as the show fades to black.
Quick Results:
– Imperium get the win vs. Braun Strowman, Ricochet and Madcap Moss
– Kofi Kingston gets the win vs. LA Knight
– Shayna Baszler gets the win vs. Natalya
– Karrion Kross gets the win vs. Rey Mysterio