Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone, tonight’s WWE SmackDown includes a big show, with Chelsea Green and Naomi battling for a spot in the Women’s Elimination Chamber, Jacob Fatu, Braun Strowman, and Damian Priest fighting for a spot in the Men’s, and the WWE Women’s Championship on the line, as Nia Jax looks to win back her title from TIffany Stratton.
Here’s our review and grades for tonight’s show, live from the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
WWE SmackDown Card
- Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Naomi vs. Chelsea Green
- Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Braun Strowman vs. Jacob Fatu vs. Damian Priest
- WWE Women’s Championship: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Nia Jax
WWE SmackDown Results
Cody and Drew Meet Face-to-Face
Cody Rhodes opens up tonight’s show, talking about how he now knows who he’ll be facing for the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 41, and it’s someone from the Men’s Elimination Chamber. Out comes Drew McIntyre, who quickly begins talking about how he plans on taking down Rhodes just like he has in the past.
As Rhodes is getting ready to talk about how he knows McIntyre has been one of the few people to beat him since winning a title, Jacob Fatu comes out, joined by Tama Tonga. He said he’s “all gas, no brakes” in this business, and will make sure to win tonight to earn a spot in the Chamber, and when he does, he’ll be taking the title back at WrestleMania, and bringing it back to his family where it belongs.
McIntyre said he wasn’t engaging with Fatu and left, leaving just Rhodes and Fatu in the ring. Fatu began circling Rhodes, but Cody cut him off and said that before Fatu got any ideas, Fatu would have to prove he could earn a spot. The two were then interrupted by a car pulling up on the jumbotron, with none other than Solo Sikoa getting out of the car. Fatu said he had “family business” to discuss with Solo, while Rhodes said he’d make sure he got the last word.
Grade: B
As far as opening promos go, this one was okay. Fatu getting more and more time to set up his feud with Rhodes, and the sprinkles of Fatu and Solo potentially butting heads was good to see as well.
Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Naomi vs. Chelsea Green
Up next is the qualifying match for the Women’s Elimination Chamber, and these two are going at it immediately. Late in the match, Naomi rallied after getting hit with a Rough Ryder, and was able to drop Green with the Split Legged Moonsault and followed it up with a pin for the win and a spot in the Chamber.
Winner – Naomi
Grade: B-
This was a solid match, and it’s good to see Naomi getting some more shine in the ring. Her in the Chamber is going to make some awesome spots.
Sami Zayn Gives Us An Update
In a brief update in video form, Sami Zayn says that it’s been a tough few weeks for him. He said he and Kevin Owens have had their issues before, but this time is totally different. Owens wasn’t trying to get over on him or boost his career, but simply wanted to end Zayn’s career.
Zayn said Owens did this all over a wrestling match, even after Zayn had run down to the ring in tears to try and make sure Owens was okay after his match against Cody Rhodes at Royal Rumble. Zayn said he doesn’t know when he’ll be cleared, but when he does, he wants to see Kevin Owens in the ring.
Motor City Machine Guns vs. Los Garza
The Motor City Machine Guns are up against Los Garza next, and MCMG start off hot here, but are quickly stopped by Angel. Later in the match, Chris Cabin gets in and drops both Garza and Humberto with a big hit and a near fall. As the match came down to its end, MCMG closed things out with a Skull and Bones for the win.
Winner – Motor City Machine Guns
Grade: C
This one felt mostly like a filler match, but it’s nice to see MCMG get some more wins under their belt. The group feels stuck as of now, but the tag team division is a bit wide open so who knows what’s in store.
Jacob Fatu Confronts Solo Sikoa
Backstage, Jacob Fatu has finally found Solo Sikoa, and he’s not too happy. Sikoa stops him before he can say anything, though, and apologizes for being away after losing the ula fala. Solo said he let everyone down and hasn’t been himself, but he’s ready to get back to work and take over the family just like they did before, and that starts with Fatu winning the Elimination Chamber and qualifying tonight.
Fatu tried to leave, but Solo stopped him, and flipped Fatu’s iconic catchphrase on him, telling Fatu that he loved him.
Shinsuke Nakamura, LA Knight, and The Miz Get Into It
Out comes Shinsuke Nakamura, who says he’s been hiding in the shadows and that nobody is coming for him. He is praying for a worthy contender, though, and LA Knight’s music hits almost on cue. Knight comes out and mocks Nakamura a bit, saying that Shinsuke stole his title, and the last time they met in the ring, Knight was about to win before The Bloodline interfered.
Before the two can go any further, The Miz comes out to interrupt things, calling both Shinsuke and Knight basic. Miz said that he’s the real worthy one for a belt, but Knight quickly mocked Miz, saying he’s been using the same schtick for 10 years and it’s gotten too old now. Miz then began jokingly crying, mocking the fact that Knight said it was okay to cry last week. As the two continued to bicker, out came Nick Aldis, who said enough was enough and that they’d just have a match to figure out who Nakamura’s new number one contender would be.
The Miz vs. LA Knight
In the match, Knight and Miz began brawling, with Knight in control for a majority of things. Miz was able to flip some momentum late with a big running strike into the corner, but Knight kept fighting back. Nakamura is trying to distract Knight, allowing Miz to attack Knight from behind. In the end, though, Knight was able to get a big move in and then pin Miz for the win and a chance at the belt.
Winner – LA Knight
Grade: B-
I have to be honest…I don’t know if the LA Knight/Nakamura feud is working. They simply haven’t done enough to warrant it being any believable, although it’s been nice to see Nakamura at the front of a title story.
R-Truth vs. Carmelo Hayes
In one of the weirder segments of the night, R-Truth and Hayes got into it backstage, with Truth not understanding what Hayes meant when he kept calling himself “him.” In the actual match, Hayes pretty much dominated things, even though Truth got to get a couple of moves off.
In the end, Hayes won after countering out of an AA attempt from Truth, and then hit a clothesline and a Nothing But Net for the win.
Winner – Carmelo Hayes
Grade: C
Nothing but filler here, and the pre-match segment was actually better than the match itself, but it was still nothing to write home about.
Kevin Owens Responds to Sami Zayn
In a video response to Sami Zayn filmed in his car, Kevin Owens said that he isn’t doing good himself, but not because of any injuries. Instead, it’s because the people he thought he knew the best — Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, and Zayn — all stabbed him in the back. Owens said Zayn doesn’t really know what real pain is, but he’ll show him.
As far as Zayn’s injuries go, Owens said he doesn’t care if he’s good or not, he wants to see him at Elimination Chamber, in Toronto, where things all began for the pair. If Zayn can find him, Owens said, he’ll know real pain.
WWE Women’s Championship: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Nia Jax
The WWE Women’s Championship is on the line here, and there is no love lost between Stratton and Jax. The pair get at it right away, and Stratton is able to avoid a series of clotheslines and bumps from Jax, before she makes the mistake of trying to trip her up in a leg lock. Jax hits Stratton with a big body slam, then a running leg drop, before Stratton flips the momentum with a massive spinebuster.,
Stratton hits a massive double stomp on Jax for a near fall, which Jax follows up with her own big Samoan Drop for one. Toward the end the match, Stratton avoided a loss by once again kicking out of a leg drop from Jax, then hit another spinebuster before going up to the rope to hit a moonsault. However, Candice LeRae appeared out of nowhere, attacking Stratton and causing the match to end in a DQ.
Winner – Tiffany Stratton via disqualification
After the match, Jax and LeRae went after Stratton, but Trish Stratus — who was at ringside — jumped over the barricade and went into the ring to save Tiffy. Things only got more chaotic from here, because as Jax and LeRae were walking off, out came Charlotte Flair. She came down to the ring, set up a chair, and promptly told a still hurt Stratton that she was choosing her for her WrestleMania 41 match.
Grade: B+
This one was a whole lot, and was still a ton of fun despite all the chaos happening. Stratton and Jax continue to be a great matchup for one another, and seeing Stratton and Stratus team up together at Elimination Chamber will be awesome.
Naomi and Bianca Belair Get Some Answers
Backstage, Nick Aldis is meeting with Naomi and Belair, and says he has some footage as to what happened to Jade Cargill. Aldis then plays footage taken on a cellphone of an ambulance taking Cargill away. In the background, what looks to be Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez can be seen walking off, throwing Naomi and Belair into a rage, before promising to take care of them on Monday Night RAW.
Trish Stratus and Tiffany Stratton Team Up
After the match and Flair’s declaration, Stratus caught up Stratton backstage, and said that the pair should team up with one another to take on Nia Jax and Candice at Elimination Chamber. Stratton said it’ll be “Tiffy time and Trishy time” in Toronto, and the two celebrate briefly.
Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Jacob Fatu vs. Braun Strowman vs. Damian Priest
This one is an all-out brawl from the very start, with all three starting things off with massive clotheslines to one another. The three giant superstars eventually settle down, and the three continue trading big blows. Due to the no DQ nature of the match, things eventually get taken out of the ring and out of hand, and Fatu lays out Braun with the steel steps outside of the ring.
Back in the ring, Damian and Fatu stare each other down before brawling with one another. Eventually, Strowman gets back into the ring, and runs right into Priest. Fatu then sets up Strowman for a Samoan Drop and a dive for a near fall.
Things continue to get even more out of hand, as all three find themselves on the top rope, before Strowman somehow lifts both Fatu and Priest up in a ridiculous powerbomb spot. After spilling out onto the floor, Braun throws Priest into the announce table, then chokeslams Fatu on it before throwing him back into the ring. As he’s setting up a chair spot for Fatu, though, Strowman is surprise spiked by Solo Sikoa, and all of a sudden Cody Rhodes is running out to his music.
Rhodes and Sikoa go at it outside of the ring, and all of a sudden Tama Tonga is out here trying to stop Rhodes. However, Sikoa doesn’t see him, and goes to spike Rhodes, only to hit Tonga instead. An irate Fatu saw it and gets in Sikoa’s face, but he and Sikoa get dropped by a running Strowman. Fatu is then dumped over the security barricade by Strowman, and he and Priest take to the ring.
In the ring, Priest avoids a finisher from Strowman as Rhodes hits a Crossrhodes on Solo outside of the ring. Priest then hits an absolutely incredible South of Heaven on Braun for the win, and he and Rhodes shake hands in the ring.
Grade: A-
What an absolutely incredible main event. Surprisingly packed with a ton of great spots, and Rhodes and Sikoa showing up out of nowhere was also a nice treat. The relationship between Fatu and Sikoa fracturing is also a great storyline to follow.
WWE SmackDown Review
This was a bit of a mixed bag of a show. The first two hours were a whole lot of nothing, but the final hour featured two incredible matches to close out the show. In the end, they set up a couple of big spots for WrestleMania, and the Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn tease for Elimination Chamber was nice, too.
Grade: B
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