Last night’s SmackDown saw the much anticipated return of The King of Strong Style, Shinsuke Nakamura, who has been absent from WWE Television since November.
We also saw Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens’ championship celebration gone wrong and the rivalry between Xavier Woods and LA Knight finally come to an end. We are covering this week’s edition of SmackDown in case you missed it.
Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens confront The Bloodline; Matt Riddle comes to the rescue
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens kicked off tonight’s show, talking about their victory over The Usos and ending their title reign. As expected, The Usos accompanied by Solo Sikoa came out as a heated exchange followed between the 5 superstars.
At one point, Zayn even mocked The Usos, saying that they would have to report back empty-handed to their “daddy” Roman Reigns. This pushed the buttons on The Usos, who were looking to use their numbers advantage to take their rivals out. However, Matt Riddle made his surprise return and attacked Solo Sikoa. The Usos retreated with Sikoa, before any further damage could be done.
Xavier Woods vs LA Knight
The week-long rivalry between Woods and Knight reached its conclusion on last night’s SmackDown, as both superstars looked to put an end to their feud.
Woods eventually got the last laugh, as he pinned his opponent by a rollup. It seems like Knight’s losing streak is back again. It’s high time that WWE realizes his potential and gives him the push he deserves.
Santos Escobar vs Damian Priest; LWO fends off The Judgement Day
The rivalry between LWO and The Judgement Day continues, with Santos Escobar squaring off against Judgement Day’s big man, Damian Priest.
Both the factions have given some strong matches against each other, with Judgement Day having more wins over Legado Del Fantasma, now the LWO. Rey’s match against Dominik ensured that this rivalry will continue. Even though Escobar lost the match to Priest, LWO gained the upper hand on Judgement Day by attacking Dominik Mysterio and Damian Priest. This month-long feud has been one of the better things on SmackDown, and even the fans are rooting for it to continue.
Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan celebrate their Championship win
Coming off fresh against their victory last week against Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus to win the Women’s Tag Team Championship, Morgan and Rodriguez looked to celebrate their win.
Their celebration was interrupted by Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green, who mostly complained about their spot on the card. After a verbal exchange, a brawl broke out between the 4 women. This ultimately resulted in Deville and Green being announced as the first challengers for Rodriguez and Morgan. The whole segment was pretty lackluster, similar to the current condition of the Women’s Tag Team Division. It certainly needs more creative attention, or else fans would soon begin to question why they even invest their energy on it.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Madcap Moss
The King of Strong Style wasted no time in getting back into action, as he squared off against Madcap Moss.
Their match had been announced in advance, so fans could count on seeing Nakamura back in action. Their match was a fairly short one, as Nakamura made light work of Moss, running him over with the Kinshasa for the quick victory. Shinsuke Nakamura might be closer to the title picture than originally thought. This is a superstar that WWE should invest their time in, to turn him back to the dominant force of nature that he once was.
Solo Sikoa vs Matt Riddle
Matt Riddle looked to settle the score with The Bloodline, who defeated him and Randy Orton by unfair means to win the Tag Team Championships. He faced Solo Sikoa in the main event of SmackDown.
Matt Riddle was seconds away from winning the match, but as typical babyface behaviour goes, he opted to take out The Usos at the ringside instead. This led to his downfall, as Sikoa put him away with the Samoan Spike for the win. The outcome was expected, but there should have been better ways to make Sikoa win.
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