With just a week away from The Showcase Of The Immortals, this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown saw some major developments to ongoing storylines.
Cody Rhodes continued to gain momentum before his fight with The Tribal Chief, while Rey Mysterio finally snapped and attacked his son, Dominik, confirming their match at WrestleMania. What else went down on the March 24th edition of SmackDown? Keep scrolling to find out.
Cody Rhodes vs Ludwig Kaiser
The American Nightmare kicked off this week’s SmackDown by facing off against The German, Ludwig Kaiser. It was a good long match, that showcased the best of both wrestlers. Kaiser gave Rhodes a good run for his money, targeting his neck and knee.
Cody fought back against the pain while keeping an eye on Solo Sikoa, who was at the ringside with Paul Heyman. Despite their distractions, Cody hit the Cody Cutter on Kaiser and put him away for the three-count with Cross Rhodes. Although he lost, Ludwig Kaiser proved himself to be a tough opponent for one of the top stars in the industry. After the match, Heyman announced that Sikoa would face Cody on next week’s Monday Night Raw. This was the perfect hurdle for Cody, as Sikoa is a pretty brutal fighter. His war against Roman Reigns is proving to be a tough, yet engaging one, which would all unfold at WrestleMania 39.
Charlotte Flair’s Promo
The Queen appeared in the ring to deliver a final promo before she faces her opponent Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 39. Charlotte admitted that while she does respect Ripley, she does not fear her. The only thing she fears is her own potential.
She talks about how she does have insecurities, but she built this house with every brick that was thrown at her over the past seven years. This promo overall felt a bit unnecessary. The words seemed to be stolen from Taylor Swift’s song “New Romantics.” The feud between her and Ripley has mostly been words exchanged during promos, and this one didn’t add anything to their rivalry at all. However, we hope to see a fight that’s worthy of being the main event at WrestleMania 39, Night 1.
Rey Mysterio vs LA Knight; Rey finally accepts Dominik’s challenge
The Master of 619 faced off against LA Knight after a backstage confrontation last week. This match, however, did not go in favor of Mysterio, who was tripped by Dominik, resulting in Knight taking advantage and securing the victory. This ended Knight’s losing streak.
After the match, Mysterio declined Dominik’s demand for a match between them at WrestleMania and started walking up the ramp. Dominik called his father a coward and turned his attention to his mother and sister, who were sitting near the ringside. He berated his sister, and when his mother tried to speak up, he told her to “Shut Up”. This was the final straw for Rey, who stormed to the ringside and finally hit Dominik. He said Dominik had pushed him too far, and that he was going to get what he asked for. Rey accepted his challenge, while the crowd erupted into a huge pop.
WrestleMania Showcase Qualifying Match: Lacey Evans & Xia Li vs Natalya & Shotzi Blackheart
This match didn’t add much to the WrestleMania hype, but it was nonetheless good, considering that Women’s Tag division doesn’t receive as much attention as it should. Natalya & Blackheart won via submission when Natalya locked in the Sharpshooter on Xia Li.
After the match, Shayna Baszler and Ronda Rousey announce their return and declare that they have been added to the WrestleMania Showcase. Rousey and Baszler have made the lives of all four women in the ring miserable. It will be interesting to see how their match plays out.
Intercontinental Championship Contract signing
As expected, the contract signing between the three for the Intercontinental Championship match at WrestleMania didn’t end well.
It started when McIntyre and Sheamus started arguing, with Sheamus accusing McIntyre of stealing his dreams behind his back when he was supposed to be his best friend. Drew, who was tired of Sheamus’ complaints, fired back saying that it’s embarrassing how Sheamus guilt trips him every week. They end up signing the contract after Adam Pierce reminds them that they can beat each other up next week.
Gunther shows up, demanding as to why his match was turned into a Triple Threat match. Gunther signs the contract as well, saying that he’ll beat anyone he has to. All hell broke loose when Pete Dunne jumps him from behind and it quickly turned into chaos.
Gunther vs Pete “Butch” Dunne
This match was extremely physical, with both superstars giving it their all. However, distractions from Dunne’s teammates and McIntyre gave way to Gunther hitting The Last Symphony on Dunne to secure the victory.
The KO Show with Sami Zayn
The long-awaited reunion between the best friends is finally here, as Kevin Owens welcomed Sami Zayn on the KO Show. The friendly banter was exchanged, with Sami reminding them that they are on the verge of becoming the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Champions. Kevin Owens presented a “KO-Mania” shirt, this year with “WrestleZaynia” across the front.
This friendly segment, however, was interrupted by The Usos who launched a sneak attack on the best friends. It ended with Zayn lying on the floor, and Owens chasing off The Usos with a steel chair. The segment ended with Owens staring down their opponents at WrestleMania.
Read More: Rey Mysterio finally strikes his son Dominik, agreeing to a match at WrestleMania 39
