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Hey there everyone, it’s time for another episode of WWE Smackdown. Tonight we’ve got a couple of title bouts when Intercontinental champion Gunther defends against Xavier Woods while Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez are after their first title defense when they take on generic heel team #3, Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green. The Bloodline and the trio of Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, and Matt Riddle continue to feud and that will certainly continue tonight. There’s a bit of a wrinkle though as Judgement Day got involved on Monday and now that group is in debt to the Tribal Chief after they failed to hold up their end of things, and honestly Roman running over Judgement Day might not be a bad way to break that group up around the Draft. Elsewhere on the card Braun Strowman and Ricochet seem to be pairing against the Viking Raiders, Karrion Kross set his sights on the recently returned Shinsuke Nakamura, Madcap Moss is leaning heel if anyone cares, LA Knight seems to have run afoul of Sheamus to most likely continue his losing streak before winning Money In The Bank since WWE seems to love that trope. Well that’s the preamble as I see it, let’s get to the action.

Commentary tries to set up how important the Draft is next week. Sure thing guys, we really care. Next they run down the card, the only new match announced is Matt Riddle and Solo Sikoa in a No DQ match.

Up first, Judgement Day, because the brand split and draft rosters really matter, right? Damien Priest and Finn Balor are here.

Match #1 – Tag Team Match: Damien Priest and Finn Balor vs. Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar

Balor and Rey start us off. Rey goes right after Balor with strikes then hits a hurricanrana. Leg kicks from Rey then a shotgun dropkick but when he tries a lionasult Balor gets the knees up to block. Priest tags in and boots Rey down. A few stomps from Priest then he punches Rey down. Balor tags back in and stomps Rey then tags Priest back in for a backbreaker then leg drop combination. Again Balor tags in and works a chin lock. Rey fights back with a kick, then a back elbow and a wheelbarrow bulldog to put both men down. Escobar tags in and gets to run wild for a bit including a tilt a whirl backbreaker to Balor. Knee strike to Priest then they slightly botch an armdrag. Escobar sends Balor out of the ring, then helps launch Rey into Priest. Rey goes for his baseball slide but misses and eats the floor. Now Escobar tires to set up a dive but Balor cuts him off and sends us to break.

Escobar and Priest are trading strikes as we come back. Thrust kick from Priest connects for a 2 count, then Priest grabs a chin lock. Escobar starts fighting back out of the corner and lands a dropkick and both men tag out. Rey comes in and gets to run wild with his usual spots. Enziguri from Rey sets up a 619 but Priest tags in blind and cuts off Rey only to get low bridged. Rey again sets up Balor, then tags in Escobar before Rey hits a 619. Splash from Escobar and he tries to pin Balor, but Balor’s not legal and Priest comes back in to hit South of Heaven on Escobar and pick up the win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Damien Priest and Finn Balor won

Rating: 2.5 stars
Thoughts: Well that existed. It was fine but nothing memorable or interesting.

Post match Priest and Balor get a mic when they head to the entrance stage. Priest reminds us Bad Bunny is coming back on Monday, and he hopes this time on RAW goes better than the last experience for Bunny. Really just pointing out how much filler this is.

Next is a recap of Riddle vs. Solo Sikoa last week on Smackdown and how Solo hit the Spinning Solo onto the announce table and then tipped the table over onto Riddle.

In the back the Usos and Solo arrive and we head to break.

In the back Zelina Vega talks with Adam Pearce, she’s worried about the Draft but before she possibly gets drafted away she wants to challenge Rhea Ripley for the title at Backlash. Vega reminds us she’s the only female Puerto Rican on the roster and needs the title shot. Pearce will talk to a few people and get back to Vega.

Wade Barrett continues to be the stereotypical heel commentator, man I miss McAfee.

Next, a hype video for the recently returned Shinsuke Nakamura. Apparently Nakamura has a new submission finisher, well that’s cool. Though seriously, whoever put this together claiming that jiu-jitsu training helped bring about Nakamura’s precise striking badly needs a rundown of martial arts styles.

Karrion Kross talks, it takes a lifetime to find your identity, can take even longer to make sure it’s right. Then in 3 seconds it can end. Kross has never hurt anyone, the cards decide things. We don’t even know who we are until someone takes things away from you. He took away Drew McIntyre’s temperament, took Moss’s joy, and took Rey’s patience. Now he’s taking Nakamura’s honor. Tick tock. As far as how you might spin the losses Kross suffered, pointing out how he changed the people he feuded with isn’t the worst idea.

Braun Strowman and Ricochet head to the ring. We get a recap of the Viking Raiders laying them out in a throwaway segment last week, and that tag team match will be up after this break.

Post break here come the Viking Raiders.

Match #2 – Tag Team Match: Braun Strowman and Ricochet vs. Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar) w/ Valhalla

Ivar and Braun start things off. They trade some punches early, Ivar is getting the better of things and lands elbows in the corner. Braun turns things around and it’s his turn to land strikes in the corner. They trade shoulder blocks and eventually Braun knocks over Ivar then clocks Erik with a right hand for good measure. That allows Ivar to land some strikes but Braun cuts him off with a clothesline. Tag from Erik and he and Ivar double team Braun with strikes. Braun fights back and tags in Ricochet, then then botch tossing Ricochet at Erik. Things get ugly for a second, then Ricochet with a ridiculous dive onto both Erik and Ivar on the outside to send us to break.

We come back to Erik working a rest hold on Ricochet. Ricochet looks to fight out of the face crank but Erik switches to a chin lock. Erik is keeping Ricochet grounded, Ricochet flips out of a back suplex and tags in Braun. Braun gets to run wild including a dodgy looking shotgun dropkick. Time for Braun to run around the ring and run over people, he runs over Erik and then sends Ivar into the ring post. Valhalla distracts Braun allowing Erik to land a knee strike in the ring, then another one from Erik. Ivar tags in, Erik hits another knee strike. Ivar up top for the flying iceberg splash, and it connects but Braun kicks out at 2. Erik and Ivar want the Ragnarok, but Braun shoulder blocks them both and tags in Ricochet. Ricochet with some momentum but Ivar boots him down. Knee and superkick from Ricochet, Braun squashes Ivar then helps Ricochet splash Ivar. Braun boots down Erik then lifts Ricochet onto his shoulders for the assisted Swanton Bomb onto Ivar which gets the pin.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Braun Strowman and Ricochet won

Rating: 2.5 stars
Thoughts: This was a little sloppy in places but the meat of it was solid overall stuff. Pity that the Raiders have been unable to build anything approximating momentum, and this might slightly telegraph the Usos getting the tag team titles back as they’re unlikely to run face vs. face.

A recap of Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville earning a tag team title shot from Monday.

Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan are at gorilla and here’s Kayla to talk with them. Liv promises to show Sonya and Green all kinds of messy, but Raquel calms her down and tells her to save it for the ring. Liv and Raquel head to the ring, and that title match will be up after this break.

Post break Wade Barrett claims Riddle vs. Solo will be “X rated”. OK then. Anyway here comes Sonya Deville and God help us she has a mic. Here’s Chelsea Green as well, and they’re both threatening us with mics. Sonya doesn’t want music, and does the usual weak heat heel stuff to some canned boos. Green with some slightly more inventive trash talk, but drops a Charlie Sheen reference which I’d normally blame on Vince. Green then menaces Liv with a water bottle, because that’s just what we’re doing I guess.

Match #3 – Women’s Tag Team Title Match: (c) Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez vs. Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green

Liv immediately attacks Green with a drop kick and Sonya tags in off of that. More offense from Liv including a flurry of kicks before tagging in Raquel. Raquel and Liv both squash Sonya in the corner then Raquel lands some shoulder blocks. Sonya lands a chop block to stop Raquel’s momentum and tags in Green. Raquel catches a Green kick and hits a couple of mat returns then tags in Liv. Green kicks Liv then tries to dive onto Raquel but Raquel stalls her out allowing Sonya to jump off the apron with a knee strike only for Liv to dive onto both of them. Back in the ring Liv stalks Green but here’s Sonya to distract her allowing Green to hit an avalanche Russian leg sweep but the ref sees her using the ropes for leverage on the pin. Sonya tags in now and she and Green hit a double suplex on Liv. Some kicks from Sonya then a pump kick but again cheating on the cover so the ref wont count to three. Green tags again, they try the double suplex again but this time Liv counters into a double neckbreaker and tags out. Raquel runs wild for a bit with clotheslines then a fall away slam to Green to set up the twisting Vader bomb but Sonya breaks up the pin. That leads to Liv making a tag while Raquel goes for a superplex on Sonya, she hits it then Liv dropkicks Green and everyone’s down for some reason. Liv with a Backstabber to Green, Sonya kicks Liv then Raquel kicks her only to get low bridged by Green. Liv with a water dousing to Green then she rolls up Green with an assist from Raquel to get the 3.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan retained the titles

Rating: 2 stars
Thoughts: Boy the crowd did not care about this. The work was fine enough but making this about water being tossed around was just a weird choice, and the lack of crowd investment knocks it down a peg.

In the back Kayla interviews Matt Riddle, Riddle knows Sami and Owens aren’t here but he thinks of them like step bros. Tonight he’s going to bury Solo under a table, despite having no backup.

Xavier Woods heads to the ring, he’ll get his IC title shot after this break.

Post break here comes Gunther, Kaiser and Vinci accompany him to the ring but then leave before the in ring introductions. I do appreciate that Gunther flies solo frequently.

Match #4 – Intercontinental Title Match: (c) Gunther vs. Xavier Woods

They tie up, and Gunther backs Woods into the corner then misses a chop as Woods goes for leg kicks. Side headlock takeover from Gunther then he and Woods fight up. Gunther goes to some strikes then shoulder blocks Woods. They trade strikes then Woods hits the ropes but runs into a chop from Gunther. That chop was so hard it sends us to commercial break.

Gunther lands another chop as we come back, then chops the back of Woods a couple of times. That’s just mean. Woods tries to fight back with strikes but trading chops with Gunther is a bad idea, then Gunther with a neck wrench. Gunther stalls out a single leg from Woods then chops him down again for a 2 count. Another chop from Gunther. Woods again tries to fire up with strikes of his own, but Gunther cuts him off with a butterfly suplex for another 2 count. Some trash talk from Gunther as he demands the clown get out of his ring, but Woods fires up with strikes again for a flurry before Gunther settles things down into a more traditional striking exchange. Woods is hanging tough but those chops keep stopping his momentum, then Woods lands a flying attack and Gunther rolls out of the ring. Baseball slide from Woods then a dive to follow up. Back in the ring Woods heads up top but Gunther chops him up there. Woods lands a kick from the apron then climbs the ropes again, guillotine leg drop for a near fall. Gunther grabs a Sleeper hold, then transitions to a powerbomb but Woods slips free and hits a facebuster. Crucifix Bomb from Woods gets another near fall. O’Connor Roll from Woods but Gunther counters into the Sleeper and he violently cranks the hold to put Woods to sleep.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Gunther retained the title

Rating: 3.5 stars
Thoughts: Good match, they actually had the crowd there on some of the near falls down the stretch and Gunther can pretty much do no wrong in the ring.

After this break, a recap of Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens winning the tag team titles. Are we that hard up for content this week?

Post break, the promised recap of Owens and Sami vs. the Usos from Mania and the setup for the rematch with the Usos next week.

After that here come the Usos. Jimmy and Jey have mics, and remind us that the Bloodline is in this city. Well they’ve been asked a lot about how they’ve been feeling since losing at Mania, well they don’t know how they feel but they’re going to do what they always do, bring back gold. They don’t look behind themselves, they only look ahead, a big trios match at Backlash but next week a big rematch for the tag team titles. Not just any kind of rematch, a WrestleMania main event kind of rematch. They’re dedicating their victory next week to Roman Reigns, the Tribal Chief. Next week it’s 9 times for the Usos, the Bloodline get gold again, and they warn Riddle that he’s about to get bodied by the Samoan savage, the street champion, the enforcer of the Bloodline Solo Sikoa. Solo heads to the ring and sends us to break.

Post break, hey remember the Draft is next week?

Here comes Matt Riddle through the crowd to jump Solo from behind.

Match #5 – No Disqualification Match: Solo Sikoa vs. Matt Riddle

Riddle unloads with strikes but Solo drops him with a headbutt then a clothesline. Back elbow from Solo, but the crowd is dead at the moment. Riddle grabs a triangle choke in the corner, again no reaction, and Riddle lands some punches before Solo pulls him out and hits a powerbomb to break the hold for a 2 count to utter silence. Solo rolls out of the ring and grabs a few kendo sticks which he tosses into the ring. Chairs follow as Solo is all about the plunder at the moment. Back in the ring Solo with some kendo shots to Riddle before Riddle avoids one and hits a wind up kick. Riddle gets sent out of the ring as a portion of the crowd wants tables. Some kendo stick shots from Riddle now as they start fighting on the outside. Riddle finds a table to wake up the crowd but Solo cuts him off and tosses it back under the ring to boos. Some elbows from riddle then a punt kick and he slams Solo into the ring steps then a senton off the steps to send us to break.

We come back to a trade of strikes in the ring, Solo gets the better of it then tries a uranage onto chairs but has to settle for a Samoan drop for a 2 count. Solo grabs a chair and sets it around the head of Riddle to set up a hip attack in the corner, but Riddle throws the chair into his face then sends him into a chair set up between the ropes. Riddle with more kendo stick shots, then chair shots to follow including hitting a Final Flash knee strike with the chair but only gets a 2 count. Next Riddle sets up a couple of chairs, seated parts together. Solo runs into an exploder onto that chair set up but again only a 2 count. Riddle buries Solo in chairs and heads up top for a Floating Bro, but Solo rolls away leading to Riddle trying another punt kick only for Solo to face plant him on the apron then send him over the announce table. Solo tries to tip the table onto Riddle but Riddle blocks it and they start fighting on the table. Riddle with a knee to block a Samoan Spike then he tips the table over onto Solo. That sets up Jimmy and Jey to come through the crowd and stomp on Riddle. Back in the ring Riddle is out numbered but fights off a 1D and ejects both Jimmy and Jey before hitting a Floating Bro to the outside. Riddle heads back into the ring as Solo pushes the table off of himself and Solo they both stagger around the ringside area. Solo catches a diving Riddle with a Spinning Solo onto the ring apron. In the ring Solo wants the Samoan Spike, but riddle avoids it and hits the Final Flash but runs into a Samoan Spike that gets the win for Solo.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Solo Sikoa won

Rating: 3 stars
Thoughts: They sold the hatred and violence well enough but the outcome being this much of a foregone conclusion hurt.

Post match the Usos set up a table in the ring and 1D Riddle through it. The Bloodline stands tall, and remember the Draft starts next week.