wrestling / TV Reports
Winfree’s WWE Smackdown Review 4.15.22
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...Hey there people, it’s Friday so it’s time for the WWE machinery to turn another cog over. WrestleMania Backlash is starting to loom on the horizon and it seems like the brand split may be winding down. RAW tag team champions RK-Bro are likely to be on the episode in retaliation for the Usos showing up on RAW earlier this week. We’ve got a couple of matches announced, Ricochet will defend the Intercontinental title against Jinder Mahal and we’ve got a rematch between Drew McIntyre and Sami Zayn. We’re seriously depressing Drew’s stock lately I guess, the man should probably be up next for Roman but instead he went from wasting 3 months on Happy Corbin straight into a Sami Zayn program. Speaking of Undisputed WWE Universal champion Roman Reigns, we still don’t really know who will be challenging him going forward. Last week we got a taste of Shinsuke Nakamura potentially getting bumped up into that spot in the wake of the injury to Rick Boogs, and Nakamura could be a fun stylistic opponent for Roman, but if that’s the direction we’re going they need to get that feud in gear. Charlotte Flair will be here, because what would the show be without Poochie? After last week there are several new faces around so we’ll have to wait and see how any of them might factor into the goings on. Well that’s all the preamble I can muster, let’s get to the action.
To open we get a recap of the Usos showing up on RAW and challenging RK-Bro only to be interrupted by the Street Profits. That dive from Montez Ford was something else, but ultimately the Usos prevail. Now we go to live action. Up first here comes RK-Bro. Both men have mics, but there’s a pretty prolonged “Randy” chant for Orton. Riddle is happy to be back on Smackdown, especially with his best friend Randy. But they’re here for a reason, of course Riddle is derailed by the history of Worchester in both the USA and England. Orton saves us from that by reminding us that the Usos showed up on their show and kicked him in the face. They were challenged to a unification match, and he tells the Usos to come out and get the answer to their challenge. Riddle has nothing to add, so here come the Usos. Mics for the Usos as well, they feel compelled to remind us that RK-Bro is here. Who wrote this crap? Jey says RK-Bro is behind enemy lines, Jimmy the reminds us that they challenged RK-Bro to unify the belts. This is painful. The Usos hype themselves up and remind us of all of their accolades, then invite RK-Bro to leave their belts rather than get beat. Orton says he respects the family of the Bloodline, but calls Jimmy and Jey assholes. All the Usos do is yip, the big dog let the little puppies off the leash. Orton reminds us of his resume then accepts the challenge to unify the tag team titles. They circle and pose before the Usos head out of the ring. As Riddle and Orton pose Jimmy and Jey jump Riddle then avoid Orton and head back up the ramp.
In the back Sasha Banks and Naomi talk, but here come Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan. Naomi claims the glow will always overcome the night. . . mare.
To the ring and here comes Naomi, she’ll take on Rhea Ripley after the break.
Post break RK-Bro find Adam Pearce, they want the unification match but the higher ups are still debating it. Riddle wants Jimmy Uso tonight, and Pearce makes that match.
Back to the ring and here comes Rhea Ripley.
Match #1: Naomi w/ Sasha Banks vs. Rhea Ripley w/ Liv Morgan
They tie up and Ripley overpowers Naomi early. Ripley puts Naomi on the top rope and pats her, Naomi then kicks her off. Shoulder block from Ripley then she goes after the arm of Naomi. Noami avoids a big boot then tosses Ripley out of the ring. Kick from Naomi as Ripley was getting back in but Ripley avoids a posting and slams Naomi down. Ripley heads up top but Naomi intercepts her with a kick and Ripley falls to the floor. Naomi goes for a baseball slide but Ripley avoids it and floors her with a clothesline as we head to break.
We come back to Ripley working an overhook. Naomi fights back with a jawbreaker then a leg drop. Naomi heads up top and hits a cross body for a 2 count. Ripley lands a kick to the head, Naomi responds with a low drop kick and then spikes Ripley from her knees for a 2 count. Next Naomi grabs a full nelson, Ripley fights free and lands a headbutt then a Northern Lights suplex for a 2 count. Ripley heads up top again, but again Naomi intercepts with a forearm and climbs up with her. They trade blows then Ripley tries a top rope Riptide but Naomi kicks free only to eat a missile drop kick from Ripley for another 2 count. Naomi catches Ripley with a small package for 2, then a springboard gamengiri. Bubba Bomb from Naomi gets a near fall and Ripley transitions into a Riptide and pins to win.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Rhea Ripley won
Rating: 3 stars
This lacked some connective tissue as a match, but both women not only worked hard they have pretty good chemistry.
Kayla finds the Usos in the back, they ignore her and head into Roman’s locker room.
After this break we’ll recap Madcap Moss turning on Happy Corbin last week.
Post break we get a recap of Moss turning on Corbin last week. After that Megan welcomes Happy Corbin to the interview area backstage. Corbin is smiling, he objects to calling Madcap Moss an associate, he was just a minion or a lackey. He kept Moss around because he could laugh at him, but Moss became an anchor around his neck who cost him his undefeated streak. Now Corbin is happy again, and Moss is trying to make a name for himself on his own. He’ll be even happier when Moss falls flat on his face.
Drew Gulak has an interview at gorilla with Madcap Moss. Moss feels sorry for Corbin, because how bad is your personality if people liked you better as a bum? He blames the terrible jokes on Corbin, because he had to tailor his jokes to the audience of a bald simple man who loves puns. Moving onto to tonight he’s taking on Humberto and tells Humberto and Angel they can put the kiss cam right on his ass. Not terrible stuff from Moss, and they even found a reasonable explanation for the terrible jokes.
Moss heads to the ring, he’ll take on Humberto after the break.
After the break here come Los Lotharios. Time for the kiss cam, the plant is front and center per usual.
Match #2: Madcap Moss vs. Humberto w/ Angel
Angel distracts Moss and Humberto takes over with a flurry of strikes. Stomps from Humberto then some cheap shots from Angel as the ref is dealing with Humberto. Moss starts fighting back but Humberto grounds him with a side headlock takeover. A body kick from Humberto then he grabs a chinlock. Moss again fights back with body blows then runs the ropes and hits a shoulder block. Moss is fired up and catches a jumping Humberto then hits a fall away slam. Angel moves Humberto away from a charge and takes it himself but Moss hits Humberto anyway. The Punchline follows and Moss pins to win.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Madcap Moss won
Rating: 2.5 stars
Perfectly acceptable match, Humberto had enough offense to avoid a squash rating but this was a deliberate showcase for Moss.
Adam Pearce is in the back and here comes Charlotte Flair. Charlotte wants to know who accepted the I Quit match, Drew Gulak interrupts to get notes on his job performance. This annoys Poochie, I mean Stephanie, I mean Charlotte, who says he can interview her in the ring after the break.
Post break we get confirmation of the tag team title unification match at WrestleMania Backlash. Drew Gulak is in the ring and brings out Charlotte Flair. Charlotte is asked about WWE management making the I Quit match and if she’s worried about what Ronda brings to the table. She didn’t refuse the I Quit match, and in fact was trying to protect Ronda. With Ronda’s fragile ego things will go badly when she loses again. She reminds us that she beat Ronda at Mania, Gulak points out that Charlotte tapped out at Mania. Charlotte claims she was just fixing her bra, not tapping out. She then plays with the crowd, badly, before asking Gulak if he quit being a competitor to stand here and ask her stupid questions. Gulak must be used to quitting, just like the fans. She runs down the crowd as quitters, but not Charlotte. The only thing in her DNA is winning, once again I wonder why Vince only now found out about Charlie Sheen. Charlotte then tells Gulak to get out of her ring, before chop blocking him on the way out. The Figure 8 follows, and Gulak taps out. Charlotte wont let go until Gulak says he quits, Gulak obliges. Referees show up to break this up. Well that was tedious.
We get a recap of Sami Zayn running away from Drew McIntyre in their match last week. That will bring out Drew, who will wrestle Sami Zayn in a rematch after this break.
Post break the WWE congratulate themselves on the success of WrestleMania. After that Ludwig Kaiser hypes up GUNTHER.
Back to the ring here comes Sami Zayn with a mic. Sami says his reputation has taken a major hit after WrestleMania, now made even worse by the narrative that he ran away from Drew last week. He wasn’t running away, he’s not afraid of Drew or anything else, he is the master strategist, everything is calculated. But the people don’t understand that. Tonight Sami wont run, or hide, he’s going to beat Drew and regain the respect he’s owed. Drew could not possibly care less.
Match #3: Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn
Sami immediately runs out of the ring, Drew follows him and abuses him at ringside. Back in the ring Sami runs again, again Drew follows him and Sami runs even further and hides behind Pat McAfee. That doesn’t work and Drew slugs Sami then sends him back into the ring. Sami gouges Drew in the eyes and tries to lay in strikes before insisting he’s not scared. Drew slams Sami into a corner then tosses him across the ring with a belly to belly suplex. Headbutt from Drew floors Sami, then Drew sets for the Claymore, but again Sami runs away. Again Drew chases him, drags him back into the ring but again Sami runs after avoiding a Claymore. This time Drew just seethes as Sami flees and takes another loss.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Drew McIntyre won via count out
Rating: DUD
Giant waste of time, both men should be doing other things. Post match Drew chases Sami through the crowd and into the back.
Kayla is at gorilla to interview Ricochet. Ricochet only sees a tree trunk in Jinder and he’ll chop him down. He’s not perfect, he just makes it look perfect. That match will be up after the break.
Post break Sami Zayn runs scared in the back. He backs into Adam Pearce, Pearce says Sami is making everyone look bad and he wont have it anymore. Next week Sami will take on Drew McIntyre again, but this time in a lumberjack match.
Back to the ring here comes Jinder Mahal.
Match #4 – Intercontinental Championship Match: (c) Ricochet vs. Jinder Mahal w/ Shanky
Jinder overpowers Ricochet early and grabs a chin lock. Some stomps from Jinder and a slam off the ropes for a 2 count. Ricochet fights out of a neck crank but takes more strikes from Jinder. Enziguri from Ricochet then a shotgun drop kick. Ricochet with a springboard cross body then a standing moonsault for a 2 count. Jinder avoids a Recoil, tries the Khallas but has to settle for a dirty cover for 2. Ricochet hits the Recoil, but Shanky pulls Jinder away from the 630 splash, so Ricochet just dives onto both of them on the outside. Back into the ring Ricochet hits the Shooting Star Press and pins to win.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Ricochet retained the IC title
Rating: 2 stars
Solid match, though every Jinder match is pretty much the same so I give Ricochet a lot of credit here.
Megan is in the back and here comes the Eastie Boys of Sheamus, Ridge Holland, and Butch. We throw to video of Butch attacking Ridge and Sheamus after losing his match last week. Sheamus laughs it off, they’ve got bigger fights over the remote than that. That said they’ve had a discussion and Butch needs to harness his aggression, but Butch realizes that they’re not the enemy. The enemy is New Day. Butch storms off, and for some reason despite this happening in full view of everyone Ridge then says “they’ve lost Butch”. That bit of inanity sends us to break.
Post break New Day are signing things, and here comes Butch in the wake of a G.I. Jane remark and he jumps Xavier Woods. A big pull apart follows.
Michael Cole reminds us that we had a video on Lacey Evans last week, time for part 2. Lacey talks about her father finding them in Texas and talks about some of the physical and emotional abuse that followed. Eventually her father wound up dragging them away from legal trouble. Neither Child Protective Services or law enforcement saved her or her family, so she learned to rely on herself. Her ability to find the positive in the midst of so much negative is what made her who she is today. Unlike everyone else here she’s comfortable at rock bottom, and there’s nothing they can do to threaten her. Nothing about who she is makes her better than anyone else, but no one else is better than her.
Shayna Baszler and Natalya mock the video, and complain that WWE is turning into the island of misfit toys. Some new girl is leaving her stuff all over the place. She’s talking about Raquel Rodriguez, who’s literally sitting behind her. They shake hands awkwardly, then Nataly and Baszler head out.
Back to the ring and here comes Riddle for the main event, which will be up after the break.
We come back and here come the Usos.
Match #5: Riddle w/ Randy Orton vs. Jimmy Uso w/ Jey Uso
Riddle out wrestles Jimmy to begin, then lands knees and a kick before Jimmy avoids an RKO and takes a powder. Riddle follows him and chases him back into the ring where Jimmy floors Riddle with a clothesline. Jimmy lays in strikes then grabs a chin lock. Riddle fights back up but runs into a back elbow. Another chop from Jimmy but Riddle fights back with a kick then a gutwrench throw sends Jimmy out of the ring. Jimmy catches a punt kick attempt and slams Riddle into the ring apron then tosses him into the ring steps. Riddle gets sent into the barricade then eats a super kick that sends him into the time keeper zone as we head to break.
Riddle is fighting back with kicks as we come back to action, then Jimmy cuts him off with an enziguri. Riddle flips out of a back suplex and hits a rolling kick. Now Riddle heats up with running strikes then an Exploder suplex and a follow up senton then a punt kick. Go To Sleep then a bridging German from Riddle only gets a near fall. Riddle heads up top for the Floating Bro but falls onto the knees of Jimmy then Jimmy hits a pop up Samoan drop for a near fall. Jey and Randy start yelling at each other, Jimmy then blindsides Orton with a baseball slide but eats a Final Flash from Riddle. Riddle heads up top, but the ref is distracted by Orton so Jey ties up Riddle. Jimmy with a super kick to Riddle and he goes for the splash but Orton jumps Jey and back suplexes him onto the announce table to distract Jimmy. Riddle avoids the splash, then counters a pop up Samoan drop into an RKO and pins to win.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Riddle won
Rating: 3 stars
Take a couple of guys who can go and give them time, they’ll deliver. The unification match between these two teams has serious potential.
RK-Bro celebrate in the ring as the episode ends.
