WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Highlights and Analysis from April 1
The most important weekend in WWE kicked off Friday with a special WrestleMania edition of SmackDown.
The Intercontinental Championship was up for grabs as Ricochet defended against Angel and Humberto, two tag team specialists who scored upset victories over The One and Only a week ago.
Happy Corbin delivered a special edition of Happy Talk and the latest Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner was crowned in a massive battle royal headlined by United States champion Finn Balor.
Who earned key victories and what did WWE have in store for fans in its last opportunity to hype up The Showcase of the Immortals?
Find out with this recap of the April 1 episode.
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Featuring: The Viking Raiders, Shanky, Jinder Mahal, Robert Roode, Reggie, R-Truth, Damian Priest, Akira Tozawa, Drew Gulak, Mansoor, Madcap Moss, Finn Balor, Shelton Benjamin, Cedric Alexander, Commander Azeez and Apollo Crews, Tommaso Ciampa and T-Bar
Happy Corbin made his presence felt midway through the battle royal, cheering on buddy Moss. The inadvertent distraction provided by Corbin nearly led to his jester's elimination, but Ciampa could not send him packing.
With the unrealistic possibilities dispatched, Balor stunned Priest with a kick and sent him to the floor. Moments later, Moss eliminated Ziggler and Roode, then sent a charging Balor to the floor to score the biggest win of his career.
This was a less-than-stellar battle royal, little more than an excuse to get these stars on the show. There was no story involved, just guys throwing punches and kicks en route to Moss scoring the win by eliminating a guy that was far too good to be stuck in an afterthought of a match like this.
It is nice, though, to see WWE going all-in with a young star like Moss. He has earned that trust, delivering two breakout performances against Drew McIntyre and proving himself a talented athlete in the process. A questionable on-air persona may stunt his growth but a win of this magnitude suggests the company may have plans for him in the aftermath of WrestleMania.
Grade
C
Top Moments
The pop for Balor was reflective of a star who should be wrestling Saturday or Sunday night.
Azeez and Shanky's showdown made for a memorable moment between big men.
Priest's elimination, outside of the final four or so, was an interesting booking choice, to say the least.
Triple Threat Match for the Intercontinental Championship
A week after losing two singles matches against Los Lotharios, Intercontinental champion Ricochet defended against Angel and Humberto in a Triple Threat match.
This was a good, hard-fought wrestling match, maybe even better than expected. Angel and Humberto have great chemistry as both partners and, as we saw later in the match, opponents. The crowd in Dallas was surprisingly into the idea of Los Lotharios sparring, something that may have raised a few eyebrows backstage.
It should have, at least.
A jaw-dropping finisher saw Ricochet deliver the 630 to Angel before popping right up and delivering the Recoil to Humberto for the win.
Ricochet winning was never really in question and Michael Cole's enthusiastic call, putting him over as one of the must-see Superstars in WWE, suggests he will play a much bigger role on Friday nights post-WrestleMania.
Grade
B
Top Moments
- The confrontation between the heels popped the crowd hinting that they may make better rivals than partners.
- The finish was phenomenal. Ricochet's ability to do what no other Superstar can, thanks to his unmatched athleticism and aerial arsenal.
The Women's Division Takes Center Stage
The teams of Shayna Baszler and Natalya and Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan watched from ringside as women's tag team champions Carmella and Queen Zelina squared off with Sasha Banks and Naomi in a non-title match, 48 hours before a huge Fatal 4-Way match at WrestleMania.
A fairly standard match saw Banks and Naomi score the win, the latter scoring the pinfall on Zelina with a moonsault.
The contest put the spotlight on the tag team division ahead of WrestleMania and, more importantly, protected all involved by not attempting to be more than it needed to be. The lack of a big pull-apart brawl is surprising given how much WWE likes to book those.
Banks and Naomi's win here is an ominous sign for the title hopes as booking typically suggests the team that stood tall on the last show before the premium live event is doomed to lose.
The hype for Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey went into overdrive with a pre-taped promo from the latter, a video package and an in-ring promo from the champion. It was nice to see the match get the spotlight by taking up the entire segment, but it would have been even better if there had been a stronger story to support the match.
Grade
C+
Top Moments
Michael Cole and Pat McAfee discussing recent dissension between the champions continues to hint at the demise of their partnership post-WrestleMania.
Video from earlier in the day caught Rousey training for her match against Charlotte Flair with friend Baszler. The Royal Rumble winner cut a promo on Flair that once again reminded fans that she would be so much more effective as a heel.
The Rousey-Flair hype video did more to create genuine excitement for the SmackDown women's title match than anything to this point. WWE's production team is straight fire.
"Every woman wanting to be me and every man wanting to be with me...that's cool," Flair said in her in-arena promo, channeling 1999 Sable.
Rick Boogs vs. Jimmy Uso
Rick Boogs was slated to square off with Jimmy Uso ahead of the SmackDown tag title match Saturday but it was Austin Theory's attack on Pat McAfee at ringside, and Finn Balor's interjection into the proceedings, that resulted in a six-man tag team main event.
There were a few creative stretches that went into making this thing work, including believing there was any reason whatsoever that The Usos, Nakamura and Boogs would give a damn about Balor attacking Theory, but there is probably going to be a really solid six-man tag match main event to come from it so, cool.
The heels isolated Balor until a hot tag from Nakamura awakened the crowd. Balor's re-entry into the match spelled trouble for Theory until the Usos provided a distraction that allowed Theory to capitalize and score the win.
This was a much better match than expected from the go-home episode of SmackDown. The energy from Nakamura and Balor elevated it, while The Usos are masters of the match type. Theory shined, the feud with McAfee took center stage and the fans were into it. You cannot ask for more than that out of what is, traditionally, a throw-away show.
Grade
C+
Top Moments
- "Kick his ass, Finn!" McAfee exclaimed, throwing all semblance of impartiality out the window.
- "You're a punk, dude. Everyone hates you," McAfee scolded Theory from the announce table.
- Michael Cole as the voice of reason for McAfee is a great role for him and shows how much he values his partnership with the mainstream media personality.
- Theory putting his hands behind his back and daring McAfee to hit him is great heel work and the sort of thing that will only make his inevitable ass-kicking Sunday night that much more satisfying.
Happy Talk with Angela the Sword
The rivalry between Drew McIntyre and Happy Corbin wrote its penultimate chapter in the night's main event promo segment.
Corbin mustered his most despicable joke to date, taking a shot at his rival's late mother. The Scottish Warrior predictably hit the ring, a man fueled by rage. He wiped Madcap Moss out on the entrance ramp and cleared the ring of Corbin before standing tall, his pyro erupting to close the show.
This was a harmless segment that added nothing to McIntyre and Corbin's conflict but spotlighted one of the best wrestlers in the company in the former WWE champion, not to mention one of the most popular on the brand.
Grade
C
Top Moments
- McIntyre breaking through a table with his sword was an interesting visual; one that probably did not have the impact everyone involved had hoped.
- Corbin repeatedly cut off Moss over the course of his promo, continuing the recent trend of dissension between them.
- Corbin sending Moss to take the brunt of McIntyre's assault further portrays him as a self-absorbed heel who will use anyone, including his buddy.