Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes will compete for the biggest prize in wrestling on Sunday and it certainly feels like it. Rhodes and Reigns made their final addresses on the final episode of WWE SmackDown before WrestleMania 39.
Rhodes functioned with the same fire that propelled him from cartoonish supervillain Stardust to independent darling, and from WWE’s competitor to one of its biggest stars. Reigns was remarkably poised, operating with the same methodical approach that turned him into WWE’s most marketable star of the last decade.
The blue brand also played host to one final standoff between The Usos and Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, plus the 2023 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from Crypto Arena in Los Angeles, California.
Rhodes shoots from the hip, Reigns remains poised
Rhodes confessed he was a little broken inside, musing if the only medicine was beating Reigns at WrestleMania on Sunday. Rhodes addressed Reigns’ previous remark that Rhodes could not succeed in Rhodes’ “own company,” a nod to Rhodes’ stint with All Elite Wrestling. Rhodes wondered why it took Reigns eight years to truly become a draw for WWE despite the promotion pumping millions of dollars into him.
Reigns interrupted Rhodes, making his way down to the ring at a methodical place. Reigns stopped himself before his normal address to the crowd, instead imploring Rhodes to “acknowledge me!” Reigns raised his world championship to cap the final SmackDown before WrestleMania 39.
The show opened with a final, heated verbal exchange with Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso one on side, and Zayn and Kevin Owens on the other. Each team brought into question the other’s loyalties, pointing to their complicated relationships in the WWE. Jey Uso pointed to Owens and Zayn’s history of betraying one another; meanwhile, Zayn criticized The Usos for siding with their cousin Reigns despite his immoral, manipulative acts.
The promo work between the two sides was quality as always. Rhodes and Reigns have done a great job of pulling from their real-life career experiences while towing the company line. The duality between Rhodes’ elongated promo and Reigns short delivery was also well done. The Usos, Zayn and Owens had plenty of fire in their segment, though Zayn and Owens were a touch shaky at times. The segments themselves were quite standard. One could argue that something more creative could have been designed for the final episode of television before WWE’s two strongest WrestleMania matches; however, the performers continue to excel on the microphone and carry their programs forward. Grade: A-
What else happened on WWE SmackDown?
- Ricochet def. Chad Gable, Erik and Montez Ford via pinfall after hitting a Shoot Star Press on Gable following Ford’s frog splash on Gable.
- Bobby Lashley def. Bronson Reed and others via elimination to win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. The final four were Lashley, Reed, Braun Strowman and LA Knight in that order.
- Raquel Rodriguez def. Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler and Natalya via pinfall after planting Deville with the Texana Bomb.
- Rey Mysterio gifted Legado del Fantasma Latin World Order (LWO) shirts. Santos Escobar promised his group would support Mysterio against Judgement Day at WrestleMania.
- Sheamus and Drew McIntyre def. Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser via pinfall after Sheamus cracked Vinci with a Brogue Kick.
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