Smackdown Review – 04.03.26

By Niz on 3 April 2026

Two weeks until THE SHOWCASE OF THE IMMORTALS and it’s time for another three hour Smackdown extravaganza. This week’s show comes to the USA/Netflix airwaves from The Enterprise Center in beautiful St. Louis, MO. The announcing team for tonight’s show includes Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett on match calls and analysis, Mark Nash on ring introductions, and Cathy Kelley on backstage interviews and breaking news segments. Let’s watch some wrestling!

Then, Now, Forever…..TOGETHER

Arrivals: Rhea Ripley, Michin along with B-Fab and WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill, Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair (she’s getting a Happy Birthday cupcake from Bliss because her birthday is April 5th – HAPPY BIRTHDAY QUEEN!), and Bayley and Lyra Valkyria.

Tessitore and Barrett mention there’s two weeks to go to Wrestlemania and that everyone is feeling it. They point out that this is Randy Orton’s home town, and that WWE Men’s Champion Cody Rhodes is keenly aware of it. Highlights are shown of the Stephanie McMahon-Rhodes confrontation from Monday’s Raw – see Kat’s excellent recap for details.

“Voices” hits and here’s Randall Keith Orton out to an immense pop. Orton takes forever because that’s what he does now and we have three hours to fill. Orton does the Rhodes “What do you want to talk about?” bit and then checks his watch. Orton talks about being from St. Louis and how he still calls it home, and the next time they see him here he’ll have #15 around his waist. However, Orton says he’s not doing it for the fans, he’s doing it for him, his family, and his real home (while pointing out his wife and kids in the front row). Orton says it doesn’t matter how Rhodes leaves Wrestlemania because he’s leaving empty-handed. Rhodes gave Orton the green light to be the Viper and Orton says he sees the voices are talking to Rhodes now as well. Orton tells Rhodes that the voices are clearly telling him that he cannot beat Orton because he’s not a killer, and what he’s awakened inside of Orton cannot be put back to bed.

“Kingdom” hits and here’s WWE Men’s Undisputed Champion Cody Rhodes out to glare at Orton from the apron. Fisticuffs ensue and Rhodes gets the better of it at the outset with a lot of right hands and some kicks. Rhodes turns and here’s Pat McAfee in an Orton shirt to kick Rhodes directly in the balls. Orton embraces McAfee who then kicks Rhodes again. Orton grabs a chair while McAfee continues his assault. Orton drives the chair into Rhodes mid-section and McAfee starts insulting St. Louis sports teams. Security and Smackdown GM Nick Aldis have arrived at ringside as McAfee calls Aldis “foreign Adam Pearce”. Orton blasts Rhodes with a chairshot to the back and McAfee mentions that he was doing a Q&A about a month ago and was asked when he was returning to the WWE. McAfee says he told the person he didn’t know because he felt like the business had passed him by. McAfee calls the current product “shit” and says that Orton called him to say that the business had gone in a way that none of them liked. McAfee mentions the “Attitude Era” fan being passed by and does Austin’s “What?” business and Rock’s “If Ya Smell…” catchphrase. McAfee wonders why he has to watch “two five foot five guys do a 45 minute Iron Man match” week after week when Randy Orton is around. McAfee mentions “everyone in Gorilla circle-jerking each other” while Orton is around. Tickets to Wrestlemania are still available while Orton is around, and Smackdown is fresh off the “worst-rated episode of all time” and has a puppet for a champion who is everything McAfee hates. McAfee encourages Orton to “kill” Rhodes, and then reveals that he’s the one Orton’s been talking to and it’s not for the 15th title, it’s because the business Rhodes is leading is terrible and Orton will save it. Orton drapes the belt over Rhodes, puts some venom in his ear, and he and McAfee leave. Orton gets a “Randy” chant as he and McAfee disappear backstage. Rhodes gets booed heavily as we go to commercials.

Nope. Fuck this entire segment and fuck Pat McAfee. Claiming that the Attitude Era fans aren’t being represented is pretty funny considering this year’s video game that has an Attitude Era edition, the company’s endless promotion of Austin and Undertaker’s podcasts, the “Then, Now, Forever” video montage, Rock being the “Final Boss” for two straight years, Shawn and Hunter being the two main creative forces in the company….like….you have to be kidding me. Shitting on the product two weeks before the biggest show of the year is something even the old man wouldn’t have done and he loathed his fanbase by the end. McAfee as a heel manager, fine. McAfee as a product-hating dipshit who’s trying to pretend that the Attitude Era is the be-all, end-all is no buys whatsoever from me.

We look back at what just happened when the show returns. Orton and McAfee call it “mission accomplished” and leave in a white Dodge Ram. Barrett calls McAfee’s comments “absurd” and then Tessitore throws to the match graphic for Wrestlemania.

Rhea Ripley vs Michin

B-Fab is out with Michin and we’ll see if this lasts any longer than last week’s affair did. Ripley kicks Michin down and then works her over in a corner. Ripley drives a shoulder in and then yanks Michin up for a fall-away slam. Jade Cargill saunters out as Ripley hoists Michin up again for another fall-away slam. Cargill distracts Ripley long enough for Michin to hit a release German. Michin goes to ground and pound as we go to commercials.

Michin hits a dropkick on Ripley and covers her for two when the show returns. Michin hits some Yes kicks and then slaps on a guillotine. Ripley transitions into an overhead suplex and we reset with both women down. They slug it out and Ripley pulls Michin into some short arm clotheslines and a front face slam. Ripley hits a shotgun dropkick and a huge headbutt. Ripley sets up for the Razor’s Edge and hits it before clobbering Michin with a running knee that gets two. Ripley wants Riptide but Michin slips it and yanks Ripley down by her hair. Michin misses a cannonball and eats a Ripley roundhouse kick. Ripley hoists Michin up but she counters into a poison rana. Michin hits Eat Defeat and covers Ripley for two. Michin hits a powerbomb but Ripley reverses out of a piledriver and snaps off a back body drop. Ripley puts on the Prison Trap and Michin taps almost immediately.

Hey, they finished a match! Congratulations. Ripley has dropped some weight, presumably due to her ongoing back issues, and she just doesn’t look as powerful or menacing as she once did. Michin was game tonight and the poison rana-Eat Defeat sequence was solid. This was fine for what it was. 2.75*

Winner – Rhea Ripley (Prison Trap submission)

Post-match sees B-Fab charge in immediately to start whaling on Ripley. Ripley hits a headbutt on B-Fab and then gets clipped by Michin. Michin and B-Fab put a beatdown on Ripley, and Cargill wants Jaded, but here’s IYO Sky out to break it all up. Cargill bails and Sky and Ripley send Michin and B-Fab to the floor with stereo dropkicks. The heels retreat back up the aisle while Sky and Ripley reunite in the ring.

Here’s Matt Cardona being confronted backstage by Aleister Black and Zelina. Black tells Cardona that Orton went back to being Orton, and Cardona hasn’t gotten that through his head yet. Cardona says he can get a match with Black for tonight, and Black warns him off of making more bad decisions before he and Zelina leave.

Here’s Solo Sikoa and the MFT’s with THE LANTERN. Sikoa says he’s not letting THE LANTERN out of his sight during THE LANTERN challenge match with Howdy tonight. Tama Tonga questions why they are fighting for THE LANTERN and says it’s been nothing but problems for all of them, especially Sikoa. Tonga says he’ll fight Howdy tonight but he’ll do it alone. Sikoa tells him to not mess it up. We go to commercials.

Ripley and Sky are backstage when the show returns and Cathy Kelley comes in for some questions. Kelley asks if Sky showing up was proactive to even the odds, and Ripley mentions that Cargill has followers and she has a friend. Sky says she’ll always have Ripley’s back and Ripley says the same to Sky before telling Kelley that she’s walking out of Wrestlemania with Cargill’s title.

Uncle Howdy vs Tama Tonga

Howdy wants an immediate Mandible Claw but Tonga avoids it. Howdy smashes Tonga around but then eats some forearms when he charges. Tonga smashes Howdy along the ropes and then drops some headbutts. Tonga chokes Howdy and then yanks Howdy upward sending Howdy’s neck into the top rope. We go to commercials.

Tonga has a shoulder nerve hold on when the show returns. Howdy fights his way out and drops Tonga jaw-first on the top of his head. Howdy fires off some elbows and a right, but Tonga responds immediately with a lariat. Tonga clubbers away before kicking Howdy into a corner. Tonga runs into the Mandible Claw and here’s Sikoa out with THE LANTERN. Howdy stares at him before getting waffled by Tonga from behind. Tonga puts the stink-mouth on Sikoa and then turns right into Sister Abigail. Howdy covers and gets three.

This was not a good match and this storyline is so played out at this point that the crowd barely cared until the finish. 1.5*

Winner – Uncle Howdy (Sister Abigail)

Post-match sees Tonga and Sikoa bickering over Sikoa’s appearance. Tonga takes THE LANTERN and sets it down so Howdy can finally re-take possession of it.

Here’s Kit Wilson and The Miz backstage and Wilson is going over his last week of being CURSED. Miz insists there’s no curse, and they run into R-Truth who mentions that they aren’t taking any new applications for membership in the Judgement Day. Truth seems to think that Miz wants a tag team title shot and leaves to talk to Nick Aldis. Miz and Wilson seem happy about this as we go to commercials.

Once back, here’s Jacob Fatu in a pre-taped promo. Fatu talks up the Unsanctioned match at Wrestlemania and his road through life. Fatu says when you come from the gutter you’re forced to be a product of that environment and it comes down to survival. Fatu says every decision he ever made has gotten him to this moment. Fatu warns McIntyre that he’s in Fatu’s world now.

Here’s WWE Men’s US Champion Sami Zayn thanking Nick Aldis for the opportunity to go out and address the fans. Aldis congratulates Zayn on creating a spot for himself at Wrestlemania, but Trick Williams music hits first and he’s out with Lil Yachty in tow. Trick and Yachty are resplendent in white and get a huge hand from the St. Louis crowd. They grab microphones and Yachty encourages the “Whoop That Trick” chant. Trick says he came out tonight to celebrate his first match at Wrestlemania and he gets to bring out his boy Lil Yachty. Yachty congratulates Trick on his WM appearance, and Trick says he didn’t bring Yachty out just to celebrate and invites him to Wrestlemania with him. Trick says he’s not taking any lip off no gingerbread man. Trick says he can get real disrespectful and calls for Sami Zayn’s pyro, which goes off. Here’s Sami Zayn out with a microphone and some boos from the crowd. Zayn says Trick has all of the pageantry down, but Zayn is more working-class and he’s about what he does between the ropes. Zayn promises that once the bell rings in Vegas that all the fur coats and rap artists won’t save him from one of the best to ever do it. Zayn says he’ll humble Trick at Wrestlemania. The “Whoop That Trick” chant starts up again, encouraged by Yachty, and Trick says “The gingersnap is pretty upset”. Trick says the only reason Zayn has the title is because of him and the only reason he’s going to Wrestlemania is because of him.

Here’s Carmelo Hayes striding to the ring to say he can’t watch all this go down, and mentions his history with Trick while swearing he’s got a receipt coming. Hayes mentions carrying Smackdown and the US title for months on his back, and Zayn taking the title at the one yard line. Hayes says the crowd wants Melo, not Zayn, and the crowd responds appropriately. Hayes says he’s telling Zayn he wants his rematch, and Zayn says he thinks the world of Hayes and praises him for his run as champion. Zayn points out that he answered an Open Challenge and beat Hayes, and the match with Trick is already official, but the rematch will have to wait until after Wrestlemania. Trick chimes in and says Zayn should give Hayes a chance. Zayn starts running down some situations he’s been in and he doesn’t feel well about his spot at Wrestlemania being due to Trick’s interference. Hayes insists that Zayn do the right thing, and Zayn agrees and offers his hand. Hayes doesn’t shake it and leaves. Zayn’s had enough of Trick’s taunting and sends him to the floor with a clothesline.

Man, that was a LOT of yap to set up a rematch. Zayn is going heel, Trick is going face and I don’t know what Melo is at this point other than an ancillary figure who won’t be on Wrestlemania even after this rematch is over.

Solo Sikoa wants to know why Tama Tonga gave THE LANTERN back, and Tonga says it was tearing them apart. Tonga says their business should be running Smackdown and taking all the titles. Sikoa says they’ll finish the Wyatts and then do just that.

Aleister Black and Zelina make their entrance as we go to commercials.

Matt Cardona vs Aleister Black

Zelina is out with Black as usual. Why can’t Chelsea Green come out with Cardona to even things up, it’s not like she’s doing anything else. Cardona hits an armdrag and then grabs his elbow on the arm that Orton mashed a couple of weeks ago. Black works the arm and then drops a knee on it. Black torques the arm but Cardona shakes him off and hits a dropkick. Cardona sends Black to the floor with a clothesline and then mashes him with a between-the-ropes dropkick. Cardona goes out and rams Black’s head into the apron before chasing him back in. Cardona barks at Zelina and Black SWEEPS THE LEG as we go to commercials.

Cardona hits a lofted powerbomb when the show returns, but he’s still dealing with his arm being punished by Black throughout the break apparently. Cardona fires off a facebreaker and then pulls Black into a double underhook. Black escapes and fires off a knee, but Cardona snaps off a neckbreaker in response. Cardona hits a running kick on Black and covers him for two. Black lofts a charging Cardona into a turnbuckle and then mounts him on the top one. Black gets dropped and Cardona hits a top rope missile dropkick. Cardona hits a double underhook powerbomb and covers Black for two. Black fires up with a knee lift and a brainbuster that gets two. Black and Cardona slug it out and Black suddenly ends things with a Black Mass.

Man, Cardona is a full on goober now after all the good will his return produced. For two guys who’s Wrestlemania weekend will be spent in catering, this was a match that happened on a television show. Good for Black, I guess, but he needs a program and soon. 2.25*

Winner – Aleister Black (Black Mass)

Here’s Cathy Kelley with Bayley and Lyra Valkyria. Kelley asks about Bayley not being on Wrestlemania last year, and Bayley says that Bliss and Flair will taste payback for costing them on Monday night. Valkyria chimes in to say that Wrestlemania is about more than friendship and gold, it’s about Bayley getting her moment and surviving everything they’ve been through this last year.

Here’s a look at a new Shawn Michaels documentary that will be on Peacock starting April 13th. I’ll be watching that. We go to commercials.

After commercials, we have a look at the ongoing build for the titanic confrontation between Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar (see Kat’s review for the full details on this past Monday’s events).

Here’s R-Truth chastising Sad John Wrestling and Candice LeRae about Sad John laying around being sad. LeRae points out that Gargano will be the new NXT Men’s North American champion tomorrow night, and then they leave. Here’s Damian Priest to question why Truth chose Kit Wilson and Miz for their first defense, and Truth says it’s because “Asuka” CURSED them both last week. Priest mentions Asuka being on Raw, and Truth asks “who’s the little girl running around backstage with the face paint?” Priest tells him it’s Danhausen, and questions why Truth gave an undeserving team a shot. Truth says at least St. Louis will get to see Wepa Time and tells Priest to watch out for Asuka as he leaves to go get ready. We go to commercials.

Here’s Drew McIntyre‘s pre-taped response promo to the earlier Fatu vignette. McIntyre talks about losing the WWE title to Cody Rhodes due to Jacob Fatu stealing it from him. McIntyre calls Fatu a criminal and a thief, and mentions that he’ll never change from being a convict. McIntyre talks about the Anoa’i’s and Fatu’s being thorns in his side for a long time and says Jacob Fatu is the worst of the bunch, before promising to show who Fatu really is next week. Oh boy.

These two promos have been really well done pieces of business. Fatu and McIntyre will probably really try to show out at Wrestlemania and I hope they do just that.

Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss vs Lyra Valkyria and Bayley

Barrett mentions that Nikki Bella is going through rehab work for her ankle injury so she can be at the Fatal Fourway happening at Wrestlemania. I wonder how many times Bayley and Charlotte have been in matches together at this point.

There’s a Pier Six to start and Flair gets hit with a cross-body and some ground and pound from Valkyria as Bliss and Bayley spill out to the floor. Flair fires up with a kick to Valkyria’s gut but Valkyria responds with a leg lariat that gets two. Valkyria hits an enziguri and Bliss gets a blind tag when Flair staggers into their corner. Flair yanks Valkyria into a short-arm backbreaker and then Bliss ascends to waffle Valkyria with a jumping DDT. We go to commercials.

Flair has Valkyria tied up in a leg scissors and tags in Bliss to drop a pair of knees on her when the show returns. Valkyria gets dumped down by Bliss who drops the knees again but misses the follow up cartwheel legdrop. Flair gets a tag and charges over to grab Valkyria. Valkyria gets chopped own but then slugs Bliss in the corner before mashing Flair with a cross-body. Valkyria finally tags in Bayley who mashes Flair with a clothesline and a side suplex. Bayley fires off some rights and then mashes Flair in a neutral corner. Bayley hits a sunset flip that sends Flair head first into a turnbuckle, and Bayley covers Flair for two. Bayley drags Flair to mid-ring and ascends but Flair springs up and chops away. Flair and Bayley slug each other and Valkyria charges over to grab Bayley’s leg as Flair slips off and goes to the mat. Valkyria flies around to snap Bliss down to the apron, and Bayley waffles Flair with the Savage elbow before covering and getting two. Bayley hoists Flair up and Valkyria hits a rolling neckbreaker that gets two. Flair runs into a high boot and Valkyria tries a missile dropkick. Flair catches her and pulls Valkyria into a Figure Eight, but Bayley breaks it up with an elbow drop. Bliss charges in and wallops Bayley with a shotgun dropkick. Bliss gets caught by Valkyria who pulls her onto her shoulders. Bliss slips off and wants Sister Abigail, and then ducks Bayley’s clothesline attempt. Bayley runs into a Flair high boot and Bliss pops Valkyria with a right hand. Flair and Bliss hit simultaneous Natural Selections and Bliss covers Valkyria for three.

Match of the night so far, Brain. I’ve come around so much on Flair and Bliss’s team it’s actually kind of remarkable. Having them be amenable to this with 19 world championships between them is something I don’t think you’d see on the Men’s side of things. Bayley and Valkyria are jobbers disguised as challengers and I think that will play out definitively at Wrestlemania. Solid contest here. 3*

Winners – Flair/Bliss (Bliss Natural Selection on Valkyria)

Post-match sees Lash Legend spring up to smash Bliss with a right hand. Legend splashes Valkyria while Nia Jax is smashing Flair and Bayley around on the floor. The champs crush everyone and pull Bayley into a prone position so Jax can hit a second rope legdrop on her. The champs hold their belts up and point to the Wrestlemania sign.

Here’s Kit Wilson and The Miz warming up and Miz tells Wilson that the CURSE thing is a myth. Here’s Danhausen behind them with a jar of human teeth as he promises to accompany Miz and Wilson to ringside. Wilson says that Danhausen is TOXIC but Danhausen says if they let him come to ringside he’ll lift the CURSE. Miz wants no part of that, so Danhausen disappears and everyone is left baffled.

R-Truth and Damian Priest make their entrance as we go to commercials.

Sexxy Red is in the crowd prior to her hosting gig at Stand & Deliver.

WWE World Tag Team Championship: R-Truth and Damian Priest vs The Miz and Kit Wilson

Wilson blasts Truth from behind just after the bell. Truth shakes it off and pops Wilson with a right after showing off some sweet dance moves. Wilson fires back and then rams Truth into his corner as Miz tags in. Miz puts the boots to Truth and Truth fires up with a shoulder tackle in response. Truth goes into the Cena routine but Wilson breaks that up and sends Truth to the floor. Wilson hits Truth with a flying uppercut and we go to commercials.

Truth makes a hot tag to Priest when the show returns. Priest beats up Miz and Wilson before doing the rope walk to hit a cross-body on Miz. Priest hits a running clothesline and covers Miz for two as Wilson flies in to break it up. Priest hits a rolling boot on Wilson and tags in Truth. Priest wallops Wilson on the outside, and Truth and Miz collide with simultaneous clotheslines. Danhausen’s music hits and he marches to the ring with the jar of human teeth. Danhausen wants a tag and Miz is baffled. Miz tells Danhausen to leave immediately. Miz argues with Dan Engler, so Danhausen gets a tag from Truth. Miz puts the stink-mouth on Danhausen when he turns, and then Miz pulls Engler in front of him as a human shield TO BE CURSED. Truth hits an AA on Wilson but Miz pulls him into a Skull Crushing Finale. Engler cannot complete the count after two due to THE CURSE and Truth rolls over to tag in Priest. Priest immediately hits the South of Heaven on Miz and this time Engler somehow manages to count three.

Sure. Listen, this show has been a fucking trainwreck tonight anyway, why not some Danhausen shenanigans to really amp things up a bit. I love the guy, and this was a perfect way to use him and Truth and Wilson and Miz. It’s kind of amazing to me that Damian Priest used to be at the top of the card and he’s doing this stuff now, but here we are. You go where your feet lead you, I guess. I’m not sure how to rate this, because it was nineteen stars from an entertainment perspective and about one star from a wrestling perspective. Let’s call it 2* and move on with our lives.

Winners AND STILL WWE Men’s World Tag Team Champions – R-Truth and Damian Priest (Priest South of Heaven on Miz)

Post-match sees an irate Cody Rhodes charge in and drop a concerned Wilson with a Cross Rhodes. Rhodes grabs a microphone and screams about getting all dressed up to find out who Randy Orton was talking to on the phone. Rhodes says that this development is like if Hall and Nash had called Disco Inferno instead of Hulk Hogan when forming the NWO (Cody and Disco famously don’t like each other and here’s some evidence of that.) Rhodes calls McAfee a “stoner, grifter, Logan-Paul-without-muscles, human hat-rack fly-by-night” and promises a receipt. Rhodes says everyone that represents McAfee can kiss his ass (McAfee’s agent is Ari Emanuel, who runs TKO) and says if they want to fire him they can because it worked out so well for them the last time they did it. Rhodes says that Orton keeps saying it’s not personal and that Stephanie McMahon told him to become a bad guy, but Rhodes says he’s not even sure he knows how to do that anymore. Rhodes mentions all the Wrestlemania’s he’s main evented and says yeah, he was wrestling Rock and Cena and Roman but they were also wrestling him. Rhodes says he’s hearing the voices in his head, finally, but no one wants to hear what they have to say. Rhodes tosses the microphone down and stalks to the back as we go to commercials.

This feud, as Patton Oswalt would so gently put it, has taken a hard left turn into ASSHOLE-VILLE. I don’t know why ANY of this had to happen like this when the story was pretty simple. Orton wanted to be champ again, and Cody got in the way by needing to beat McIntyre so he could be in a major match at Wrestlemania. Yes, the Orton heel turn wasn’t going well, but not one bit of tonight’s nonsense was needed and oh by the way, Orton was NEVER getting booed in St. Louis even if he lit Rhodes on fire and pissed on the ashes. Just a horrendous set of creative decisions here, but I’m sure there will be someone out there who tells me that this is actually chicken salad.

Here’s a look at the ongoing war between CM Punk and Roman Reigns over on Raw. Tessitore and Barrett run down the updated Wrestlemania card.

Sami Zayn makes his entrance as we go to commercials.

SNICKERS takes a look back at the Kevin Owens-Steve Austin dust-up from the Dallas Wrestlemania. That was a fun event.

Trick Williams has joined the proceedings along with Lil Yachty and they take seats next to the announce table.

WWE Men’s US Championship Open Challenge: Sami Zayn (C) vs Carmelo Hayes

Zayn gives a clean break after bullying Hayes to a corner. There’s a wristlock exchange and Hayes grabs a headlock. They run the ropes and Hayes waffles Zayn with a dropkick before making a “I want the belt” gesture. Hayes chops Zayn a few times and Zayn reverses it for some chops of his own. Zayn rises up and drops some rights on Hayes’s head, but Hayes sneaks out and drops Zayn face first on a top turnbuckle. Hayes drops some rights of his own and then there’s some more rope-running that results in a Zayn clothesline that gets two. Zayn yanks on Hayes’s wrist and gets a “Sami sucks!” chant from the crowd. Hayes breaks out with a springboard reverse clothesline and then fires Zayn into a corner. Hayes hits an enziguri and a springboard legdrop before covering and getting two. Zayn bails to the floor and Hayes hits a tope con hilo but seems to tweak his knee on the landing. We go to commercials.

Hayes is down and Zayn is stalking him when the show returns. They slug it out and Hayes chops away before catching Zayn with the Dirty Diana. Hayes covers and gets two, but he couldn’t stack the pin because of his hurt knee. Hayes eyes the Wrestlemania sign and then wants the First 48, but Zayn denies it. Hayes grabs a roll up for two, and then Zayn springs up with an Exploder. Zayn fires up and eats a Hayes superkick when he runs over for the Helluva Kick. Hayes ascends for a frog splash that gets two, and Zayn snaps him over into a crucifix that gets two. Hayes fires off some elbows and hits the First 48. Hayes ascends but takes too long as Zayn slips out of the way from the Nothing But Net attempt and Hayes’s knee buckles again. The ref checks on Hayes, but Zayn ignores it to line him up and waffle Hayes with the Helluva Kick. Zayn covers and gets three.

So they went with the injury angle here to get to the finish, and Zayn’s slow heel turn continues thusly. I like this side of Zayn way more than the whiny babyface crap he was doing for the last few months. It harkens back to the Bloodline version of Zayn who wouldn’t hesitate to do what was necessary. Hayes will have his moment but it’s clearly not meant to be this year. This was fine but nothing you have to go out of your way to find. 3*

Winner AND STILL WWE Men’s US Champion – Sami Zayn (Helluva Kick)

Post-match sees Lil Yachty jump in the ring with Trick Williams to congratulate Zayn on making Wrestlemania and having his match with Trick. Trick drops Zayn with a right and puts the boots to him, before Yachty grabs Zayn to hold him up for a Trick Shot. Yachty hands the title belt to Trick who holds it over his head to a “Whoop That Trick” chant. The credits roll as Zayn is given his title belt back while rolling around on the mat.

As Trick would say, let’s talk about it. First, the matches – Flair/Bliss vs Valkyria/Bayley and Hayes vs Zayn were the highlights tonight, and everything else was just kind of there. The batshit tag title match was good for a smile in a show that didn’t provide many. The Fatu and McIntyre promos set a good stage for what could be a bit of a show-stealer at Wrestlemania. Now, let’s talk about the big thing coming out of this show. As I mentioned above, the Orton-Rhodes feud had been limping along, but at least it had a well-defined purpose. Apparently that wasn’t enough, so someone decided that we needed Pat McAfee to insult us all by claiming that the product we watch weekly is terrible and should be dragged back 30 years. I reiterate that as bad as things were under the old man, who firmly loathed his audience by the end, he would have NEVER resorted to this two weeks before Wrestlemania. I’d like to think I’ve been watching wrestling long enough to know that if I give my time to something, I personally can find something in it that I enjoy and for McAfee to get the green light to tell me I’m wrong and everyone who watches Raw and Smackdown are wrong, well…I don’t appreciate it at all. It was one thing when Roman Reigns went in on creative early in his feud with Punk, but this was scorched Earth against Rhodes and Smackdown and the current fans who support this product in very difficult economic times. The hubris and avarice are kind of incredible, quite frankly. If you enjoyed it, so be it. I hated it, I hated Rhodes’s response to it, and I cannot believe someone greenlit it. Thumbs down. Fuck this show tonight.

Thanks for reading and commenting. Do what you will, call me out, it’s fine. If you want to yell at me on socials, it’s @NizOnWrestling on X and Bluesky. Have a good weekend, and I’ll be back with S&D and AAA coverage on Sunday morning.