The post-Royal Rumble edition of WWE SmackDown goes down (2/3/23) from the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina! We’ll hear from Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, who’ll have a lot to say following the betrayal from Sami Zayn at Royal Rumble.
Live Coverage
- The show begins and our commentary team of Michael Cole and Wade Barrett highlight what’s about to come on tonight’s show. We then see a replay of what went down between Sami Zayn, Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens, and The Bloodline at the Royal Rumble this past weekend.
Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci (with Gunther) vs. Braun Strowman & Ricochet — Tag Team Championship Number One Contender’s Match
Braun and Ludwig start this one off. Braun launches Ludwig out out of the ring and Imperium talk over strategy before Ludwig heads back into the ring. Gunther yells at Braun from the outside and Braun heads out to chirp back to the Intercontinental Champion. Ludwig tries to sneak up on Braun with a dive through the ropes but Braun catches him in mid-air, but Vinci launches himself onto Braun on the outside and all three men are down as we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and Vinci is the legal man inside of the ring with a grounded Braun. Vinci applies a head-lock, Braun powers out and makes the tag to Ricochet, and the fresh Ricochet takes out both Vinci and Ludwig.
Ricochet nails Vinci with a standing moonsault and goes for the cover but Vinci lifts the shoulders after a two-count. Vinci drives Ricochet into the ring post and makes the tag to Ludwig. Imperium goes for a double team move on Ricochet but he slides out of the way, sneaks back into the ring and Braun launches both Vinci and Ludwig to the outside. Braun tells Ricochet to do his thing and Ricochet obliges and takes out both members of Imperium on the outside. Gunther gets in Ricochet’s face and shoves him to the ground but the referee saw it and ejects Gunther from ringside. Back in the ring, Imperium seclude Ricochet and nail him with an up and under lariat, Ludwig goes for the cover but Ricochet kicks out and we head to a commercial break.
Back from the break and Ricochet and Ludwig are exchanging strikes in the center of the ring. Ricochet clocks Ludwig with a bevy of strikes but Ludwig escapes to his corner, makes the tag to Vinci and Imperium clears house. Vinci cracks Ricochet with a springboard drop-kick, Imperium knocks Braun off the apron, and Vinci goes for the cover but Ricochet kicks out. Vinci makes the tag to Ludwig, a bunch of double team work from Imperium, Vinci is tagged back in, and plants Ricochet with a suplex then goes for the pin but Braun makes the save. Braun gets back on the apron and implores Ricochet to come make the tag, and both Ricochet and Vinci make tags to Braun and Ludwig, respectively. Braun wrecks both members of Imperium and wallops Ludwig with a massive lariat. Braun plants Kaiser with the ‘Monster Bomb’, makes the tag to Ricochet, who climbs on top of Braun’s shoulders and comes crashing down on Vinci with a ‘Swanton Bomb’ for the 1-2-3 and the win!
Winners – Braun Strowman & Ricochet
- It’s then announced that Braun Strowman and Ricochet will take on Jimmy and Jey Uso for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Titles, next week on SmackDown!
- We then see a video package highlighting Rhea Ripley’s historic win during this past weekend’s Women’s Royal Rumble match. Rhea Ripley’s announcement from this week’s Monday Night RAW is also shown, where Rhea selected to face Charlotte Flair and challenge for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 39.
- Backstage, Kayla Braxton is with SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair. Kayla asks Charlotte how she feels about Rhea choosing to face her at WrestleMania. Charlotte says it’ll be a great match, but first, she has to defeat Sonya Deville tonight and retain her title. Sonya interrupts and says while most people call the Carolinas ‘Flair Country’, she thinks it’s just a bunch of hicks and says she’s going to spoil Rhea and Charlotte’s plans for WrestleMania. Both competitors exit and we head to a commercial break.
- Back from the break and an altercation between The Judgment Day, Rey Mysterio, and New Day is shown from a NASCAR event earlier in the week.
Charlotte Flair (C) vs. Sonya Deville — SmackDown Women’s Championship
Charlotte lays Sonya out with an arm-drag to start. Charlotte slams Sonya to the mat and rolls her into a cover but Sonya kicks out. Sonya trips Charlotte to the mat and slams her, head first into the mat and we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and both competitors are slugging it out in the center of the ring. Charlotte nails Sonya with a back-body drop then leaps to her feet. Charlotte stuns Sonya with a right hand and stomps on the challenger’s knee before cracking her with a big boot to the face followed by a pin attempt but Sonya kicks out.
Sonya looks for the figure eight but Charlotte rolls her back into a cover and Sonya lifts her shoulders just before the three! Charlotte crushes Sonya with a lariat then goes for another cover but the challenger stays alive for the time being. Sonya rolls Charlotte up and uses the middle rope for leverage but Charlotte kicks out. Sonya looks for a sunset flip but Charlotte lands on her feet and locks in the figure four before quickly transitioning into a figure eight and Sonya immediately taps out!
Winner – Charlotte Flair (C)
- We then see a video package highlighting Cody Rhodes’ return this past weekend at the Royal Rumble, where he entered at number 30 and won the Men’s Royal Rumble match. Rhodes then announced this past Monday night on RAW that he will be challenging Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion at WrestleMania 39.
- Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman, Jimmy Uso, and Solo Sikoa are then shown backstage. Roman asks Jimmy where Jey is, and Jey claims to not know or have heard from Jey since the Royal Rumble. Roman says it’s disrespectful that Jey walked out on The Bloodline at the Royal Rumble and not reach out to his brother Jimmy. Roman says The Bloodline doesn’t walk out on their obligations and asks Jimmy one more time if he’s heard from Jey. Jimmy says he hasn’t heard from Jey but says that he knows his brother and knows that he’ll show up at their title match next Friday night. Roman asks Solo if he’s heard from Jey and Jimmy says if he hasn’t heard from Jey, nobody has. Roman tells Jimmy and Solo to go find Jey, a request to which they oblige. Michael Cole says Roman Reigns will be in the ring later tonight.
- We then see a video package highlighting Black History Month and this week’s video is honoring the career of former WWE Champion, Kofi Kingston.
- Butch and Ridge Holland are making their way down to the ring and they’ll be facing the Viking Raiders, after the break.
Brawling Brutes (Butch & Ridge Holland) vs. Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar) (with Valhalla)
Butch and Ivar start this one off. A brawl in the corner ensues and Ivar fires Butch face-first into the middle turnbuckle and makes the tag to Erik. Butch clocks Erik in the face with double knees and works over Erik’s right arm and hand. Butch lays into Erik with strikes in the corner and makes the tag to Ridge, who crushes Erik with a flying shoulder tackle. Erik looks for a suplex, Ridge remains grounded and plants Erik with a suplex of his own. Butch makes a self-tag and both members of the Brawling Brutes lay into Erik with Sheamus’ patented forearms to the chest. Butch launches himself over the top rope but Erik slides out of the way and Valhalla gets in Butch’s face at ringside. Erik uses the distraction and lays Butch out with a shoulder to the back and fires Butch into the barricade as we head to a commercial break.
Back from the break and Erik and Ridge are the legal competitors in this one. Ridge plants Erik with a belly-to-belly but Erik cracks him with a flying knee and makes the tag to Ivar. Ridge escapes a pile-driver and turns it into an Alabama Slam before going for the cover but Ivar kicks out. Ivar drags himself to the corner and makes the tag to Erik as Ridge makes a tag to Butch. Erik lays Butch out with a knee to the face, makes the tag to Ivar, Ridge fires Erik into the barricade on the outside and Butch lays Ivar out with a hurricanrana off the top turnbuckle. Everyone’s on the outside, Ivar cracks Ridge with a spinning back kick, both Raiders get in the ring and plant Butch with Ragnarok for the 1-2-3!
Winners – Viking Raiders
- After the match, Erik and Ivar are walking up the ramp but Drew McIntyre’s music hits and he and Sheamus come down and a brawl ensues! Drew and Sheamus take out the Viking Raiders.
- We then see a video package highlighting the Pitch Black match between Bray Wyatt and LA Knight from this past weekend’s Royal Rumble. Wyatt defeated Knight in a quick match before Wyatt and Uncle Howdy attacked Knight following the match.
- We see Bray Wyatt in a rocking chair and Uncle Howdy jumps into the camera to end the quick scene.
Shayna Baszler vs. Shotzi vs. Zelina Vega vs. Natalya — Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match
Shayna takes everyone out right off the bat. Shayna drops Natalya with a running knee to the face, which she previously broke Nattie’s nose with, and goes for the cover but Natalya kicks out and we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and Shayna and Shotzi are trading heavy strikes in the center of the ring. Shotzi rolls Shayna up but Shayna kicks out. Shotzi cracks Shayna with a kick to the face and Shayna rolls out of the ring, but Shotzi dives through the middle ropes and takes Shayna out on the outside. Zelina goes up top and takes out both Shayna and Shotzi with a moonsault to the outside. Natalya takes advantage of everyone else being down and tosses Shotzi back into the ring. Nattie locks in the sharpshooter but Zelina takes out Natalya with a running bulldog. Shayna takes Shotzi out with a German suplex and locks in the Kirifuda Clutch on Zelina but Natalya tosses Shayna to the outside and locks in the sharpshooter on Zelina and Zelina taps out!
Winner – Natalya
- Natalya now joins Asuka, Raquel Rodriguez, Nikki Cross, and Liv Morgan in the women’s elimination chamber match at the namesake premium live event, two weeks from tomorrow night! Carmella, Piper Niven, Michin, and Candice LeRae will battle it out for the final spot on Monday Night RAW, next Monday night.
- We then see Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman backstage. Heyman tells Reigns that Jey’s phone goes right to voicemail and Jimmy and Solo come back in and say they’ve had no luck finding Jey either. Roman says The Bloodline were doing so good and now all of a sudden all hell has broken loose. Roman says he has too much on his plate and a huge burden on him because he’s being spread thing. Roman apologizes to Jimmy for yelling at him earlier and tells Jimmy and Solo that he needs them and The Bloodline needs to be stronger than every before because if they’re not on the same page, there’s no more (and Roman throws the one’s in the air). Roman tells Jimmy and Solo to go relax in their tour bus because Heyman had sushi, steaks, and other catering sent to the bus. Jimmy and Solo thank Roman and they exit while Roman says he’s about to head out to the ring to handle some business…which commentary announces will happen, after the break.
- Back from the break and Michael Cole and Wade Barrett run down next Friday night’s card, which is headlined by Braun Strowman and Ricochet challenging The Usos for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Titles as well as Karrion Kross vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Santos Escobar vs. Madcap Moss in a number one contender’s match for Gunther’s Intercontinental Championship.
- The Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, alongside Paul Heyman make their way down to the ring. Roman tells the fans in Greenville, South Carolina to acknowledge him, to a massive reaction but the crowd quickly begins chanting for Sami Zayn. Roman says he was going to ask the fans who’d they like him to talk about and says he’d rather talk about Cody Rhodes, the man who won the Men’s Royal Rumble match and ‘actually earned’ the right for Roman to speak about, but he’ll talk about Sami. Roman says there’s two sides to every story, so we’re about to hear his side. Roman says it’s time to go all the way back to War Games. Roman says he looked dead into Sami’s eyes and saw greed, which is the same thing that he sees in his everyday life nowadays.
- Roman says Sami used him to be on the island of relevancy and Sami Zayn attacks Roman from behind! The crowd is going absolutely insane and Sami is livid! Sami and Roman brawl back-and-forth, Roman drops Sami with a bevy of knees and stomps and tells Heyman to grab him a steel chair, to which the wiseman obliges. Roman lines Sami up for a chair shot but Sami nails Roman with a spear and the crowd is on fire! Sami tries to crack Roman with the chair but Roman rolls out fo the ring. Sami grabs a microphone and says Roman is wrong about him. Sami says he never wanted anything from Roman…until now…and that’s the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship!
- Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa come out of nowhere and attack Sami from behind. Solo drills Sami with a Samoan Spike and Jimmy grabs a chair while Solo sets Sami up in the corner. Jimmy puts the chair around Sami’s neck and Solo is about to crush Sami but Roman stops him and asks Sami if he really wants something. Roman removes the chair and the crowd is chanting for Jey Uso. Roman says Sami is the reason Jey isn’t there, because he ruined The Bloodline. Roman says Sami can have what he wants…but it has to be at the Elimination Chamber in Sami’s hometown of Montreal, so he can embarrass Sami in front of his fans, his friends, his wife, and his kids. Roman grabs his titles and continues to yell at Sami in the corner and The Bloodline stands tall as the show goes off the air!
