By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Friday Night Smackdown (Episode 1,183)
Live from Albany, New York at MVP Arena
Aired April 22, 2022 on Fox
[Hour One] Michael Cole and Pat McAfee were on commentary… Adam Pearce stood in the ring for the contract signing for the Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey “I Quit” match for the Smackdown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania Backlash.
Smackdown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair made her entrance while a video package recapped recent storyline developments in the feud. Pearce introduced Ronda Rousey, who made her entrance to a favorable reaction and smiled as she slapped fan hands on the way to the ring.
Flair and Rousey sat at a contract signing table in the ring while Pearce got flustered because he didn’t have the contract. Drew Gulak ran out with the contract and was introduced as Pearce’s new assistant. Pearce said it would have been nice to have the contract sooner but added that Gulak was still learning. Gulak wanted to do a powerpoint presentation, but Flair cut him off.
The live crowd taunted Flair with taunts of “you tapped out” regarding the WrestleMania match. Flair said she was adjusting her bra. She shifted the focus to the ways that she could make Rousey quit. She listed a big boot to the face, a figure four, a figure eight, and “a good old fashioned beating.” Flair said she always finds a way to win and signed the contract.
Rousey told Flair that there won’t be a referee to step in and save her. Flair told Rousey that she beat her at WrestleMania. Rousey said Flair will say that Rousey is better than her and she will be humiliated when she says she quits. Rousey started to sign the contract when Flair tipped the table over.
Flair had a kendo stick underneath the table and hit Rousey with it twice. Rousey blocked the third swing and took the kendo stick away and then beat Flair with it. Gulak stepped in and took the kendo stick from Rousey. Gulak wanted Rousey to sign the contract, but she hoisted him up and gave him the Piper’s Pit instead. Rousey put Gulak in an armbar and maintained the hold until she was finished signing the contract…
Footage aired from last week’s drama involving Butch and New Day… Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston made their entrance for Woods’s match against Butch… [C]
Powell’s POV: I was worried about Gulak’s job security when he was booked to tap to Charlotte Flair’s finisher last week, but it looks like he’s landed in a new role as Pearce’s bumbling assistant. Gulak wasn’t doing much of anything on WWE television prior to last week, so this new role is a step up for him.
Butch made his entrance with Sheamus and Ridge Holland coming out of the break…
1. Xavier Woods (w/Kofi Kingston) vs. Butch (w/Sheamus, Ridge Holland). Woods turned Butch inside out with a clothesline and covered him for a two count during the opening minute. Butch came back and used joint manipulation (Pete Dunne is still in there somewhere!).
A short time later, Woods dumped Butch to ringside and then kicked him through the ropes. Kingston and Woods jawed with Sheamus and Holland. Butch ran up the steps and then jumped in the air and hit Woods on the way down. [C] In the end, Woods caught Butch in an inside cradle and got the pin.
Xavier Woods beat Butch in 9:00.
After the match, Butch blew a gasket. He hopped over the barricade and threw a security guard over it, then wandered into the crowd while Sheamus and Holland tried to call him back to the ring…
Powell’s POV: A well worked match. I continue to assume that Butch will be losing a lot of matches because it’s more about his post match meltdowns than his won/loss record right now.
Backstage, Aliyah praised Ricochet for his recent Intercontinental Title defenses. Ricochet said he wants to be one the the greatest to ever hold the title. Jinder Mahal and Shanky showed up. Jinder said that if Ricochet is a fighting champion, then he won’t have a problem defending his title again. Ricochet said he would. Shanky stepped in front of Mahal and told Ricochet to face him. Mahal wasn’t pleased with Shanky…
Powell’s POV: This probably says a lot more about me than her, but Aliyah’s character is happy and nice that she comes off phony and horribly annoying. Yep, I’m jaded.
Ludwig Kaiser stood on the stage and introduced Gunther. They headed toward the ring heading into a break… [C]
2. Gunther (w/Ludwig Kaiser) vs. Teddy Goodz. Goodz’s entrance was not televised. McAfee claimed that Goodz won a 100-man Royal Rumble match the night before to earn the opportunity. Funny. Gunther destroyed Goodz and put him away with a sleeper followed by a powerbomb for a three count…
Gunther defeated Teddy Goodz in 2:10.
Powell’s POV: The outcome may have been different if Goodz wasn’t exhausted from winning the 100-man Royal Rumble match the night before. I heard he was the third entrant, but I haven’t been able to confirm that with multiple sources. Anyway, this was exactly what it should have been with Gunther getting a squash win as he establishes himself on the main roster.
A sponsored video package recapped the latest with RK-Bro and The Usos…
Raw Tag Team Champions Randy Orton and Riddle were talking backstage when Drew McIntyre showed up. Riddle said he knew there was tension between McIntyre and Orton. Riddle said he and Orton would be lumberjacks during McIntyre’s match against Sami Zayn. McIntyre said anyone who stands up to The Bloodline is okay with him. Orton said he and McIntyre are great. When they all walked away, Sami Zayn popped up in the background…
Orton and Riddle made their entrance for Riddle’s match against Jey Uso… [C]
Xia Li delivered a backstage promo. She said she was The Protector, but she sees no one worth protecting. Li said now she protects herself…
Powell’s POV: Really, they already turned Li heel? I liked the character’s backstory and her entrance, and I thought she was doing well as a babyface. Strange. If nothing else, it’s good to see her and Aliyah return to television. They were both introduced a while back and then disappeared during the WrestleMania build.
The Usos made their entrance. Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman were shown watching them on a television in Roman’s dressing room…
3. Riddle (w/Randy Orton) vs. Jey Uso (w/Jimmy Uso). The match spilled over to ringside where Jey slammed Riddle onto the broadcast table in the same way that Orton dumps his opponents onto the table. [C]
[Hour Two] Riddle performed a Draping DDT while Orton cheered him on from the floor. Jimmy climbed onto the apron to distract Riddle. When he dropped back down to ringside, Orton dumped him onto the broadcast table.
In the ring, Riddle went for an RKO, but Jey stuffed it and ended up performing a popup neckbraker for a close near fall. Jey ended up jawing at Orton, then turned into Riddle’s running knee. Jey came right back with a superkick. Jey went for a top rope splash, but Riddle put his knees up and then rolled him into a pin.
Riddle beat Jey Uso in 12:10.
Reigns was shown looking frustrated as he watched the match in his dressing room while Heyman stood behind him with the WWE Universal Championship and WWE Championship belts over his shoulders. Cole said RK-Bro had the momentum heading into the tag title unification match at WrestleMania Backlash…
Powell’s POV: A good match that was over with the live crowd. Speaking of the crowd, Orton and Riddle can expect a nice bump in their next merch checks based on the number of RK-Bro 4:20 t-shirts in this crowd.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Sasha Banks and Naomi made their entrance… An ad for Monday’s Raw hyped Bianca Belair vs. Sonya Deville for the Raw Women’s Championship, Becky Lynch returning for the first time since WrestleMania, and Randy Orton’s 20th anniversary in WWE celebration… [C]
Cole hyped Fox’s coverage of a NASCAR event for Sunday…
Kayla Braxton stood inside the ring with Banks and Naomi. They boasted about glowing and being history makers. Banks spoke of their style and said they flow together in and out of the ring. Naomi spoke about the teams they’ve beaten and said it doesn’t matter who comes after them next.
Natalya’s entrance music played and she walked to the ring with Shayna Baszler. Natalya pointed out her Guinness Book of World Records. Baszler said she and Natalya would be the next WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. Baszler shoved Banks to the mat. Banks got up and was held back by Naomi, who said that if they want the titles they could come and try to take them…
Madcap Moss was shown warming up backstage. Happy Corbin showed up and said that his mentoring has paid off. Corbin said he would be the bigger man and would be willing to forgive Moss. Corbin asked if he was ready to come back. Moss said they shared some good laughs, but there was as much chance of him being Corbin’s sidekick again as there is of Corbin growing a full head of hair. Moss laughed and then Corbin walked away…
Madcap Moss made his entrance… [C] The broadcast team hyped SummerSlam tickets for the July 30 show in Nashville…
A Raquel Rodriguez video package aired and then a graphic hyped her Smackdown debut for next week…
Los Lotharios made their entrance and did their usual kiss cam routine…
4. Madcap Moss vs. Angel (w/Humberto). Moss dumped Angel over the top rope onto Humberto on the floor. Moss bent over and slapped his ass to taunt them. Humberto grabbed the leg of Moss, allowing Angel to get some brief offense. Moss knocked Humberto off the apron with a clothesline and then shoulderblocked Angel. Moss followed up with his Punchline finisher for the win.
Madcap Moss beat Angel in 2:25.
After the match, Moss gave a thumbs up to his Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal trophy that was set up at ringside. Happy Corbin attacked him and put him down with his End of Days finisher. Corbin went to ringside and walked away with the trophy…
Backstage, Sami Zayn thought about knocking on Roman Reigns’ dressing room door… [C]
Powell’s POV: I’m still not sold on Madcap Moss. My ears heard a lot of cheering noise even though my eyes saw a lot of fans looking uninterested. Give up on this awful gimmick and give Riddick Moss a chance.
A Make-A-Wish video aired…
Backstage, Roman Reigns sat between Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso. Jey told him it wouldn’t happen again. Paul Heyman approached Reigns and said they had a guest in Sami Zayn. Reigns looked annoyed. Zayn acknowledged Reigns and said he’s a big fan. He said all of the smashing and the Superman Punches are great.
Zayn spoke of being a locker room leader. He said he hears and sees everything. He said he saw McIntyre getting chummy with RK-Bro, and noted that Orton and Riddle would be lumberjacks in his match. Zayn also claimed he heard them say disrespectful things about Roman’s family.
Zayn said he needs to beat McIntyre to regain the respect that he’s owed. He wondered if there was some way that he could get some help doing that, and said he would be more than happy to help Reigns in return. Zayn said he could be a very valuable ally. Zayn said he acknowledged Reigns and needs him to recognize him.
Reigns never replied. Zayn left the room. Reigns told his cousins that there were people on his show talking about him. He told them to take his name out of their mouths. “Understand?” he asked the Usos…
The third Lacey Evans video aired. She spoke about growing up in the most important years of her life without her mother. She said her mom wasn’t there to teach her how to do her hair or makeup. She said she does her own makeup before shows because she learned from a young age that if you want something done right, you do it yourself.
Evans said she started competing in amateur wrestling when she was 15 years old. She said she was undefeated and ranked first in the state of Florida and ninth in the nation. Evans said that when you don’t have anyone to rely on or anything to lose, you start to realize just how unstoppable and strong you are.
Evans said she walked two miles in the rain home from school to find her father high with a burning cigarette falling out of his mouth. She said it makes you hungry for something better out of life. She said she learned how unbreakable she is. She said that what she’s been through have made her motivated and ready for anything. She once again said she’s no better than the other wrestlers, but they’re damn sure not better than she is…
A group of lumberjacks came out for the main event… [C]
Powell’s POV: I continue to enjoy the new reality based direction they are taking with Evans. It would be nice if one of these videos includes an explanation for her actions as the Sassy Southern Belle and why she’s now a changed woman.
Ricochet vs. Shanky for the Intercontinental Championship, and Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey competing in Beat The Clock submission challenges for next week’s Smackdown… Entrances for the main event took place…
5. Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn in a lumberjack match. The lumberjacks included Randy Orton, Riddle, Erik, Ivar, Sheamus, Ridge Holland, Shinksuke Nakamura, Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, Mansoor, Jinder Mahal, and Shanky. Just before the opening bell, Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso made their entrance, which was cause for celebration for Zayn.
The bell rang to start the match and Zayn immediately rolled to the floor. He tried to talk to the babyface lumberjacks, but they tossed him back inside the ring. Rinse and repeat with Zayn making another failed attempt at leaving the ringside area only to be tossed back in the ring. McIntyre was tossed to ringside and he was hit from behind by Holland. Sheamus ran McIntyre into the ring steps while Cole said the lumberjacks are supposed to toss the wrestlers back in the ring, not beat the hell out of them. [C]
McIntyre executed a pair of suplexes and a neckbreaker before kipping up and playing to the crowd. McIntyre set up for his finisher, but Zayn rolled to ringside. Orton and Riddle were there to grab Zayn, but the Usos hit them with cheap shots and then left the ringside area. Meanwhile, the other lumberjacks started to fight.
McIntyre stopped Zayn from leaving and tossed him back inside the ring while the lumberjacks continued to fight on the floor. McIntyre performed a flip dive over the top rope and onto a group of lumberjacks at ringside. A “holy shit” chant broke out and the audio seemed to be cut for a few seconds. Zayn hopped the barricade and ran up the steps.
Adam Pearce came out and said he didn’t think it was possible for someone to run from a lumberjack match, but he should have known it would be Zayn. Pearce said there won’t be any running for Zayn next week because he will go one-on-one with McIntyre in a steel cage match.
Drew McIntyre fought Sami Zayn to an apparent no-contest in a lumberjack match in roughly 9:00.
Jinder Mahal and Shanky attacked McIntyre, who dropped them both with headbutts. McIntyre counted down and then blasted Mahal with a Claymore Kick while Zayn cringed in the crowd. McIntyre went to the ropes and grabbed his sword. “Your ass belongs to Drew McIntyre,” he told Zayn while pointing the stupid sword at him.
Cole hyped the cage match, the Intercontinental Title match, and the Beat The Block I Quit Challenge for next week’s show. McIntyre approached McAfee and spoke into his headset. McIntyre said he would tear Zayn apart. McIntyre climbed onto the broadcast table and played to the crowd to close the show…
Powell’s POV: A turn your brain off finish. We’ve seen WWE authority figures call bullshit and restart matches. In this case, there’s no reason that Pearce couldn’t have ordered Zayn to return to the ring to continue the match. Obviously, they want to stretch this out. And I won’t protest too much because while the finish to this match was a groaner, I must admit that I am enjoying Zayn’s antics and I’m also looking forward to next week’s cage match.
Overall, this was a decent show. We haven’t seen Reigns get physical since WrestleMania, and there was no sign of them continuing what seemed to be the start of a build to something between him and Shinsuke Nakamura. Is Reigns sitting out of WrestleMania Backlash? If so, why? Anyway, I will be back with my weekly same night audio review of Smackdown for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons). Let me know what you thought of the show by grading it below.
Join me for my live review of Impact Wrestling Rebellion on Saturday night.
I can confirm it was a 1000 man royal rumble. He was indeed 3rd,however.
It was probably still better than the men’s rumble this year.