WrestleMania Week makes SmackDown even bigger!

The SmackDown before WrestleMania becomes a kickoff to this year’s two night event! Who wins the returning Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• SmackDown Tag Team Championships Fatal 4 Way: The Dirty Dawgs VS The Street Profits VS The Alpha Academy VS The Mysterios; The Dirty Dawgs win and retain the titles.
• Nia Jax w/ Shayna Baszler & Reginald VS Tamina w/ Natalya; Tamina wins, by disqualification.
• 2021 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal: Jey Uso wins.

PLAY BY PLAY

SmackDown opens with Daniel Bryan!

The Yes Movement is just days from an attempt at #YEStleMania2 and Bryan gets a mic to say, “We are so close.” We’re so close to the biggest event of the year, WrestleMania! Everyone is excited and Bryan is excited about everything! He’s excited to see the set, smell the smoke and breathe the fresh air of Raymond James Stadium! But he’s most excited to finally hear the roar of the WWE Universe in person! And don’t get Bryan wrong, the ThunderDome is awesome. But there is nothing like wrestling in front of a live audience, there’s nothing like being in front of fans at WrestleMania, and there is nothing like winning the Universal Championship in the main event of WrestleMania!

And that is what Bryan can’t wait for: he will walk down to the ring with 25 THOUSAND people chanting “YES!” in unison, there is nothing like it! Bryan is often associated with “Yes,” but most of his career revolved around being told, “No.” Is Bryan big enough? No. Does Bryan belong in the WWE? No. Is Bryan a superstar? No. Is he best for business? No. Can he be the face of the WWE? No. Does Bryan deserve to be in the main event of Mania? If you asked Batista and Randy Orton, or now Edge and Roman Reigns, they would say, “No.” But if you ask Bryan, “You’re damn right I do!”

Bryan is lucky, because every time he was told no, he was also told to ignore it! Bryan was told to dig down deep and find the truth, and that is how he came to say, “Yes, yes, yes.” Fans give the Yes Fingers in solidarity as Bryan says, “Every time life told me no, I said yes.” Will Bryan ever be able to wrestle again? Doctors said no, Bryan said yes. When he came back, could he ever be world champion again? People said no, Bryan said yes! At Fastlane, would Bryan tap out the un-tap-out-able Roman Reigns? Roman said no, Bryan said yes! And can Bryan main event Mania one more time? Adam Pearce first said no, but then he said yes!

This Sunday, at WrestleMania 37 Night 2, this is by far the biggest match of Bryan’s career. A Triple Threat for the Universal Championship. There’s Edge, furious because he thinks Bryan stole the spotlight that belongs on him. There’s Roman, who is enraged because for the first time, Bryan made him tap out, and if it happens again, Roman loses the title, isn’t Head of the Table or anything else he thinks he is. When people are furious, they are dangerous, and Edge and Roman are among the most dangerous in the WWE. But which Bryan are they facing? Not the SmackDown GM, not even “family man” Bryan.

This Sunday, they get the BEST DAMN BRYAN, the most DANGEROUS Bryan, the Bryan that tapped out Roman! The Bryan that will kick Edge’s head in despite his bad neck! The Bryan with fire in his eyes and in his heart as he’s willing to do anything! And that leads us to one last question: Can Daniel Bryan walk out of the main event of WrestleMania as NEW Universal Champion? Fans already know, and Bryan says “Yes. YES. YES! YES! YES!” But will the “No” from Roman and Edge ruin Bryan’s dreams?

The Street Profits are fired up, too!

Kayla tries to get an interview with them but both Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford are chanting “YES! YES!” with Bryan. Kayla knows this is #TakeBackSeason, but how does it feel to have a title opportunity? It’s about time! Bryan will win the Universal Championship and the Profits will win BACK the SmackDown Tag titles! But then Roode & Ziggler attack! The champions want an advantage in the Fatal 4 Way, but Dawkins throws Ziggler into a monitor! Things spill out on stage, and here come the ALPHA ACADEMY! And the Mysterios! The brawl spills down the ramp, Rey and Dominik are sent into barriers, and SmackDown goes to break!

SmackDown Tag Team Championships Fatal 4 Way: The Dirty Dawgs VS The Street Profits VS The Alpha Academy VS The Mysterios!

SmackDown returns and these four teams are in the ring and this match is underway! In this Fatal 4 Way, only two teams are legal, and Chad Gable is throwing Dominik around with a waistlock! Dom gets up to throw Gable out, then dropkicks him as he returns! Dom arm-drags Gable around and clamps onto the arm. Gable gets up, pulls hair and Otis tags in. The Alphas whip, Dom tries to wheelbarrow but he just gets a POLISH HAMMER SUPLEX! Ziggler tags in to cover Dom, TWO! Ziggler is frustrated already, bumps Dom off buckles, then tags Roode in. The Dawgs mug Dom, Roode throws hands, and Roode whips Dom to ropes to CLOBBER him! Cover, TWO!

Roode drives his knee into Dom and has a chinlock. Dom endures, fans rally up and Dom fights back with body shots. Roode CLUBS Dom down, drags him up and scoops for a SLAM! Roode runs but Gable tags in! Gable drags Dom around to JAM the arm! Cover, TWO! Gable clamps onto the arm and grinds the shoulder, but Dom endures as Rey coaches him on. Dom gets up, Gable wrenches and back suplexes but Dom crossbodies! ONE, and Gable has a foot. Dom BOOTS Gable away and tags in Rey! Rey fires off on Gable, Gable whips but Rey dodges to tilt-o-whirl headscissor! Rey kicks Gable and whips, but Gable reverses.

Rey elbows back, goes up and QUEBRADA, but into a scoop! Tilt-o-whirl DDT from Rey! Cover, the Dawgs break it! Ziggler & Roode hit the Profits, but the Mysterios double DROPKICK! The Mysterios DECK Otis, too! The Mysterios whip Gable, pop him up and out but Otis catches him! Dom goes up and around to open the way, Rey DIVES! Then Dom MOONSAULTS! The Mysterios stand tall while SmackDown goes to break!

SmackDown returns and Roode keeps Ford from his corner! Roode knees low and hard, whips him to the Dawgs’ corner but Ford goes up and over and  handsprings to show off before he dropkicks Roode down! Cover, TWO! Ford is annoyed but he brings Roode up. Roode hits back, CLUBS Ford down, then has him in the Dawgs’ territory with the back suplex. Ford lands on his feet to ROCK Ziggler, ROCK Roode, then ROCK Ziggler again! But Ford turns around into Roode’s GLORIOUS SPINEBUSTER! Otis tags in off Roode and backs him down. Ziggler and Gable argue but Otis runs to DISCUS Ford down! Cover, Rey breaks it!

Otis is mad but he stays focused on Ford. Otis scoops and SLAMS Ford, runs and drops an elbow! Otis fires up for the Academy and he clamps onto Ford with a neck wrench. Ford gets up, Otis whips him and ROCKS him with that body shot! Tag to Gable, the Alphas mug Ford then NORTHERN LIGHTS! Bridging cover, TWO!! Ford survives but Gable clamps onto him again. Ziggler tags in off Gable to return the favor, and he clamps onto Ford with a camel clutch. Ford fights up,. Ziggler chinlocks and cranks back, but Ford back suplexes! Ziggler lands on his feet to dropkick Ford down! Ziggler wants Ford to get up, he aims but no Famouser! Ford hits a SPIRALING POWERBOMB!

Both men are down, the four teams are fired up and so are the fans! Ford and Ziggler grab at each other to get past the other, hot tags to Roode and Dawkins! Dawkins rallies on Roode, dodges and leaping back elbows! Gable runs in, into an EXPLODER! Roode CYCLONE SPLASHES Roode, then runs to BULLDOG! But Rey tags in to stop that, and he SEATED SENTONS! Dawkins runs at Rey but is dumped out! Rey tilt-o-whirls and sends Roode into Otis! Tag to Dom, Dom dropkicks Roode onto ropes! Ziggler gets in but get added to the call! DOUBLE 619!! Rey gets Ziggler out, Dom goes up top, FROG SPLASH!! Cover, Otis SPLASHES down!!

Rey  leaps but into Otis’ arms! Otis slides Rey out to the floor, but the Profits DOUBLE DROPKICK Otis out! Ford runs to FLY and take Otis down! Dom is down, Roode is down, but Dawkins and Gable tag in off them! Dawkins sunset flips and covers, TWO! Gable sits on the cover, TWO! Gable runs, gets around Dawkins and backslides, ONE!! Dawkins swings, but into CHAOS THEORY!! But Ford tagged in first! And he enters FROM THE HEAVENS!! But Roode tags in! Ziggler SUPERKICKS Ford out!! Roode covers, the Dirty Dawgs win!!

Winners: The Dirty Dawgs, by pinfall (still SmackDown Tag Team Champions)

It was utter chaos near the end, and the champions pounced on it! If three teams can’t stop them, will their reign ever end?

Backstage interview with Bianca Belair.

The EST is a night away from facing Sasha Banks in her first-ever WrestleMania match! Can she put into words what she’s feeling? Well, butterflies for sure, but that’s not bad! She’s excited and nervous. But her daddy always told her that being nervous means you care. Just don’t be scared. And she was raised not to be scared of anything. She has to be mentally tough as well as physically because this is the opportunity of a lifetime. Even when no one was watching, she was working so hard. Now the world gets to see what she can do.

But Sasha’s been here before and will do anything to keep the title. That makes her dangerous. What about Bianca? Well dang, Kayla. But no, the strongest, the fastest, the roughest, the toughest has all the tools to win and that makes HER dangerous. So when Bianca wins and becomes champion, that will be the greatEST night of her life!

WWE Media was with Big E as he went back to his roots.

Being he’s from Tampa, Florida, he went home before Mania. “Apollo, you spend a lot of time talking about remembering where you came from, reconnecting with home.'” Big E never forgot. WrestleMania is in HIS city, and this here is Big Jay the barber, a Tampa legend. This is where Big E gets his hair cut, and where he gets his mind right. Then there’s Downtown Tampa and the Calf Street Bridge, near his alma mater of Tampa Prep. This is where he would run two miles before a grueling two hours of wrestling training. This is what taught Big E about the grind.

And then there’s Raymond James Stadium, where Big E played in his high school all star game 17 years ago! Where champions shined! Big E owns a piece of this! And this is where Big E will walk in and walk out THE WWE Intercontinental Champion! And this is where Apollo’s dreams will come to die! Apollo wants to make this personal but Big E is ready to give it back in kind! Who goes bigger to have the gold at the end of WrestleMania?

Nia Jax w/ Shayna Baszler & Reginald VS Tamina w/ Natalya!

Last week, the Queen of Spades was caught off-guard by the Queen of Harts, and then all hell broke loose in the Women’s Tag Division! This time, the Irresistible Force and the Daughter of Superfly see if gold is thicker than blood. Who gains massive momentum going into WrestleMania Weekend?

SmackDown returns, the bell rings and the two tie up! Nia shoves Tamina down and says SHE dominates this! Tamina and Nia tie up again, and now Tamina shoves Nia! “Now that’s what I’m talking about!!” Nia gets up to pie face Tamina, Tamina SLAPS Nia! And then fires off haymakers! Tamina stomps away, the ref backs her off, and Reggie gets upset. Tamina grabs Reggie to drag him in! Shayna tries to save Reggie, and Nia CLOBBERS Tamina! The ref reprimands but Nia looms over Tamina. Nia puts Tamina in a corner, runs in and SPLASHES! Tamina goes rolling, Natty rallies for her but Nia KICKS her while she’s down!

Nia pushes Tamina around and says she’s not afraid of her. Nia stands Tamina up but Tamina fires off! Nia headbutts Tamina down! Tamina ends up in a corner, Nia stands on her! “I’m NOT scared of you!!” The ref counts, Nia lets off and Nia drags Tamina up to whip her to another corner. Nia runs in but Tamina dodges, Nia POSTS herself! Natty fires up and Tamina gets to the apron. Tamina drags herself up, heads for the corner and up top, but Nia is there! Tamina headbutts her away! Shayna gets on the apron, but Natty yanks her down! Natty whips but Shayna reverses to send Natty into steel steps!

Nia gets Tamina in a fireman’s carry but Tamina slips off! SUPERKICK to SAMOAN DROP!! Tamina can’t cover, though, that took so much in itself! Cover, but Shayna attacks!!

Winner: Tamina, by disqualification

Natty gets in and fires off on Shayna! They brawl, Tamina helps Natty and they double whip Shayna. Shayna holds ropes, bails out and regroups with Nia and Reggie! The second generation superstars have to fight through Tag Team Turmoil, but will they have the motivation and aggression to do it?

Backstage interview with The Riott Squad.

Liv and Ruby are here but Billie barges in again. Why? She doesn’t even have a partner. Um, sorry, what was that? Carmella is here! She’s Billie’s partner. Oh wow. But anyway, Ruby and Liv are laser focused on Tag Team Turmoil. But that means getting through four other teams, because now Billie & Mella are added to the mix. What does the Squad have that gets them the edge? Well besides getting rid of the sidekick, Liv & Ruby are more in synch than ever. Aw, how cute. If Mella wanted a lesson on friendship, she’d watch an after school special. Those WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships are Mella’s. Ahem. Right, hers and Billie’s. Because Mella Is Money!

And Billie…? is annoyingly- er, amazingly persistent, and that is an advantage in itself. But what about Mandy Rose & Dana Brooke? What about them? But then the Ravishing Glow gets in on this. Are we doing this again? Yes. But now it’s a BRAWL!! All four teams go after each other, the Squad stands tall over Billie & Mella, but then Natty & Tamina add on! They assault Dana, clobber Liv, and then TOSS Liv into a road case! Natty says Dana is worthless, and throws her into the same road case! Ain’t nobody meana than Natty & Tamina! Does any other team stand a chance of surviving Tag Team Turmoil this Saturday?

“Think you know Cesaro? Think again.”

Wait, what is this political commercial style video? “Cesaro has been competing in the WWE for 10 years, but he has never competed in a 1-on-1 match at WrestleMania.” He has not won the Universal Championship, either. Is this the example we want for our children? Seth Rollins is the superstar we all deserve as a two-time Universal Champion, Royal Rumble winner, and has had some of the most iconic moments in WrestleMania history. Rollins knows what it’s like to take charge, lead and win. He is a man we can all look up to. Just #EmbraceTheVision.

“This ad has been paid for by friends of Seth Rollins and is in no way directly associated with Seth Rollins himself,” even though this is Seth Rollins saying all that… Is Rollins running for office or just trying to anger Cesaro more?

EDGE heads to the ring!

The Rated R Superstar has another steel chair in hand because he is still seething over what Bryan did to him last week! We’ll hear his response to that and more, after the break!

SmackDown returns and Edge sits in the chair, with the spotlight on him. “I went to WrestleMania 6, Hulk Hogan VS The Ultimate Warrior. That night, I knew what I needed to do with the rest of my life.” And when Edge dreams things, he has to manifest them. That’s how things work for him. Some might relate but many won’t, “because common sense isn’t very common.” Edge did become a WWE superstar. A superstar who accomplished everything he could, “but ending my career on my terms.” Now, some will also say, “Isn’t that enough?>” If you have to ask, you have no idea the mentality it takes to see the heights he’s seen. To fight to get your career back for nine YEARS!

Edge didn’t “walk away from this,” he had this ripped away from him! He didn’t try to forge another career, this is all that he’s wanted to do! Edge fought and clawed and got his career back from fate’s hands. He didn’t come back for some greatest hits tour, to be the shell of his former self. He came back to steal the show and main event WrestleMania! Edge missed nine of them, so he won’t apologize for that. Daniel Bryan, he comes out saying this could be his last. Have you heard? This could be Bryan’s last! A month in Bryan’s is a year in Edge’s so what do you think this is for him!?

Bryan used sympathy to weasel his way in, even after all his ridiculous ideas! Facing the winner immediately? No. Face the winner the next day? No. But somehow this is a TRIPLE THREAT!? Bryan could pin Roman and Edge will have nothing! Instead of a 1v1, a Clash of the Titans between two eras, we have “some indie bookstore clerk troll” sticking his nose in Edge’s business. And then there’s Roman. Roman walks around like he created this and everyone else owes him. Edge doesn’t owe Roman anything. Roman owes Edge. Roman came into the WWE in a three man group. He made an entrance through the crowd. He used a Spear finisher. Well who set that template? “You’re Samoan Edge.”

Edge will admit that Roman is good. He always has been. Edge sees what Roman’s become. Edge came back to swing for the fences, and Roman is the Green Monster. They’ve had their 1v1 ripped away from them, the fans had that ripped away from them! Everyone sees Bryan for who he is, except for the Yes Lemmings who are the same people who used to chant, “What?” And somewhere in all of this, the fact that is lost is that this match takes place TEN YEARS TO THE DAY from Edge’s forced retirement. No mention of that, either. No video packages, no social media posts, no touching videos with music. NOTHING. Anyone else, that narrative is driven into the ground!

And why is that? Why is Edge having to remind us of this? Because since he’s returned, he hasn’t gotten the respect he deserves! Edge fought back from a torn triceps to enter the 2021 Royal Rumble, and then he outlasted 29 other superstars, and punched his ticket to Mania! Edge shouldn’t have to jump through hoops! Edge has come back from something no one has ever come back from! NINE YEARS! TRIPLE NECK FUSION! “You have no idea the pain that I have gone through to get this back!!” You want to call Edge a part-timer? That he’ll just phone it in? He’s doing ranas off the top ropes! He is doing what no one has ever done! And this is a slap in the face to him!

“So now, it’s time for me to take and demand the respect that I deserve. You will put respect on my name. In case you forgot, in case you never knew, I am the Rated R Superstar!” Fate, God’s Will, whatever you call it, Edge will be the NEXT Universal Champion, because he’s dreamt it, and now he must manifest it! Will Edge rise back up and return to the top with a capital (Rated) R?

Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville talk backstage.

Pearce says no one a year ago could’ve seen the main event we’re getting. Everyone is so excited. But Sonya doesn’t think it was fair to have made Ziggler & Roode defend their titles against three other teams at once. What does that have to do with Mania? It doesn’t. But thinking about it, Sonya doesn’t agree with Pearce’s decision, either. Bryan deserves a title match, yes. But at Mania, it should’ve been Roman VS Edge, 1v1. Just saying.

Backstage interview with Sasha Banks.

The Boss’ response to Bianca from earlier is, “Do you honestly think I care what Bianca has to say?” No! Bianca has to hear what Sasha has to say, just like everyone wants to. Bianca may be the EST, but she’s not the BEST, because Sasha is. Sasha has and always will be. Just like at Mania, Bianca will give Sasha her all, and Sasha will give it all back, boss style! And tomorrow night, when Sasha makes Bianca tap out, Bianca will finally realize her place is beneath Sasha. Bianca will give it her all, and realize it is never going to be enough against Sasha, the B-E-S-T, who will still be SmackDown Women’s Champion! Sasha is laughing now, but will Bianca have the last laugh this Saturday?

WWE Media was with Sami Zayn as he visited the Paul Brothers.

He wanted to check in with his “buddy,” Logan Paul, and turns out he is sparring with brother Jake. The Paul brothers are surprised that Sami is here. Sami says hey and says the trailer is huge! It’s getting so much attention thanks to Logan’s endorsement! Mania is going to be amazing! Sami has an idea! These three can work out together! Okay, stay right there! Sami hurries back to his car to get his things, but where did he park? Oops, the door. Sami knocks to get someone to let him back in, but the guy says they’re closed. Sami says he’s here with Logan! That doesn’t change anything and Sami is shut out.

Sami shows up here on SmackDown!

He’s upset that they show that! That was an edited, selective version! Logan and Jake apologized to the security guard and they hung out the next day! Well what did Logan have for breakfast? Grapefruit? Sami says no one can deny him! He will vindicate himself against Kevin Owens! But the music plays Sami off because superstars are heading to the ring for the- KEVIN ATTACKS SAMI! They brawl, Kevin bumps Sami off the desk then kicks! Sami gets away from the Stunner and runs away! Kevin hurries after him but Sami’s quick. Kevin tells Sami he’ll see him at Mania! But after the break, the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal returns!

2021 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal!

There are so many superstars from Raw and SmackDown, it’s easier to say who isn’t in this match. But with the trophy nearby, who will be inspired to join Cesaro, The Big Show, Baron Corbin, Mojo Rawley, Matt Hardy and Braun Strowman on the plaque? Or, will KING Corbin go down as the first-ever two-time winner of this match?

The bell rings and it’s just chaos! Murphy is after Kalisto, Corbin is after Erik, Benjamin and Alexander stick together, T-Bar tries to get Gulak out while Ryker steps on Slapjack. Tozawa calls upon his ninja power but gets thrown out, Alexander & Benjamin ELIMINATE him! Alexander & Benjamin mug Tucker, T-Bar and Mace drag Murphy up, and Lucha House Party is after Shinsuke Nakamura. Alexander & Benjamin ELIMINATE Tucker! Ali rallies everyone else against these two, and it’s a massive handicap brawl!! Only a few others splinter off, but the group throws and ELIMINATES Benjamin! And then ELIMINATE Alexander! No more allies as SmackDown goes to break!

SmackDown returns and it’s still very hectic! Kalisto fights off Corbin and Jey Uso, T-Bar is after Gulak on the apron, and Elias helps Ryker against Erik. Erik whips Elias but Elias reverses and Ryker holds the ropes down, they ELIMINATE Erik! Mace and Nakamura brawl, but Mace helps T-Bar against the Cruiserweights! T-Bar and Mace get Gulak up but he gets free, only to get DOUBLE CHOKE SLAMMED out of the ring! Slapjack is alone, Carrillo fires off on Mace and T-Bar! But they get Carrillo for a DOUBLE TOSS out onto Gulak! Carrillo is ELIMINATED! Slapjack slingshots into Ryker’s ATOMIC DROP! Elias KNEES Slapjack out and ELIMINATES him!

T-Bar and Mace see that and glare at Elias and Ryker! They brawl 2v2! T-Bar ROCKS Elias, Mace ROCKS Ryker! They both shove Ryker and Elias out and ELIMINATE them! But Ali gets revenge and ELIMINATES Mace!! T-Bar grabs Ali, but Murphy saves Ali? T-Bar shoves him away, Ali body scissors and dumps T-Bar to ELIMINATE him!! But then Murphy brings Ali up, only for Ali to ROUNDHOUSE! Ali slingshots into a KNEE TRIGGER! Kalisto SCHOOL BOY KICKS Murphy! LHP hits a SUPER SPLASH! Kalisto says they can go to Mania! “Lucha! Lucha!” Lince says nah, and he CHOPS Kalisto! Metalik and Lince whip Kalisto, he fights back!

Kalisto hops up, reels Metalik in but Lince GAMANGIRIS Kalisto out to ELIMINATE him! But then Metalik ELIMINATES Lince! Every luchador for himself, after all! But Corbin is after Metalik! Metalik kicks back, runs in but Corbin TOSSES him to ELIMINATE him! The Wolf King is still in this as SmackDown goes to break!

SmackDown returns and we’re down to a final seven! King Corbin stomps Ricochet, Jey Uso has Shinsuke Nakamura down in another corner, with Mustafa Ali helping, and Angel Garza battles with Buddy Murphy on the edge of the apron! Murphy holds on, gets up and hits back! Garza and Murphy brawl, Corbin throws Ricochet over but he holds on. Murphy BOOTS Garza, ducks the clotheslines, but Garza elbows the waistlock away. Garza throws more elbows, runs, but Murphy grabs at him! The pants tear away! Garza grins and shrugs, but runs into a BOOT! Corbin runs in, Murphy throws the pants at him and climbs up, but Corbin BLASTS Murphy off, and ELIMINATES him!

Garza gets Nakamura up top but Nakamura boots him away! Garza comes back with a clothesline, but is put on the top for the TOP SHELF KNEE! Garza holds on, shoulders back, but a KINSHASA ELIMINATES Garza! Now we’re at five! Nakamura BOOTS Jey, Corbin CLOBBERS him, but ALi is after former rival in Ricochet! Ricochet escapes the suplex, fights off another, and KNEES ALi, to then HEADCISSOR him onto Garza for the ELIMINATION! Jey runs in but into a shoulder! Corbin trips Ricochet’s springboard up, Jey SUPERKICKS and ELIMINATES him! Now it’s all SmackDown with Corbin, Nakamura and #MainEventJey!

And Nakamura is getting mugged 2v1! Jey stomps Nakamura, Corbin pushes him aside so he can stomp Nakamura! But Jey SUPERKICKS Corbin, dumps him out but Corbin holds on! Jey doesn’t know that, he whips Nakamura but Nakamura throws him out! KINSHASA ELIMINATES Corbin! Nakamura and Jey are the final two and they reset, but Jey fireman’s carries! Nakamura fights free, fires off, misses one kick but not the LEFT! Nakamura aims, and gets him for an STO! Nakamura fires up, “YAO~!” SUPERKICK from Jey first! But the KINSHASA comes back anyway!! Nakamura drags Jey up, whips him but Jey reverses to SUPLEX and ELIMINATE Nakamura! JEY WINS!

Winner: Jey Uso (2021 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner)

GOTTEE! Jey wants his name right on that plaque! And now, Roman Reigns walks out! The Tribal Chief joins Jey in the ring to give his final thoughts before Mania, after the break!

SmackDown returns once more, with Roman Reigns in the ring.

His Special Counsel, Paul Heyman, hands him a mic. “I’m annoyed that I even have to be here. I’m not a politician, I’m not running for president, I don’t have to sell myself to you.” He’s got better things to worry about. He is in a Triple Threat, where he can lose without even being pinned. But since Roman is here, he’ll state the obvious: ON Sunday night, in the main event of WrestleMania, Roman will show up and win. You  know the catchphrase, you bought the shirt. That might seem arrogant, but for Roman, those are his humble beginnings. Show day is the easy day. Every single day of the week, when you prep at a 12, the 10 comes easy.

But to everyone else in this company, you wanna know what “show up and win” means? When Roman shows up, the WWE is winning. And he could be like Edge or Bryan. He could have one good week. Bryan’s real tough last week. Edge’s a real badass. But ever since he came back at SummerSlam, Roman’s been great week after week after week, for THIRTY WEEKS IN A ROW! Roman says the numbers don’t lie. Who do you think changed the ratings for SmackDown? ROMAN. Who made this title relevant? ROMAN. SO that brings him to Edge and Bryan, “the dreamers.”

This title is there dream, right? Bryan doesn’t want to hear “no” anymore, he wants someone to say “yes.” But now he’s saying he made Roman tap out? Fans know he did! “DB, you’re holding on by a thread here. If you made me tap out, then you’d be champion. But you’re not, and you won’t ever be. Because on Sunday, you can’t make me tap out.” And Edge, he wants to complete his comeback? Nobody took this from him? That’s garbage. Direct a finger at Roman because he took this from him! And from everyone else! Dreamers, the lot of them. This is where the comeback ends.

Edge thinks this title is his dream? No, being in the WrestleMania main event with Roman Reigns, THAT is the dream, and where the story ends! And where Roman’s story begins. These guys are the launching pad. If you thought what Roman did this past year was special, wait to see what’s next. Roman is Head of the Table because he’s not a dreamer! Dreamers are selfish! They only think of themselves! Roman’s the “man with the golden hand,” and everything he does has a purpose. Roman saves careers, right, Paul? Yes, sir! Who gave Jey the greatest year of his career? Roman. They all have gold to prove it now.

But Edge, Bryan, Roman won’t do that for them, He’ll crush their dreams! This isn’t a prediction, this is a spoiler! This Sunday, THE main event of Mania, Roman will wreck everyone and leave! Roman will smash ’em, stack ’em, pin ’em, and the ref will count to three. Then Roman will hold his Universal Championship high over his head and they will look up to see a man greater than them! Then millions of dollars of pyro go off, and they will feel the whole world #AcknowledgeMe. Roman has the last say tonight, but will he have the last say come this Sunday?

My Thoughts:

Well, I will say, this was a go-home episode. It had the Go Home Syndrome of too many recap packages and commercial breaks, not a lot of new action. This acted more like the WrestleMania kickoff show than it did a go-home. I will say that the promos from Bryan, Edge and Roman were all great stuff, because all three guys are great on the mic, but that doesn’t change the math we got last week. Bryan is rolling in hot only to be taken out by someone else. But who knows? WWE might think about how the fans are going to really cheer for him now that they’re live and in person, they could ditch the math and really give us #YEStleMania2 like how they gave us KofiMania, Becky Lynch winning both titles AND Rollins slaying the Beast all in one year at WM35.

The Fatal 4 Way Tag was a lot of fun, though I should’ve figured WWE would pull the “only two teams legal at once” card so that it’d be easier for the champions to retain and continue their reign. Maybe at Money in the Bank, The Profits get a fait 2v2, fitting under Sonya thinking it was unfair for the champs. That’s another thing, they have to expound on why Sonya is protective of Ziggler & Roode. Can it tie Bianca into it, too? Bianca VS Sonya would be pretty awesome. Bianca and Sasha had good promos tonight, but again I don’t think it changes the math. I am pretty sure Bianca wins, because that would make Mania that much bigger.

The RawDown Women’s Tag Division got some good play tonight, even if we got another scrub of a finish for the tag champs and Natty-Tamina. Tamina & Natty are going so strong, I can’t be sure they come out of the Tag Team Turmoil. I do appreciate that Mella & Billie are being put in the match, they might make a difference to a degree, but I can’t be sure. I still feel it should be Natty & Tamina because of how dominant they’re getting to be, so maybe WWE again ditches their usual math and lets those two win it all after standing tall. I am a little confused and disappointed as to why we’re not getting Bayley somewhere, such as forming #BayMella again, but maybe we’ll see something happen past Mania.

Seth Rollins’ political campaign ad parody was a hilarious addition to his gimmick here. Usually political gags in wrestling are awful but this was much more tongue in cheek than most of those other attempts. All of this has to mean Rollins loses, though, with WWE actually keeping to the go-home math. I wish they’d done this a week sooner so that Cesaro could come up with his counter, pointing out the legitimately (in kayfabe of course) awful things Rollins has done. Rollins can then say that’s “fake news” or “false narrative,” and then still loses the match. Sami did that a bit tonight, he and Kevin had a good brawl, but their match can still go either way to me.

The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal was about as good as any WWE battle royal could go, and it was great for Jey that he won, but it also seems a shame. There could’ve been some story going past Mania if Jey lost at the last second in a reversal of what he did to Nakamura, so that should Roman retain, we could see a build to Roman VS Nakamura. Just on ring work, that’d be as good as any other feud Roman’s gotten since becoming Tribal Chief. It could still happen by way of Nakamura being deserving anyway, but every little detail helps the build.

My Score: 8.1/10