The Road to WrestleMania takes some new twists and turns!

After that explosive WrestleMania 40 Press Event, Triple H himself appears on SmackDown to address it all, including Cody Rhodes’ decision to challenge Roman Reigns!

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• Men’s Elimination Chamber Qualifier: AJ Styles VS Drew McIntyre; McIntyre wins and advances to Elimination Chamber: Perth.
• Women’s Elimination Chamber Qualifier: Bianca Belair VS Mia Yim; Bianca wins and advances to Elimination Chamber: Perth.
• Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships #1 Contenders Match: #DIY VS Tyler Bate & Pete Dunne; Bate & Dunne win and will challenge Finn Balor & Damian Priest for the titles at Elimination Chamber: Perth.
• Men’s Elimination Chamber Qualifier: Randy Orton VS Sami Zayn; Randy wins and advances to Elimination Chamber: Perth.

PLAY BY PLAY

Triple H is here!

As promised, The Game is live and in person in Charlotte, North Carolina! The Queen City fires up for the WWE CCO and the King of Creative! HHH goes to the ring, where Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce already await. HHH shakes hands with the SmackDown and Raw General Managers, then gets himself a mic. The fans are thunderous for HHH and he smiles. “I gotta tell ya, that sure as hell feels like we’re on the Road to WrestleMania.” The fans cheer that, and HHH says before all that, welcome to Friday Night SmackDown! “Last night in Las Vegas, it was an incredible kickoff event to get us started on that road to the Grandest Stage of Them All.

“But the fact is, somewhere along the way last night, we took a hard left turn, and now that road is on fire. But I can tell you this, it feels really good. But I came out here because I wanted to clear up one thing.” The fans chant and duel, “Rocky Sucks~!” “No He Doesn’t!” HHH smirks and says he wanted to clear up something. Going from Vegas to Charlotte, he felt there was confusion in the air. Maybe some people don’t know their role. So HHH is here to set it straight. Some people went out there and tried to assert their authority, when they don’t really have any.

Because the thing is, HHH doesn’t care where you sit, there is one thing abundantly clear. Like them or not, the answers come from one place and one place only, and right now, you are looking at it. The fans fire up as HHH says in the main event of WrestleMania 40, the BIGGETS Mania of all time, Roman Reigns WILL defend the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship… against Cody Rhodes. The fans fire up even more as the graphic makes it official. The fans chant for Cody, but HHH continues with, “Now, there are some people back there, that decision will disappoint them. That maybe they won’t like that decision.

“But here’s the thing. It doesn’t matter if you don’t like that decision! So with that said, welcome to the Road to WrestleMania.” The fans fire up again and now Aldis talks. “Ladies and gentlemen, now that the WWE Championship match has been decided, we must shift our attention to Seth Rollins and the World Heavyweight Championship. After extensive discussions all week, we have collectively agreed that Seth Rollin’s challenger will be determined in Perth, Australia, February 24th in the Elimination Chamber.” Fans like the sound of that as that begins with a series of qualifying matches for said match.

To reiterate the fact that WWE management is a united front, Aldis will hand this over to his esteemed colleague, Mr. Pearce. Pearce directs us to the tron and the 12 men who will compete to get into the Chamber! The Viper, Randy Orton! BIG Bronson Reed! The Prizefighter, Kevin Owens! The US Champion, Logan Paul! The Phenomenal AJ Styles! The A-Lister, The Miz! The All Mighty, Bobby Lashley! The War Beard, Ivar! The Scottish Warrior, Drew McIntyre! The Great Liberator, Sami Zayn! “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio! And last but not least, The Mega Star, L A Knight! “YEAH!” 12 superstars, 6 matches over three shows, and we open the night with AJ Styles and Drew McIntyre!

The Scottish Terminator makes his entrance, mic in hand, to thank everyone for showing him that they feel the same way he does about CM Punk. McIntyre’s new shirt has sold more than all of Punk’s own shirts, so let #DMHunk make you a promise: Punk will not get one penny of the profits! Also, there are those who are thanking him for how last night went! Cody chose Roman! Remember when Cody won the Rumble and was thinking about fulfilling the promise. He was toying with our emotions but McIntyre reasoned with him verbally. Cody wasn’t responding so McIntyre then reasoned with him physically, and now Cody WILL #FinishTheStory! You’re welcome!

So McIntyre has saved Mania by taking out Punk and having Cody finish his story. What’s left? Save the world title, and all he has to do is go through the top stars in the WWE, win the Chamber, and finally have his Mania moment. Then he’ll give us a champion we can be proud of, and that is #BestForBusiness. But then the Phenomenal One makes his entrance! Will McIntyre still be able to make broken dreams come true when he has to face an equally determined AJ Styles?

Men’s Elimination Chamber Qualifier: AJ Styles VS Drew McIntyre!

SmackDown returns and wait, LA Knight is making his way out here? The Mega Star has the fans fired up as he joins commentary, but then the bell rings and Styles KICKS McIntyre’s leg! And again! McIntyre blocks, TOSSES Styles into the corner then CHOPS him down! The fans fire up and Knight likes what he sees. McIntyre hauls Styles up to DECK him. McIntyre brings Styles up again, stares Knight down, and then suplexes, but Styles knees free! Styles KICKS and CHOPS and CHOPS again. Styles whips, McIntyre reverses but Styles elbows him back. Styles goes up to CROSSBODY, but McIntyre catches him!

McIntyre pops Styles up to a HARD suplex! Styles flounders but McIntyre stalks him to a corner. McIntyre CHOPS and Styles sputters. McIntyre stands Styles up to CHOP him off his feet! Styles gets up to CHOP and CHOP and CHOP! Styles whips, McIntyre reverses, then scoops to BACKBREAKER! Cover, TWO! McIntyre clamps on with a chinbar and armlock but Styles endures being bent and twisted. Styles fights up as the fans rally, and Styles fires hands! McIntyre knees low, CLUBS him again, then runs. Styles DROPKICKS back! McIntyre staggers around, and Styles CHOP BLOCKS a leg out!

Styles seethes as he stalks McIntyre to a corner then brings him out. McIntyre shoves Styles away, Styles BOOTS back then goes up. Styles BOOTS again, but McIntyre CHOPS Styles to the floor! Styles sits up in a daze but McIntyre goes out after him. McIntyre whips Styles hard into barriers, and styles tumbles into the timekeeper’s area! McIntyre looks up at the WrestleMania sign while gritting his teeth, and SmackDown goes to break.

SmackDown returns again and Styles CHOPS, McIntyre CHOPS, repeat! McIntyre CHOPS Styles off his feet, then whips him to ropes. Styles ducks ‘n’ dodges to tilt-o-whirl and DDT! Both men are down and the fans fire up again! Knight says they are just chopping each other down. Also is Seth’s middle name actually “Freakin’?” The fans rally up, both Styles and McIntyre rise, and Styles blocks a haymaker to fire off the Phenomenal Blitz! Then he KICKS McIntyre’s leg out to LARIAT him down! Then SLIDING FOREARM! The fans fire up with Styles and he brings McIntyre up. Styles reels him in, calls his shot, but McIntyre RAMS him into a corner!

McIntyre CHOPS again, but leans on Styles. McIntyre ROCKS Styles with a haymaker, fireman’s carries and then climbs the corner! The fans fire up for the SUPER- SUNSET FLIP! And then RUNNING POWERBOMB!! Cover, TWO!! McIntyre survives and even Knight is surprised! Styles snarls and stands back up, but “This is Awesome!” Styles stands McIntyre up, reels him into a fireman’s carry, but McIntyre flails free to kick and FUTURE SHOCK! But he can’t make the cover! So he kips up instead! But the bad leg bothers him! McIntyre hobbles to a corner, he still wants the countdown!

Styles rises, McIntyre slaps his bad leg into working. “Three! Two! One!” But Styles ducks the Claymore! Styles then hurries to hook McIntyre up, CALF KILLER! McIntyre flails, reaches out, scrambles forward, and has the ROPEBREAK! Styles lets go fast and storms up on McIntyre. McIntyre puts Styles on the apron but Styles ROCKS him back. Styles springboards, into McIntyre’s hands! GLASGOW KISS HEADBUTT, and Styles falls to the floor! McIntyre storms out after Styles but that bad leg bothers him. McIntyre hauls Styles up, but Styles ROCKS McIntyre! But McIntyre TOSSES Styles! Knight barely gets outta the way!

Knight “accidentally” spills water on Styles, and asks what’s wrong. Styles slaps the water out of Knight’s hand, but McIntyre CLOBBERS them both!! The fans boo while McIntyre puts Styles in the ring. Styles KICKS the ropes to jam McIntyre up! Cradle, but Knight gets on the apron! The ref is busy with Knight, Styles would’ve won! Styles DECKS Knight for that! But then CLAYMORE!! Cover, McIntyre wins!

Winner: Drew McIntyre, by pinfall (advances to the Elimination Chamber)

Knight is upset over what just happened, but he ended up costing Styles. The Scottish Terminator is in the match, will he dominant the Elimination Chamber and get his Mania Moment?

Backstage interview with Sami Zayn.

Kayla Braxton is with The Great Liberator, and we just saw McIntyre win. Sami faces The Viper for the same opportunity. How does he feel about his odds of making it to Mania? Sami says if the last week has taught us anything, it is that nothing is certain during WrestleMania season. This is an emotional time for a lot of people, himself included. Last year, he was in the main event. This year, he’s watching as the window closes fast. But he doesn’t have time to be emotional, he has to look at the facts, what is right in front of him. And what is in front of him is a qualifying match, against a THIRTEEN-TIME world champion.

What is in front of Sami is one of the best, if not THE very best to ever do it, Randy Orton. And even if Sami makes it through Orton, already waiting is Drew McIntyre, a man who pointed out correctly, has never lost to Sami. This is not an easy route, but it is a path, so he has to take it. Sami heads out, will he soon be heading to Perth?

Pretty Deadly takes a stroll.

Kit Wilson & Elton Prince go to the lake, and Elton says #YesBoy, what a day. Oh, that cloud looks just like Queen Elizabeth! Hey, Kit, you okay? You mad at “Lizzy?” What? No, it’s his hand! GASP! That Pete “Doo-nay” should be ashamed of himself for what he did to Kit’s digits! CURSE YOU, DOONAY! But now is their time! It is WrestleMania season! They will show everyone on Friday Night SnackDown what Pretty Deadly is all about. They feel it brewing up and they let out a loud “YES BOOOOY~!” And that cloud does look like Lizzy. But when and where will Kit & Elton look to get their revenge on British Strong Style?

Women’s Elimination Chamber Qualifier: Bianca Belair VS Mia Yim!

The EST was also at the press event last night, and she promised to continue making history at WrestleMania. Will she get into the Chamber to then head for Perth? Or will #Michin rebound from her loss to Tiffany Stratton and prove she’s still the Head Baddie in Charge?

The bell rings and the fans rally as both women glance to the Mania sign. Mia runs in, Bianca gets around and torture racks! Mia fights free, arm-drags and then HEEL KICKS, SOBATS and PELES! Cover, TWO! Mia gets moving, she PENALTY KICKS! Cover, ONE!! Bianca survives that fancy footwork but Mia WRECKS her with a dropkick! Mia then PENALTY KICKS from the apron! Fans fire up while Bianca falls over, and SmackDown goes to break.

SmackDown returns and fans rally as Bianca ducks Mia’s lariat to hit a BIG back suplex! Mia flounders to a corner, Bianca runs in but Mia dodges! Bianca POSTS herself and falls down! The fans rally up again as both women rise. Bianca fires a forearm but Mia fires back! They go back and forth, then Bianca gets the edge! Mia shoves Bianca, dodges her then BOOTS her, then LARIATS her down! Then YAKUZA KICKS! Then DROPKICKS! Mia runs up to NECKBREAKER! The fans rally as Bianca goes to a corner, and Mia runs in, only for Bianca to dodge! The Cannonball hits buckles!

Mia gets up, tires again, but Bianca dodges again! Mia hits off buckles, Bianca scoops her for a BACKBREAKER! Mia runs, HANDSPRING MOONSAULT, but she blocks Mia’s knees! Bianca rolls Mia to her feet to then SPINEBUSTER! Cover, TWO! Mia survives and Bianca is frustrated, but Bianca works to calm down. Bianca stands Mia up, looks to the sign and bumps Mia off buckles. The fans rally for the EST as she RAMS into Mia again and again! Bianca climbs up, and she rains down fists! The fans count and Bianca gets to nine, but Mia YANKS the hair! Bianca hits buckles, then Mia climbs up! Mia brings Bianca to the top, for the SUPERPLEX!

Both women are down, but Mia crawls to the cover, TWO! Bianca reminds us why she’s the toughEST but Mia won’t let off! Mia wrenches, but Bianca says no to Da Feet! Torture rack, but Mia kicks off the ropes to get free! Mia wrenches again, EAT DA FEET! But Bianca tumbles out of the ring! She might be the luckiEST, too! Mia hurries after Bianca, puts her back in, and then reels her back in! She calls out “Too Sweet, Baby!” But Bianca back drops free! Bianca hurries to torture rack again, for the KISS OF DEATH!! Cover, Bianca wins!

Winner: Bianca Belair, by pinfall (advances to the Elimination Chamber)

Mia tried her hardEST, but Bianca is moving on! Bianca joins The Man, Becky Lynch, but who else will join them in that golden opportunity in Perth?

Triple H meets with Bron Breakker.

The Game welcomes the Big Bad Booty Nephew, and takes a moment to tell him how proud he is of him. Watching Bron go from new kid walking into NXT to where he is now, it is impressive. And HHH is anxious to see what Bron can do at this level. Bron thanks HHH for that, and says while they’re both here, Bron wants to pick HHH’s brain. He’s got two great offers, from both Raw and SmackDown, but he wants to know where to go. Any advice? Well… Paul Heyman walks in with a big smile. Heyman shakes Bron’s hand and says it’s great to see him. Bron takes his leave and Heyman says that is a hell of a talent from a really wacky family.

HHH asks what the hell Heyman wants. Heyman sees now is not a good time, given what happened last night. He’ll give HHH space and come back next week. But when he does, Heyman will be with His Tribal Chief, Roman… Reigns. And The Rock. HHH says he looks forward to it. The Wise Man issues a not too subtle message, what happens when The Bloodline gets on the Road to WrestleMania?

Bayley is here!

The Queen City cheers the 2024 Women’s Royal Rumble winner as she heads to the ring. She is clearly still stinging from being mutinied out of her own group, and she gets the mic to say, “Alright, you guys made me feel a little bit better about coming out here. I’ll be honest, I’ve been having a tough time putting the words together to figure out what I wanna say about what happened last week. Because, there is a big part of me that doesn’t wanna believe it even happened at all. And before hearing you guys chant my name, I thought that maybe there were some of you who thought I had it coming.”

The fans chant for Bayley  now and she smiles. Bayley says she’ll take it! Maybe she did have it coming, but like her or not, it sounds like Charlotte’s cool with her. That is because the fans have been on this journey with her, they stuck by her, they know what is in her heart and how she feels for this business. DMG CTRL meant everything to her. Fans chant “You Deserve It!” in reference to her title match at WrestleMania, and Bayley smiles again. Bayley thanks them for that, and says DMG CTRL was like family. We saw all the times Bayley put DMG CTRL before herself. Over and over, she gave and gave, no questions asked or wanting anything in return. And all they ever did was take.

Fans boo DMG CTRL but Bayley figured after winning the Rumble, maybe they’d all be happy, it’d be fine. But that didn’t happen. Every time Bayley walked in, they were laughing. Every time she walked over, they stopped talking. She’s not an idiot. She’s been in this situation far too many times to not have learned her lesson. And now Iyo Sky learns the hard way- Wait, Dakota Kai interrupts! She’s been trying to text her all week and Bayley ghosts her! Are they not friends anymore? What is Bayley going on about? Uh, what is Dakota talking about? Where even was she last week?

Dakota says Bayley knows Dakota is so close to being cleared, she had to meet with her doctor. She didn’t know what was gonna go down! Oh cut the crap, Dakota. Every time Bayley walked into the back, Dakota was right along side Iyo, Asuka & Kairi. Dakota was right there laughing along, but always calming Bayley down. Dakota knew all along what was really going on! Dakota wants Bayley to hear her out. She was put in a really tough spot, okay? But she always believed in DMG CTRL! She always believed in what Bayley created! The fans boo, not buying it any more than Bayley is.

But Dakota vouches for Iyo. Iyo was a believer, too, until Kairi Sane & Asuka got involved. And Dakota knows Bayley has bad history with Kairi, but she thought it’d all be okay. But then once the Kabuki Warriors got in Iyo’s head, the rest was history. Then why didn’t Dakota tell her? She wanted to! But she didn’t know how! Fans still boo, but Dakota wants Bayley to understand. Dakota misses the original trio. They were like sisters! That they could do no wrong! Bayley’s always been like a mentor to Dakota. Dakota wouldn’t be here if not for Bayley! Honestly, Dakota didn’t know how to tell Bayley, because it seemed like the plan was working.

The Kabuki Warriors won the tag titles. Bayley won the Rumble! That was all Bayley! DMG CTRL was so close to having all the gold! And then Dakota thought this thing with Kairi & Asuka would blow over but it didn’t. Bayley says okay, fine. They’re here now. Where does Dakota stand? Which side is she on? Fans rally for Bayley, but then Iyo makes her entrance! The Evil Genius and the Kabuki Warriors swagger down the ramp with all their gold. Dakota bails out since she isn’t cleared, so now Bayley is alone again! But then wait, Dakota has a chair! Dakota aims, but at who?! Fans boo but then Dakota swings on Iyo!!

The fans fire up as #CobraKai stands by Bayley!! Everyone is surprised, especially Iyo! The fans want Dakota and Bayley to “HUG IT OUT!” Bayley watches Dakota carefully, but does she have at least one ally in this fight with the lethal joshi?

Backstage interview with Randy Orton.

Kayla Braxton is now with The Viper and says with all his past success at WrestleMania, how determined is he to earn a spot this year, starting tonight against Sami Zayn? Well, first off, Orton heard Sami say that it is not a given that you make it to WrestleMania, and he couldn’t be more right. Orton knows more than anyone how it isn’t a given. Just last year, he was hurt, at home, watching from the sidelines, and it was horrible. But he did learn an invaluable lesson in patience. In this business, the Viper has always known when to strike. And now he knows how important it is to wait.

So as far as Roman Reigns is concerned, Orton will sit back and wait. But his Road to WrestleMania has taken a detour. Tonight, he faces Sami, and if things go Orton’s way, which he plans to make happen, he moves on to Elimination Chamber. Then there will be one constant, and that is his cold, calculating and lethal mindset. That constant is the three most dangerous letters in sports entertainment: R K O. The Apex Predator is ready, will he strike Sami down to get back to the gold?

Bobby Lashley meets with The Street Profits and B-Fab.

The All Mighty welcomes them all and asks if they know what time it is. Montez Ford says it is WrestleMania season. Now last week, The Final Testament learned what it is to deal with this unit. Angelo Dawkins says yeah, and they still have some receipts leftover. B-Fab says there is bigger business right now, and that happens on Monday Night Raw, when Bobby Lashley takes on “Big” Bronson Reed for a spot in the Elimination Chamber. It is Lashley’s time. He is winning the Chamber so that WrestleMania will be All Mighty.

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships #1 Contenders Match: #DIY VS Tyler Bate & Pete Dunne!

Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano won their Fatal 4 Way on Raw, and British Strong Style won theirs last week on SmackDown. Will the Psycho Killer & Johnny Wrestling earn one more shot at Finn Balor & Damian Priest? Or will the Big Strong Boi & Bruiserweight be headed for Judgment Day?

SmackDown returns as DIY makes their entrance. The teams sort out and Bate starts against Gargano. They shake hands to show sportsmanship, then they tie up. Bate headlocks but Gargano blocks the boot bop! Gargano flips Bate but Bate lands on his feet! Gargano runs up, steps over, but Bate turns schoolboy into sitting cover, TWO and Gargano sunset flips! TWO and Bate high stacks! TWO as Gargano flips Bate over! TWO and Bate has a press! ONE and Gargano gets a ghost pin! TWO and Gargano sweeps the legs! Cover, ONE, and then Bate sweeps the legs! Cover, ONE, and the fans fire up as the two stand off!

Bate and Gargano reset, tie up, and Gargano headlocks. Bate tags Dunne while he powers out, then he ducks down to hurdle, Dunne CLOBBERS Gargano! Fans cheer and Dunne shrugs. Dunne drags Gargano up to wrench and twist the arm. Gargano fights his way over, tag to Ciampa, and Gargano whips Dunne away so Ciampa can ELBOW him down! Ciampa runs up but Dunne sends him out! ASAI MOONSAULT misses as Ciampa moves, then Ciampa BLASTS Dunne onto the desk! Bate runs up but Ciampa gets away, Gargano DIVES! Bate hits the desk, too, and then Ciampa KNEES Dunne down!

The fans fire up, DIY applauds and pats themselves on the back, and SmackDown goes to break.

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