WWE SmackDown: 3/4/2022

30 days and counting until WrestleMania! And what a way to cap off yet another good week of wrestling from the WWE side with SmackDown. Though it didn’t feel as great nor as impactful as Raw, but with WrestleMania just around the corner more and more do both shows feel equally as important. So without further ado, let’s dive right on in!

Match 1: Intercontinental Championship Match; Sami Zayn (c) vs Ricochet. (Rating:3/5)

What a way to kick off the show with two great wrestlers doing battle for one of my personal favorite championships in wrestling! After throwing out the challenge to Zayn last week, Ricochet had made it his mission to dethrone Sami and capture his first singles championship over on the blue brand. The match went relatively quick for the most part but it was able to showcase Ricochet’s athleticism and agility side more which is always fun and near the end of the match, a familiar face shows up to make his presence known. Jackass star Johnny Knoxville appears yet again and costs Zayn big by serving as a distraction for Ricochet to roll the champion up and pinning him 1,2,3 to become the NEW intercontinental champion! It was about time Ricochet got treated like a big deal, and here’s hoping he has a match on the WrestleMania card. And speaking of Mania, a disgruntled and angry Sami Zayn challenged Knoxville to a match at the show of shows, so this may become interesting as well.

Segment 1: Pat McAfee’s WrestleMania Moment

Earlier this week on the Pat McAfee Show over on YouTube, McAfee and his crew conducted an interview with WWE’s chairman, Vince McMahon. And what an interview it was, considering the fact that this was McMahon’s first ever televised wrestling interview in 15 or so years: among the hottest topics to come out from that interview was McMahon being the one to induct the Undertaker at this year’s Hall of Fame, and him offering McAfee a chance to wrestle at WrestleMania. Who would it be?? Rumors arose that a 76 year old Vince himself would’ve been McAfee’s opponent, others assumed it was going to be a fellow commentator over on the Raw side, Corey Graves. Nope, and instead it was a fellow Raw superstar: Austin Theory. He felt disgusted and a bit jealous of the idea of McMahon, his mentor, giving Pat McAfee any form of attention or the idea of giving the man his props for being WWE’s best colored commentator. So what better way to try to shut McAfee up than by declaring to the world that it would be Pat vs Austin at the grandest stage of them all. Already this WrestleMania card looks even more stacked.

Match 3: SmackDown Tag Team Title Match; The Usos (c) vs the Viking Raiders. (Rating:3.5/5)

After not getting this matchup at the Elimination Chamber payperview late last month, FINALLY were the Vikings about to do battle with the Usos: and this really was such an awesome and fun match. No heel shenanigans, no outside interference or anything like that needed: it was just four awesome tag team wrestlers doing battle for supremacy! With that being said, with a 3-D, or Day 1 as they’re dubbing it now, the Usos successfully retain their championships meaning that the Bloodline will be heading to WrestleMania with all 3 members holding their respect championship gold. Now I wonder who’d be next to step up. Hopefully we find out soon!

Main Event: Ronda Rousey vs Sonya Deville. (Rating:2/5)

Short, sweet and straight to the point: Rousey absolutely destroys SmackDown general manager Sonya Deville. Charlotte Flair was on commentary for the night to continue the buildup to their match at WrestleMania for the blue brand’s women’s championship and one thing I’d like to comment is that Rousey’s in her wrestling gear again which was so awesome to see! Rousey makes Deville tap out with the Armbar, and following the bout Flair tries to make her presence known by trying to attack Ronda… only for her to get caught in an ankle lock, teasing that she’s going to tap out at Mania.

Final rating: 3.5/5