WWE Smackdown Report – 4/8/2022

– The post-WrestleMania 38 edition of WWE SmackDown on FOX opens up with a video package of highlights from WrestleMania 38. We’re live from the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as Michael Cole welcomes us. He’s joined at ringside by Pat McAfee.

– We go right to the ring and Kayla Braxton is waiting with a mic. She introduces Ronda Rousey and here she comes to a pop.

Kayla says everyone can agree Rousey was in a very physical match on WrestleMania Saturday, and she kept her word when she said she’d make SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair tap out. We see video of Flair tapping while the referee was down. Kayla says Flair definitely felt the pressure. Rousey says she did make Flair tap, and she will again. But what matters is she lost and she didn’t come here to make excuses. She mentions how the best needs to beat the one on top twice, and she beat Flair once not twice, making her tap not when it counted, and that’s on her.

Braxton asks what’s next. Rousey says she wants a rematch but not a regular match, she doesn’t want Flair to be able to get herself disqualified or counted out. She challenges Flair to an I Quit Match at WrestleMania Backlash. Flair appears on the big screen, laughing. Fans boo her. Flair says Rousey couldn’t beat her at checkers, let alone an I Quit Match. Flair says quitting isn’t in her DNA, but winning it.

Flair goes on and says she’s starting to think “The Baddest Woman on The Planet” is a myth because Rousey can’t win. Flair says no to the challenge, and tells Rousey to get to the back of the line, bitch. She laughs some more as Rousey looks on. Rousey has some news for Flair – the match will happen and Flair won’t say she quits, she’ll scream it when Rousey snaps her arm backwards. Rousey drops the mic and looks on as her music hits.

– We see how Sheamus and Ridge Holland defeated The New Day at WrestleMania 38, and how Butch was hard to control. Butch is set to wrestle his first SmackDown match tonight. We see Butch, Sheamus and Holland backstage getting riled up. Sheamus says tonight they will finally let Butch loose.

Butch vs. Xavier Woods

We go back to the ring and out comes Butch with Sheamus and Ridge Holland as Samantha Irvin does the introductions. Butch rushes the ring and poses as we go back to commercial.

Back from the break and out comes The New Day – Xavier Woods with Kofi Kingston. They taunt Sheamus and his crew, and go on about how since this is the SmackDown season opener, that means all records are reset and the two sides are 0-0 now. Woods talks some more trash and heads to the ring. The bell hits and they go at it. Butch levels Woods with a quick clothesline, then mounts him with right hands.

Woods turns it around in the corner with chops to the chest. Butch fights Woods off but charges and gets sent face-first into the turnbuckles. Butch with an enziguri in the corner, then a knee drop and an armbar. Butch bends some of Woods’ fingers back now. Woods finally gets free with his foot on the bottom rope. Butch stomps on Woods’ elbow. Woods turns it around with a jawbreaker as fans rally now.

Woods with a side Russian leg sweep and a basement dropkick, sending Butch to the floor dazed and stumbling around. Butch dodges a dropkick through the ropes and rocks Woods with a forearm. Butch slams Woods onto the edge of the apron and stares him down as Sheamus and Holland run over to celebrate with him. We go to a commercial.

Back from the break and Butch uses Sheamus’ 10 Beats of the Bodhrán but a much wilder version as Sheamus taunts Woods. Butch keeps control and beats Woods up as Kofi tries to rally the crowd. Butch with a charging forearm for a 2 count. Butch grounds Woods by his arm and keeps his face into the mat now. Woods fights up and out as fans try to rally for him. Woos unloads but the referee backs him off. They run the ropes and dodge each other, then Woods rocks him and hits a heel kick to the face.

Butch blocks a suplex and rocks Woods in the side of the head. Butch sends Woods to the apron and they keep at it. Butch drops Woods with a big right hand in the middle of the ring after blocking a tornado DDT. Butch goes on for another close 2 count. Butch stomps away on Woods’ head now. Butch charges with a running kick but Woods side-steps and rolls him up for the pin to win.

Winner: Xavier Woods

– After the match, Woods quickly retreats to celebrate with Kofi at ringside as Butch seethes. We go to replays as the music hits. Sheamus and Holland try to hold Butch back as he snaps, slapping them both and then punching Holland. Sheamus and Holland yell at Butch and back him into the corner, finally calming him down.

– Still to come, a look at Sami Zayn’s WrestleMania 38 loss. Back to commercial.

– Back from the break and we see stills from WrestleMania 38.

– Still to come, Roman Reigns is here to reveal what’s next on The Island of Relevancy.

– Cole and McAfee send us to the DoorDash Highlight of the Night, which shows Sami Zayn’s Anything Goes loss to Johnny Knoxville at WrestleMania 38. Zayn is backstage ranting to Adam Pearce now, asking how he let that happen to him. Zayn was supposed to get his revenge on Knoxville but instead had to deal with Party Boy and Wee-Man, and a giant hand. Zayn goes on and says he’s been reduced to a laughing stock now. Zayn wants his respect back. Zayn says the next person who walks through the door, he wants them in the ring. Pearce agrees. The door opens and it’s Drew McIntyre. He stops and acknowledges them, then walks off. Zayn tells Pearce he wants the next person but Pearce says no, the match with McIntyre is official for tonight. Zayn says that’s perfect because Drew is one of the toughest on the roster and when he beats Drew, he will get his respect back.

– A WWE crew member bring a letter to Pearce and he reads it. Apparently Ronda Rousey wants to meet with Pearce, but Pearce tells the crew member to tell Rousey he’s unable to see her right now.

Gunther vs. Joe Alonzo

We go back to the ring and Irvin introduces Ludwig Kaiser, who is standing on the stage with a mic. This is the former Marcel Barthel. He introduces who is the epitome of efficiency and elegance. He goes on, speaks in German, and then bills this person as The Ring General. Barthel then introduces Gunther and out he comes. Gunther and Barthel are wearing bright red gear now. Cole hypes Gunther up and shows us a brief clip. Gunther and Barthel head to the ring as we go to commercial.

Back from the break and Gunther is in the ring with indie star Joe Alonzo, who lost to Veer Mahaan on WWE Main Event last month and worked five AEW Dark matches in 2020. The bell rings and Gunther applies a headlock, then launches Alonzo with a hip toss.

Gunther man-handles Joe in the corner. Joe tries to fight back but he just angers Gunther. Gunther with a big chop. He puts a boot to Joe’s mouth in the corner, then levels him with a big boot to the face in the middle of the ring. Gunther takes his time with Alonzo, delivering big chops as Kaiser looks on. Gunther keeps control and stops to yell out at the crowd.

Fans apparently chant “WALTER!” while Cole and McAfee say they are chanting “Gunther!” instead. Gunther goes on and dominates Alonzo, finishing him off with the powerbomb in the middle of the ring.

Winner: Gunther

– After the match, Gunther stands tall as the music hits. We go to replays. Gunther and Kaiser look on from the ring to end the segment.

– Kayla Braxton is backstage with Raquel Rodriguez, the former Raquel Gonzalez of NXT. Gonzalez says SmackDown has one of the most impressive female locker rooms in all of WWE, but she guarantees they’ve never seen anything like her. Los Lotharios interrupt and introduce themselves, Angel and Humberto. They welcome her to SmackDown and she thanks them. They want to give her the double kiss on each cheek but she tells them not a chance. They say it’s her loss, then they walk off. Rodriguez asks Kayla if Los Lotharios are always this annoying.

– We get a look at how Madcap Moss won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania SmackDown last week, and how Happy Baron Corbin took a loss to Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 38. They will host Happy Talk next. Back to commercial.

– Back from the break and the ring is set up for a must see edition of Happy Talk. Madcap Moss and Happy Baron Corbin have the mic. Corbin says this was supposed to be the happiest Happy Talk with a celebration for his win over Drew McIntyre, but that didn’t happen. He’s done a lot of self-reflecting on his yacht this week, thinking about what kind of man he is and has become. Corbin goes on and says there’s only one man to blame for the loss – Moss.

Corbin says never in a million years would he have lost to Drew if it weren’t for Moss getting on the apron. Moss says he’s sorry, he just felt so excited for Corbin. Corbin says it wasn’t about Moss’ feelings, but somehow he managed to take WrestleMania Weekend and make it about himself, about him winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Corbin mocks Moss, but fans chant for him. Corbin says Moss is getting too big for his suspenders, and he thinks Moss has forgotten that his place is to tell Corbin jokes.

Corbin tells Moss to tell him jokes, and he tells two but Corbin says they suck. Corbin says he brought Moss to SmackDown to tell jokes but lately they have not been good. He gives Moss one more chance and tells him to tell a good joke like his job depends on it, because it does. This time Moss starts taking shots at Corbin with the joke. He laughs and fans pop. Corbin isn’t laughing, and he asks the crowd why they think it’s funny. Corbin drops Moss from behind and stomps away. Moss fights back to a pop. Corbin gets tossed around, stumbling over the Happy Talk set. Moss unloads and sends Corbin to the floor retreating.

Moss comes out and follows but Corbin knees him, then launches him into the barrier. Corbin taunts Moss with the Andre Battle Royal statue and goes to slam him face-first into the announce table but Moss counters and slams Corbin’s face over and over into the table as fans cheer him on. Moss brings it back into the ring for more punches, then a clothesline to the floor. Moss’ music hits as he tosses some of the set out, and stomps on Corbin’s hat. Corbin seethes on the ramp with his back turned to the ring.

– Jinder Mahal is backstage with Shanky, and he’s yelling at Adam Pearce about not getting a WWE Intercontinental Title shot. Pearce says it’s nothing personal. Jinder tells Pearce to bring Ricochet out of Witness Protection, and get him in the ring. Pearce is explaining himself when Ronda Rousey walks in. A scared Jinder leaves. Rousey asks Pearce if she has her I Quit Match at WrestleMania Backlash. Pearce says it’s not official yet but it should be tomorrow. Rousey doesn’t like that answer but she’ll take it, for now.

– Still to come, Sasha Banks vs. Liv Morgan.

Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn

We go back to the ring and out comes Drew McIntyre with his sword, Angela. McIntyre raises the sword to pyro and then heads to the ring as fans cheer him on. Back to commercial.

Back from the break and out comes Sami Zayn as Drew looks on. The bell rings and Drew charges but Sami goes right to the floor and stalls as the referee counts. Sami comes back in at the 9 count as fans chant “cheese!” at him.

Sami goes back to the floor to stall and the boos get louder. Drew grabs him and sends him into the barrier, then drops his face into the barrier. Drew rolls Sami back in and keeps control, nailing a big belly-to-belly throw. Drew works Sami over, chopping him and tossing him again. Sami dodges a big boot and goes back to the floor for a breather.

Drew follows and slams him into the announce table. Drew lifts Sami high and drops him into the announce table again. Sami gets sent back out and he’s close to getting counted out as he turns and walks out on the match. Drew chases him and drops him on the stage. Drew scoops Sami on his shoulders and carries him back into the ring. Drew poses on the apron as fans pop, and Sami stumbles around in the ring.

Drew waits in the corner now as fans cheer him on. Drew goes for a Claymore Kick but Sami retreats to the floor. Sami hops over the barrier and runs away through the fans now, up the steps into the crowd. Sami is counted out.

Winner by Count Out: Drew McIntyre

– After the match, Drew looks on from the corner as the music hits and he’s announced the winner. Drew poses with Angela and points it up at Sami, who is looking on from the crowd stairs.

– Still to come, we will see what happened with Pat McAfee at WrestleMania 38. Back to commercial.

– Back from the break and we see a WrestleMania 38 video package on Pat McAfee, Austin Theory, WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon, and WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin.

– Cole sends us to a new vignette, what he calls the first chapter in the story of Lacey Evans. We go to a pre-recorded promo from Evans, who has been away since announcing her second pregnancy in February of last year. Evans talks about coming from a small town in Georgia. Her father worked construction, her mom was a young mother of five kids. Her life beginning was rough because her father had mental health issues and addiction issues with drugs and alcohol. Her mom was caught in the middle of it trying to be the best mom she could be, then the physical, emotional and mental abuse got to be too much, and before she could start elementary school, Evans was taken away from everything she knew. She says her mother loaded their belongings up in black trash bags, threw them in a car, and picked the kids all up from school, then left without their dad knowing.

Evans goes on and says they drove from state to state, staying in women’s shelters and at campgrounds for the rest of her life. She says moving around as much as she had to do made her learn that she could either adapt and overcome, accept the way things were and learn to roll with it, or completely give up. And she refuses to give up. Evans says she may not have the same straight shot to stardom that others in WWE have been blessed with, but that’s OK because it makes her different than all the rest. She says what she’s had to go through has made her into the woman she is today – motivated, ready for anything, confident, mother, wife, sister, daughter, U.S. Marine, and a WWE Superstar. Evans says this doesn’t make her better than any other WWE Superstar, but they damn sure ain’t better than her.

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Sasha Banks vs. Liv Morgan

WE go back to the ring and out come the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions – Sasha Banks with Naomi. They hit the apron to pose as we go back to commercial.

Back from the break and Banks waits in the ring as Naomi joins Cole and McAfee. We see what happened on RAW with Morgan and Rhea Ripley, and then how they were granted a title shot against Banks and Naomi next Monday on RAW. Megan Morant interviews Morgan in the back now. She says she came to SmackDown to beat Banks and if she can do that, she and Rhea will have momentum going into their title shot. Morant asks if Ripley is here tonight with Liv, and Liv says she isn’t but she will be there on Monday when they win the titles. Liv walks off and heads to the ring.

The bell rings and Liv rolls Banks up for a quick pin attempt. Banks rocks Liv and taunts her over being champion. They trade offense and Liv kicks Banks face-first into the turnbuckles. Liv with a missile dropkick from the corner. Liv screams out for a pop, but misses as she charges in. Banks with a Backstabber to send Liv to the floor. Banks stands tall in the ring while Liv is down on the outside. Back to commercial.

Back from the break and Banks is hitting the Three Amigos. Banks goes to the top for the Frogsplash and she hits it for a close 2 count. We see Natalya and Shayna Baszler watching the match from backstage.

Liv with an enziguri and some more offense now. Banks catches a kick but Liv also catches a kick. Banks drops her and rolls her into a 2 count. They trade pin attempts in the middle of the ring now. Banks drops Liv for a jackknife cover and they trade more pin attempts. Banks with a kick but Liv drops her with knees to the face. They are both down now as fans rally. We see Baszler and Natalya watching again. Naomi also looks on from ringside.

Banks and Liv slowly recover now. Banks blocks a shot but Liv blocks the Backstabber. Liv with two big kicks to the head to send Banks down on one knee. Banks dodges Liv in the corner and then hits running double knees. Liv follows Banks and hits a high knee in the opposite corner. Banks takes Liv to the top and knees her. Banks with a superplex from the second rope but Liv hooks the leg on the come-back and holds her down for the pin to win.

Winner: Liv Morgan

– After the match, the music hits as Liv stands tall and heads to the floor to celebrate with fans at ringside. Naomi says that win means nothing. Liv makes her exit as Banks and Naomi look on.

– The announcers talk about Rick Boogs suffering an injury. We see his Instagram post and McAfee says he can’t wait to see Boogs back on SmackDown.

– We go back to the ring and out comes The Bloodline – new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos, and Paul Heyman. They stop and pose, raising the gold in the air to a pop and pyro. Cole shows us footage from the WrestleMania 38 main event when Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar. The Bloodline goes on to the ring as we go back to commercial.

Back from the break and announced for next week is Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn, plus Jinder Mahal vs. WWE Intercontinental Champion Ricochet. The Bloodline is in the ring now. Reigns finally speaks and calls on Milwaukee to acknowledge him. Reigns wants to let everyone in on something private, something he and his Wise-man discuss rather frequently. Reigns says it pains him to say that SmackDown and the WWE Universal Title wasn’t enough, so he went to WrestleMania, smashed Cowboy Brock, took Monday Night RAW, and took the WWE Title. Fans pop for Reigns.

Reigns brings up the next step for The Tribal Chief. He doesn’t think he can really do much more, he’s done did it all, you know? But there’s plenty left for The Bloodline to achieve. Reigns says there was so many historical pictures and videos taken of them this week, and he couldn’t but think that he saw his two titles, but he only saw his cousins with their one title each. Reigns says that’s not enough. He recalls how he told Jey Uso a while ago that they’d elevate him to new levels of greatness, and there’s only one way to do that. Reigns says it’s time to unify the Tag Team Titles. Reigns wants The Usos to go to RAW and bring him the RAW Tag Team Titles, get them for yourselves because when you do that, you do it for The Bloodline. Reigns asks if that’s a deal and The Usos are fired up. Reigns says there you have it, The Bloodline will have all the gold soon. The music interrupts and out comes Shinsuke Nakamura to a pop. Reigns and The Usos look annoyed as Nakamura struts to the ring.

Fans sing Nakamura’s theme after it stops. Reigns says Nakamura doesn’t have to say anything, Reigns understands how he feels because he lost his partner. You know the guy, Rick… BOOGS!, says the crowd. Reigns says they lost Jimmy Uso to an injury for a year, so they know how Nakamura feels. Reigns is a compassionate Tribal Chief and now that they have all the gold, The Island of Relevancy is full of love. Reigns wants to help Nakamura. He hugs Nakamura in the middle of the ring, and whispers something in his ear but we can’t hear it. Whatever Reigns said, it confuses Nakamura. Reigns then steps away and The Usos immediately drop Nakamura with a double superkick.

The Usos stand over Nakamura and talk some trash, then turn to Reigns and tell him they have his back. The Usos go on about how they’re now headed to Detroit, the site of Monday’s RAW. The Bloodline stands tall with the gold in the air as we go to a replay of what happened to Nakamura. The SmackDown After WrestleMania goes off the air with The Bloodline standing tall in the ring, Reigns raising the WWE Title and the WWE Universal Title.

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