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The Usos kicked off SmackDown before WrestleMania and were joined by Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. KO said that he used to respect The Usos until they started doing Roman Reign's bidding and that he knew The Usos would lose their titles tomorrow.
Jimmy talked about how he and Jey were family, unlike KO and Sami, and Zayn replied that there was more to family than blood. Sami said that The Usos chose blood over friendship and that even though they were loyal to Roman, Reigns wouldn't return the favor.
Jey said that tomorrow would go the way it always does: The Usos would win, and KO would turn on Sami after losing. Jey added that they would be walking out of WrestleMania as the champs before SmackDown moved on.
WWE SmackDown Results (March 31, 2023): Montez Ford vs. Ricochet vs. Chad Gable vs. Erik
Gable went after Ford off the bell while Erik and Ricochet were brawling. Erik was sent outside with a double dropkick early on before Gable drove Ricochet into the steel steps outside.
Back inside the ring, Ford hit a superplex on Erik before Ford and Gable hit their own on Ricochet. We got a sequence of dives before Gable hit the Chaos Theory for a near fall.
Ford made some big moves and was about to end the match, but Ricochet came back and hit the 450 Splash before picking up the win.
Result: Ricochet def. Montez Ford, Chad Gable & Erik
Grade: B
Andre the Giant Battle Royal on SmackDown
Lashley made his entrance last while the others were already in the ring. Corbin was eliminated first, followed by Top Dolla and Ashante Adonis, while Dexter Lumis stood still in the corner.
Gallows, Anderson, Mansoor, Mace, and Cruz del Toro went out next, followed by Otis, who Elias and Boogs eliminated. Elias went out next, followed by Angel Garza and Humberto, before we headed for a break.
Back on SmackDown, Madcap eliminated Lumis, while Woods was also eliminated. Ziggler and Ali fought on the apron, and Knight took Ali out before Kross got the Kross Jacket on Knight.
Lashley got the Hurt Lock on Ziggler before facing off with Kross. Moss was eliminated by Bronson Reed before Lashley eliminated Ziggler. Strowman, Reed, and Lashley started brawling before Gargano was eliminated, followed by Ridge Holland and Butch.
Knight, Reed, Strowman, and Lashley remained in the ring, and Knight was sent outside before there were only three. Strowman hit the powerslam on Lashley before Reed eliminated Braun. Reed missed the Tsunami and took the spear before Lashley eliminated him for the win.
Result: Bobby Lashley won the Battle Royal
Grade: A
Natalya vs. Sonya Deville vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Shayna Baszler on SmackDown
Baszler was sent outside before Natalya got the sharpshooter on Sonya, but Baszler came back in and locked in a headlock on Nattie.
Raquel lifted Baszler and Natalya while the hold was locked in, but Sonya took her down with a chop block.
Deville was caught off a dive into the Tejana Bomb before Raquel took down Baszler as well with a big boot. Raquel got the pin on Deville and picked up the win.
Result: Raquel Rodriguez def. Sonya Deville, Natalya & Shayna Baszler
Grade: C
Legado del Fantasma was backstage with Rey Mysterio, and Escobar offered to help him with Judgment Day during Rey's match with Dominik.
Rey said he appreciated the help and that they should do it in style before handing them t-shirts with Latino World Order, hinting at them being the new LWO.
Brawling Brutes vs. Imperium on SmackDown
Drew and Vinci kicked things off, and McIntyre was in control early on. Imperium caught Drew with double-team moves before tags were made, and Sheamus got the Beats of the Bodhran on Kaiser.
Drew forced a tag, and Sheamus was not happy about it before Imperium tried to capitalize but was sent outside instead. Drew was about to hit the Claymore, but Sheamus forced a tag instead.
Sheamus got the Brogue on Vinci in the ring while Drew took Kaiser out with Claymore before Sheamus picked up the win for his team.
Result: Brawling Brutes def. Imperium
Grade: B
Cody Rhodes was out next and thanked WWE for allowing him to return regardless of his history with them and other promotions. Cody said that he would be Roman Reigns' successor before the Tribal Chief made his way out.
Roman got on the mic and said he didn't care about any of the fans before telling Cody to acknowledge him. The two had a staredown as SmackDown went off the air.
Episode rating: B+
We got a great battle royal on SmackDown before Wrestlemania, while we got a final face-to-face between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes.
