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Another episode of WWE SmackDown kicked off on Friday, a week before WrestleMania 38. Ronda Rousey made a statement on the show with a promo targeting the SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair.
Sami Zayn cut a passionate promo discussing why he needs to defeat Jackass star Johnny Knoxville at The Grandest Stage of Them All. Meanwhile, the women of SmackDown built towards their tag team match for WrestleMania with a big Fatal Four-Way contest.
Kofi Kingston paved the way for a major return to the show, while Austin Theory taunted WrestleMania opponent Pat McAfee.
Brock Lesnar arrived on SmackDown with a final warning for Roman Reigns. He said the management told him to stay away from Reigns unless he provoked him. The Beast Incarnate decided to make himself comfortable in The Tribal Chief's locker room to kick off the show.
What happened next? Take a look at the five things WWE SmackDown got right in this week's episode:
#5. Shinsuke Nakamura scored a victory over Jimmy Uso on WWE SmackDown
The Usos attacked Shinsuke Nakamura & Rick Boogs on SmackDown before the first match. Nakamura took on Jimmy Uso to prepare for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships match at WrestleMania 38.
The Artist took control early before Jey bounced back and hit a Samoan Drop. Jimmy scaled the ropes for a big move, but Nakamura halted his momentum with a picture-perfect Superkick.
Jey wiped out Boogs at ringside, and the distraction allowed Jimmy to hit Nakamura with a Superkick of his own. Jimmy asked his brother to pass him Boogs' guitar to us, but the latter fought back and took him out.
Back inside the ring, Nakamura hit the Kinshasa to pick up a win ahead of WrestleMania 38. The match was decent and gave The Artist a chance to showcase his talent. He didn't have a good Intercontinental Championship reign, and it's good to see him pick up the pace once again.
Nakamura and Boogs could defeat The Usos to win the titles at The Show of Shows. It'd be a great way to give Boogs another major push.
#4. Xavier Woods picked up a win on his WWE SmackDown return
Brock Lesnar trashed Roman Reigns' locker room as Kofi Kingston came out on SmackDown. Instead of taking on Ridge Holland himself, he said someone else from New Day would take his place.
The announcement opened the doors to Xavier's return, who came out to huge applause from the WWE Universe. He took on The Bothercauser in a one-on-one match. Woods looked fresh and got the better of Holland early. He worked over his opponent and didn't let him use much of his strength to get overpowered.
The Bothercauser got some offense in, but Woods quickly rolled him up for a win. It wasn't the welcome back Woods deserved after taking time off due to injury. However, it was good to see him pick up the win over Holland.
Holland will likely team up with either Butch or Sheamus to take on New Day in the weeks to come. WWE could even look to put the two teams up against each other at WrestleMania 38.
#3. Los Lotharios scored a couple of wins over Intercontinental Champion Ricochet
Angel took on Intercontinental Champion Ricochet in a non-title match this week. The two high-flyers started with technical exchanges before Angel got some offense in.
The One and Only hit a springboard elbow drop and scaled the top rope, but Humberto distracted him. The distraction allowed Angel to roll up the champion and pick up the win.
A disappointed Ricochet challenged Humberto to fight him in the ring. The champion vented his frustration on the young superstar as the match got underway.
He hit a dive outside the ring and kept control of the match. The heels worked together to deny Ricochet a victory. Angel hid under the ring and pulled Ricochet off the apron to keep him from entering the ring on time and breaking the ten count.
The heels went 2-0 up against the Intercontinental Champion this week. They'll challenge Ricochet for the title next Friday in a Triple Threat Match. The two matches weren't spectacular but helped build the title picture. Humberto & Angel are two of the best high-flyers in the business who can work well with Ricochet and give him a few top matches.
#2. Sasha Banks' win gave her team the momentum before the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match
Rhea Ripley, Shayna Baszler, Sasha Banks, and Queen Zelina squared off in a Fatal 4-Way match ahead of the massive WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match WrestleMania 38.
Banks and Ripley fought in the ring as Baszler went after Zelina outside. Banks controlled the match early and hit a facebuster to Ripley before going after Baszler.
Zelina tried her best to get as much offense in as possible. However, a brawl broke out with the other members of the teams getting involved. Zelina found herself trapped in the Banks Statement while Shayna tried to lock in a hold of her own on Vega, but Banks also locked her in the hold.
The Nightmare broke the hold with a top-rope dropkick, and all four women unloaded on each other. Banks locked in the Banks Statement on Zelina and made her tap out for the win.
The Boss is arguably the biggest star on SmackDown at the moment. She did well to make the champion tap out to gain momentum for her team ahead of WrestleMania 38.
#1. Brock Lesnar ended the show on a high ahead of WrestleMania 38
Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman arrived on SmackDown in time for the night's final segment. Heyman didn't want to barge in on Brock inside his locker room. The Tribal Chief seemed confident as he believed Lesnar should be worried and not them.
He headed out to the ring and asked if Lesnar was still in his locker room. The big screen showed that The Beast Incarnate had left the locker room and broke apart Reigns' SUV in the parking lot.
He dropped the axe and headed to the ring, where he got on the announce table with a steel chair in hand. The Beast Incarnate unloaded on the security personnel surrounding him and beat them to a pulp. The Usos arrived and helped Reigns escape as Brock continued to vent his frustration. Backstage, Roman said he'll force Brock to acknowledge him as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion at WrestleMania 38.
This was arguably the best story of the night. Not much got achieved on this week's SmackDown apart from King Woods' return and Ricochet's new challengers.
Brock Lesnar has been phenomenal and put on a great show to carry SmackDown on his broad shoulders. It'll be interesting to see how Reigns fights out of this one.
