It was the fourth straight night of action from Philadelphia and this time it was WWE SmackDown Live, from the Wells Fargo Center. How would it match up to the rest of the weekend?
SmackDown Live kicked off with the winner of the men's Royal Rumble, Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura spoke about all the superstars he kneed in the face. He called himself the new WWE Champion and pointed to the WrestleMania sign. Owens and Zayn interrupted.
Owens suggested that he had been screwed out of his spot. We saw a recap of the proceedings of the night before. Both of the heels suggested that Nakamura would be facing them, and not Styles at WrestleMania. Nakamura called Owens and Zayn losers.
AJ Styles interrupted and reiterated that the dream match between him and Nakamura would happen at WrestleMania. Styles suggested that he and Nakamura team up, to take on the team of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. The heels backed off and said- 'nope'.
Both the babyfaces hit Owens and Zayn in the face. The segment ended without a main event being set up.
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn confronted Daniel Bryan as the participants for the match came to the ring. Bryan made the main event for the night official with Nakamura and Styles facing Owens and Zayn, and also said that next week Kevin Owens will face Sami Zayn, and the winner would face AJ Styles at Fastlane.
Kofi Kingston vs. Jinder Mahal vs. Zack Ryder vs. Rusev (US Title Number 1 Contender's Match)
Kingston kickstarted things with Mahal with some quick roll ups. Roode was at ringside, and Big E kept flinging pancakes at him. All four men in the ring traded holds and blows, with neither man seeming to get the upper hand. Jinder Mahal got face planted by Zack Ryder, and then a baseball slide from Ryder caught him in the face.
As the men filed out of the ring, Kofi Kingston launched himself out of the ring upon the participants. Rusev teased a suicide dive but was stopped by Sunil Singh. Singh knocked over a whole bunch of pancakes. The referee threw everyone out of the ringside area!
Jinder Mahal was in control after we came back from commercial. He kept kneeing Zack Ryder in the face and then hit Rusev with hard blows. A kick from Rusev levelled Mahal. Ryder caught Rusev with a missile dropkick but before he could seize the advantage, Mahal dropped him.
An SOS from Kingston did not help him win. Rusev tried to go for a double Accolade but was thwarted by Mahal. Every man in the ring delivered their finishers then. Rusev delivered the accolade at the end of the match on Kofi Kingston, to pick up the win.
Winner: Rusev
Rusev and Bobby Roode were made official for next week.
During an episode of the Fashion Files, Breezango was interrupted by Gable and Benjamin. The heels called what Breezango was doing to the tag team division a joke. They flipped over Breezango's table with laptops. The teams would square off later.
The Usos came to the ring and spoke about all the teams they had put out of commission. They spoke about all their struggles and how they made them stronger. How one's struggle was the other's struggle as well. And then The Bludgeon Brothers came forth.
The Bludgeon Brothers ignored The Usos and stepped into the ring.
Bludgeon Brothers vs. Local Talent
It was a pummeling. Harper and Rowan obliterated their opponents with a variety of moves. In a matter of moments, the Bludgeon Brothers pulverized their opponents and picked up the win. It was a bludgeoning.
Bludgeon Brothers defeat local talent
Daniel Bryan ran through the rules of the Top 10 List, something that sounds like a pretty cool addition to SmackDown Live programming.
We saw Shane McMahon on a call. Tye Dillinger spoke about the opportunity that was robbed from him, and Baron Corbin interrupted thereafter.
Dillinger made a remark about Corbin's Money in the Bank contract that made the Lone Wolf quite angry. Shane McMahon said that at SmackDown Live, things are settled in the ring.
We went into commercial with Charlotte Flair coming to the ring.
Charlotte Flair told Renee Young that it was the first time in her life that she didn't want to be champion. She was so competitive that she wanted to be the last woman standing in the Women's Royal Rumble. The Riott Squad interrupted her promo and stepped into the ringside area.
Ruby Riott spoke about how egotistical and arrogant Charlotte Flair is. She called Flair a cheap imitation of her father. Flair managed to fight off the Riott Squad but the numbers overwhelmed her. All three women destroyed her and left her laying in the middle of the ring.
And then Carmella came to the ring with a referee. However, she knocked over the referee in the process. She could not cash in, in time. The women will live to fight another day.
SmackDown Live went into commercial as Tye Dillinger came to the ring. Before that, we saw packages for the Mixed Match Challenge as well.
Tye Dillinger vs. Baron Corbin
Carmella cut a strange promo that was interrupted halfway through by Renee Young. A botch?
Dillinger went in with the early advantage, but Corbin seized it back. Corbin pushed Dillinger into the turnbuckle and smashed into him. Dillinger fought back but Corbin tossed him out of the ring before any real offence could be mounted. It was advantage Corbin as we went into commercial.
Corbin had the advantage as we came back to the ring. Dillinger moved aside as Corbin crashed into the post. Dillinger fought back, but Corbin seized the advantage again. Corbin felled Dillinger with a shot to the back of the neck and then dropped Dillinger with the End of Days.
Baron Corbin defeated Tye Dillinger
There was an interesting exchange between Rusev and Bobby Roode.
Owens and Zayn looked despondent about facing each other, but the first signs of friction could be seen between the men.
Benjamin & Gable vs. Breezango
Fandango and Benjamin squared off, with Benjamin gaining the upper hand. Gable was tagged in, but Fandango gained the upper hand.
Gable showed some impressive athleticism, Fandango bought back and Breeze was tagged back in. Breeze fought back valiantly, with some impressive chops and kicks but Gable and Benjamin regained their heat back with a big win.
Gable and Benjamin def. Breezango
AJ Styles & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
Styles and Owens squared off in the middle of the ring. Tags were made as Nakamura and Zayn came in. Nakamura started with his mindgames and unleashed a flurry of knees and good vibrations. Styles was tagged in, and following a drop kick, tagged Nakamura in.
Owens and Zayn double teamed Nakamura as they regained the advantage. Zayn got tossed out of the ring, and Owens was angry that he didn't have a partner to tag in. The two men almost came to blows outside the ring, with a very heated argument. We went into commercial at that point.
We came back to SmackDown Live, to see Sami Zayn almost out of the arena.
AJ Styles took Owens out, but Zayn returned for a save. Owens was desperate for a tag, and Zayn tagged him in. Zayn tagged Owens back in and the arguments began. Zayn walked out on Owens, and Owens was left on his own.
Nakamura was tagged in, and before he could deliver the Kinshasa, Owens tried to escape. Styles tossed him back as Nakamura delivered the Kinshasa, to pick up the win.
Nakamura & Styles def. Owens & Zayn
Zayn confirmed to Renee Young backstage that their friendship was not done. He had just seized on an opportunity, and would beat Kevin Owens next week.
Is this the end of Owens and Zayn?
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