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SmackDown kicked off after a recap of last week's events which led to Brock Lesnar chasing Paul Heyman out of the arena. Roman Reigns was back this week and the Universal Champion headed out to the ring with Heyman and The Usos.
After his usual spiel about acknowledging him, Reigns said that he was looking forward to beating up Lesnar tonight. Heyman let us know that due to weather issues, Brock Lesnar would be unable to make it to the show.
Reigns said that it must have been because Lesnar was scared of him and not because of the weather. Heyman interrupted The Tribal Chief once more and the latest update was that Lesnar had landed in the city and was headed to the arena.
Roman Reigns handed Paul Heyman his title belt to secure it before heading off backstage with The Usos, possibly to seek out Brock Lesnar.
Backstage on SmackDown, Reigns and The Usos got in an SUV but Lesnar showed up with a forklift and drove it right into the car. Back after a break, we saw that The Beast Incarnate had used the forklift to lift the car and drop it on its side before pushing it away.
Reigns and The Usos managed to make their way out of the car and got into another truck. Lesnar ran to the truck and ripped one of the doors off, but The Bloodline managed to drive out of the arena.
Brock Lesnar headed to the ring on SmackDown with the door of the truck and stomped on it before leaning on the thing. He called Reigns out and said that he was going to destroy him in two weeks at WrestleMania before walking off.
WWE SmackDown Results (March 18th, 2022): Los Lotharios vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Rick Boogs
Shinsuke Nakamura and Humberto kicked off the match and the former had the early advantage but the Lotharios managed to isolate him and hit a double-team move. Humberto was back in and took some big kicks before tagging Angel in, who hit the shining wizard.
Rick Boogs was taken off the apron with a kick before Nakamura managed to turn things around in the ring. Boogs came back up and got the tag before deadlifting Humberto and wiped him out before landing his finisher on Angel for the win.
Result: Shinsuke Nakamura & Rick Boogs def. Los Lotharios
Grade: B
The Viking Raiders & Drew McIntyre vs. Jinder Mahal, Shanky & Happy Corbin on SmackDown
Erik and Shanky kicked off the match and team Corbin had the early advantage but the Vikings managed to isolate Jinder Mahal as the match went on. Happy Corbin was tagged in and hit a pop-up powerbomb on Ivar before Drew McIntyre tried to get in the ring but was sent back to the apron by the referee.
Back after a break on SmackDown, McIntyre was tagged in and he wiped out Shanky and Mahal. He hit the Claymore on Shanky for the win while Corbin and Madcap Moss watched from ringside.
Result: The Viking Raiders & Drew McIntyre def. Jinder Mahal, Shanky & Happy Corbin
Grade: B
Sami Zayn was backstage and blamed Johnny Knoxville for his title loss. He said that the stipulation for their WrestleMania match would now be an Anything Goes.
Sasha Banks & Naomi vs. Liv Morgan & Rhea Ripley on SmackDown
Queen Zelina and Carmella were at ringside to watch the match and Naomi and Liv Morgan kicked things off in the ring. Sasha Banks came in early on and Morgan got a near fall off a rollup before Banks tagged Naomi back in for a double team.
Rhea Ripley tagged in and got a near fall right away before Naomi fled the ring and Banks came in for a big hurricanrana. Ripley got a stalling vertical suplex for a near fall before Morgan came in and sent both opponents out of the ring before The Nightmare hit a dive on them.
After a break on SmackDown, Ripley tried for a suplex on Naomi but it was thwarted before tags were made. Banks got some big kicks in and got the Meteora on Morgan before Ripley came in off the tag with a missile dropkick.
Saha Banks reversed the finisher and hit the backstabber before Naomi came in with a splash but Liv Morgan broke up the pin. Naomi and Banks set Ripley in the corner but Morgan came in for the tower of doom spot.
Shayna Baszler and Natalya rushed into the ring and a brawl broke out before Zelina and Carmella joined in as well. Zelina, Carmella, Baszler, and Natalya were left standing, and Baszler and Natalya pointed at the WrestleMania sign, hinting at a tag title match setup.
Result: DNF
Grade: B
Johnny Knoxville accepted Sami Zayn's challenge as SmackDown continued.
Vince McMahon called Pat McAfee to his office before we headed for a break on SmackDown. Back to the show, Natalya and Baszler were added to the Women's Tag Title match at WrestleMania, making it a Fatal Four-Way tag match.
McAfee came out of McMahon's office and it was not clear what he and the WWE Chairman spoke about in there. Pat McAfee headed out to the ring and talked about the first time he saw pro-wrestling on TV and how it changed his life.
He recalled Michael Cole's offer to join WWE and that he took it right away before Austin Theory came out. McAfee said that he was supposed to apologize to Theory or he would lose his match.
McAfee joked around and semi-apologized while calling him names at the same time. Theory accepted the half-hearted apology and walked backstage.
Kofi Kingston vs. Ridge Holland on SmackDown
Kofi Kingston unloaded on Ridge Holland as the match started and sent him outside for a big kick on the apron before hitting a big dive. After a break on SmackDown, Holland took some big kicks and a clothesline before getting the Boom Drop.
Sheamus got on the apron to distract the referee before Butch came up and dropped Kingston from the ropes. The referee sent Butch and Sheamus backstage before Butch tried to rush the ring twice and the second distraction allowed Holland to hit his finisher and pick up the win.
Result: Ridge Holland def. Kofi Kingston
Grade: B
Charlotte Flair was out next on SmackDown and said that she always has a plan and last week we saw what she had in store for Ronda Rousey. Flair said that Rousey lacked the passion to become the champion before inviting her to fight right then.
Rousey walked out to the ring and The Queen got a kendo stick and went at her. Rousey Ronda took Charlotte Flair down and tried for the armbar but the latter escaped the ring and dropped Rousey.
The Baddest Woman on the Planet sent Flair into the ring post before trying for a submission. The latter fought back with a kendo stick and powerbombed Rousey through the announce desk before SmackDown went off the air.
Episode rating: B
Brock Lesnar went after Roman Reigns in a violent exchange on SmackDown, two weeks before WrestleMania, while Shayna Baszler and Natalya earned their WrestleMania title match. Sami Zayn announced a big stipulation match for WrestleMania while Charlotte Flair sent a message to Ronda Rousey on tonight's SmackDown.
