WWE SmackDown Results (04/14) - Shinsuke Nakamura Returns, Championship Celebration

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s results of "WWE SmackDown" on April 14, 2023, coming to you live from the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska!

Newly crowned WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez will be holding a celebration tonight. The duo have been teaming with one another over the past couple of months and dethroned Becky Lynch and her last minute partner Trish Stratus this past Monday on "WWE Raw" after Morgan managed to roll up Stratus.

Shinsuke Nakamura will be returning to televised action on The Blue Brand tonight for the first time since coming up short against LWO's Santos Escobar in a First Round Match for the "SmackDown" World Cup on the November 11, 2022 edition of "SmackDown".

Speaking of Escobar, he will be colliding with Damian Priest. The two men came face-to-face last week in tag team competition, where Priest and his Judgment Day teammate Dominik Mysterio defeated Escobar and WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio amidst the issues between the two groups as a result of Dominik's anger towards his father.

Xavier Woods will be going one-on-one with LA Knight. The pair encountered one another last week, which saw them get into a heated exchange of words before Knight ultimately threw Woods' controller to the floor while he was playing video games with Madcap Moss and Emma.

We are live! Michael Cole and Wade Barrett greet audiences at home as Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn make their way to the ring.

Zayn says that it's only been two weeks since he and Owens won the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship in the main event of Night One at WrestleMania, but he and Owens haven't had much time to process it as a result of everything happening with The Bloodline and the upcoming WWE Draft. Owens says that while it's an exciting time, regardless of where they end up with the Draft, they are the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions and they will defend them with everything they have. He then says that sooner or later, The Usos are coming for a rematch, but before he can continue, Jimmy and Jey's music hits and the pair appear alongside Solo Sikoa.

Jimmy says the pressure is getting to Zayn and Owens after two weeks while they held the titles for two years. Zayn remindsThe Usos had to report back to Roman Reigns empty handed, and Jimmy tells him to shut up. He insists that The Bloodline is stronger than ever, and he, Jey, and Sikoa have all leveled up. Jimmy says The Usos will be Undisputed Tag Team Champions again before Jey reiterates Jimmy's point. He adds that while he initially said that Owens will be the one to betray Zayn, it will actually be the other way around.

Zayn says if The Usos want to act like everything's good and there are no cracks in The Bloodline, that's fine but he doesn't think they came out just to talk. Jey says they didn't.

The Usos and Sikoa surround the ring and hop on the apron, but Matt Riddle appears out of nowhere. He pulls Sikoa off the apron and the pair begin to brawl as Owens and Zayn go after The Usos. Sikoa and Riddle wind up in the middle of the ring, and Sikoa looks for the Samoan Spike, but Riddle ducks out of the way and hits a pair of knees. Before anything else can happen, The Usos pull Sikoa out of the ring to save their brother.

Back from the break, we head backstage to Adam Pearce and a referee. Pearce tells the referee to find Sikoa and Riddle in order to inform them that they will come face-to-face in the ring later tonight.

Back at ringside, Xavier Woods heads down. LA Knight follows.

The bell rings and the two lock up. They go back and forth with submission holds before Knight delivers a shoulder tackle. Woods responds with a dropkick and a right hand across Knight's spine, but Woods fires back with a Side Russian Leg Sweep and kips up. Knight rolls to the outside, and Woods goes flying over the top to take him down. He ascends to the top, but Knight rolls to the outside. Woods looks for a dropkick through the ropes, but Knight moves out of the way and sends Woods colliding with the ring post.

Back from the break, Knight delivers a swinging neckbreaker to Woods. Woods responds with several right hands and a back heel kick, then follows it up with an elbow and goes for a pin. Knight kicks out and Woods catches him with a back elbow. Knight fires back with a DDT and sets up for a vertical suplex, but Woods blocks it and drapes Knight across the top rope. He then ascends to the top and delivers a double stomp, then climbs up to the middle rope and executes a double leg drop. He goes for a pin, but Knight grabs the bottom rope to break the fall.

Knight hits a bodyslam, then follows it up with an elbow drop. Knight rolls up Woods while grabbing onto his tights, but the referee catches him and doesn't count the fall. Knight begins arguing with the referee, which allows Woods to take advantage and roll up Knight (while grabbing his tights without the referee noticing) for the win.

Winner: Xavier Woods

Back from the break, we head backstage and see GUNTHER chatting with Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci. Xavier Woods starts playing his trombone nearby, and GUNTHER says he clearly wants his attention. He tells Woods that he doesn't respect him, then says he will beat the respect into him in the squared circle. Woods says that since the WWE Draft is coming up, he feels beyond ready to step up and take the Intercontinental Championship from GUNTHER and to his place.

We then head to a video recapping Solo Sikoa's beat down of Matt Riddle last December.

We then head backstage to Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Matt Riddle. Zayn warns Riddle about Sikoa and tells him he would feel awful if something happened to him. Owens then tells Riddle that he needs to take out Sikoa to exact his revenge. Riddle says he can't control what The Bloodline does, but he can control how prepared he is and the damage he inflicts on Sikoa.

Back at ringside, Judgment Day heads down. Damian Priest grabs a mic and addresses both WWE Backlash and Bad Bunny. He tells Bad Bunny if he wants to sit front row at the show, that's fine but he knows what'll happen if he messes with his family again and throws it to a video of what happened between him and Bad Bunny on "WWE Raw" two weeks ago.

Before he can continue, LWO's music hits and Zelina Vega appears. She calls out Rhea Ripley as Santos Escobar, Joaquin Wilde, and Cruz Del Toro attack Priest and Dominik from behind.

Back from the break, the bell has rung and Priest looks for a shoulder to Escobar's midsection. Escobar rolls out of the way and Priest collides with the ring post before Escobar delivers a crossbody off the top rope. The two men spill to the outside, and Escobar looks to go flying off the apron. Priest tosses him back in the ring and hits a Falcon Arrow. Escobar responds with a series of chops and a dropkick, then rains down right hands in the corner. Priest delivers a superkick that sends Escobar crashing to the outside, then follows him out there and delivers an ax handle off the ring steps.

Back from another break, Priest sends Escobar crashing into the mat face first. The two men teeter on the top rope before Escobar delivers a hurricanrana and a ripcord knee. He follows it up with a pair of flying elbows and a hurricanrana, then ascends to the top and delivers a moonsault. Escobar gets Priest on his shoulders, but Dominik and Ripley cause a distraction, allowing Priest to deliver a clothesline. LWO goes after Dominik, but Priest levels them and sends them crashing into the timekeeper's area. This allows Escobar to catch Priest with a tope suicida and get him back in the ring, but Ripley grabs his leg. Vega takes down Ripley with a hurricanrana, allowing Priest to deliver a spinning heel kick and South of Heaven for the win.

Winner: Damian Priest

After the match, Priest clears the announce desk and looks to chokeslam him through the table, but Rey Mysterio's music hits. Rey doesn't appear at first, but comes out of nowhere and takes out Priest. This leaves Dominik as the only one standing, and he ends up in the ring with his father. The pair begin to brawl and Rey sets up for the 619, but Judgment Day pulls Dominik out of the ring just in time.

We head backstage to The Bloodline. Paul Heyman gives Solo Sikoa a message from Roman Reigns: when someone embarrasses one of The Bloodline, they embarrass the entire Bloodline. Heyman gets a little too carried away with his speech and Sikoa cuts him off. He tells him to inform Reigns that he's got this covered. 

Back at ringside, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez head down. 

Morgan says herself and Rodriguez are proud to be standing in the ring as WWE Women's Tag Team Champions. Rodriguez thanks Morgan for sacrificing her body for the sake of beating opponents, and Morgan says she never thought they would end up there. Morgan says that while they're still getting to know each other, she can only imagine what they'll be like down the road since they get along so well.

Sonya Deville's music hits, and she and Chelsea Green appear. Deville says she couldn't listen to the two of them anymore, then tells the WWE Universe to respect them when they appear. Deville then questions how they're the champions when Lita wasn't even in the match. She says that maybe someone from upper management overlooked this mistake, and Green agrees before she name drops Adam Pearce. She then complains about herself and Deville being overlooked for Morgan and Rodriguez, then says the only difference between them and everyone else is the tag team titles. Green asks when they will get a chance, and Morgan says she talked to Adam Pearce before she says she thinks they've found their next challengers.

The four women begin to brawl with one another. Rodriguez sends Green crashing out of the ring as Morgan delivers a Codebreaker to Deville. She sets up for Oblivion, but Green pulls Deville out of the ring.

Back from the break, Shinsuke Nakamura heads to the ring. Madcap Moss and Emma follow.

The bell rings and Moss wastes no time. He rains down right hands, then delivers a shoulder to Nakamura's midsection. Nakamura fires back with an enziguri and a kick to the side of Moss' head, then delivers a flying knee off the middle rope. He then hits the Kinshasa for the win.

Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura

After the match, a frustrated Moss attacks Nakamura. Nakamura looks for the Arm Bar, but Emma saves Moss. A video from Scarlett and Karrion Kross then begins to play, putting Nakamura on notice.

Back from the break, we see Ricochet and Braun Strowman walking around backstage. The Viking Raiders attack them out of nowhere and send Ricochet crashing through a table.

Back at ringside, Matt Riddle, Sami Zayn, and Kevin Owens head down. Solo Sikoa and The Usos follow.

Paul Heyman has a mic in hand and he introduces himself. He says he has a historic announcement to make and says he just got off the phone with Roman Reigns. He says that in two weeks from now, The Usos will be taking on Zayn and Owens for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship in a WrestleMania 39 rematch. He tells Zayn and Owens that they will lose their title, as Reigns has become impatient with The Usos. 

The bell rings and Riddle wastes no time. He delivers a series of right hands and kicks, but Sikoa responds with a bodyslam. Riddle locks in a Sleeper, but Sikoa quickly escapes by sending Riddle crashing to the mat. He then delivers a right hand and several headbutts, then executes a chop. Riddle delivers a pair of chops before Jimmy distracts the referee as Jey trips Riddle. Owens and Zayn get in The Usos' faces, and the referee ejects all four men from ringside. This allows Riddle to roll up Sikoa, but Sikoa escapes and delivers a Samoan Drop.

Back from the break, Riddle fires off right hands. The pair go back and forth before Sikoa sends Riddle crashing into the mat. Sikoa delivers a few back elbows, but Riddle manages to hit a suplex and looks for a senton. Sikoa gets his knees up before Riddle delivers the Floating Bro. The Usos appear once again back at ringside, which causes Owens and Zayn to come down. Owens and Zayn begin brawling with The Usos on the outside, allowing Riddle to deliver a kick to Sikoa. He then delivers a moonsault off the ropes to level The Usos, then looks to go flying. Sikoa catches him with a kick, then lands the Samoan Spike for the win.

Winner: Solo Sikoa

After the match, Sikoa delivers a Uranage that sends Riddle crashing the announce desk. He then flips over the table on Riddle, and Owens and Zayn run over to check on Sikoa.