WWE SmackDown Results 3/22 - Cody Rhodes & Roman Reigns Meet In The Ring, IYO SKY Takes On Naomi
Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s results for "WWE SmackDown" on March 22, 2024, coming to you live from the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin!
Although it remains to be seen whether or not their match will be Bloodline Rules or if The Bloodline will be barred from ringside, Roman Reigns will be defending the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Cody Rhodes at Night Two of WrestleMania. Before they face one another on April 7, however, they will stand across from one another tonight as they meet in the ring.
Women's Champion IYO SKY will be competing in her first televised match since January 5 as she goes head-to-head with Naomi. The pair came face-to-face last Friday when Naomi looked to provide a helping hand to Bayley as SKY and her Damage CTRL teammates beat her down post match.
Finn Balor and Damian Priest of Judgment Day will be defending their Undisputed Tag Team Championship in a Six-Pack Challenge Ladder Match in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with #DIY, New Day, and Awesome Truth having qualified this past Monday on "Raw". The final two teams competing in the match have yet to be determined, but Grayson Waller and Austin Theory face The Good Brothers and the Authors of Pain square off with The Street Profits in a pair of matches as the four teams become closer to qualifying for the match.
Santos Escobar sidelined Rey Mysterio with an injury back in November when he turned his back on him and the rest of LWO. Tonight, Rey has his chance to exact his retribution as he goes one-on-one with Escobar. Additionally, Bianca Belair, Randy Orton, and LA Knight are among those advertised to be in town tonight on WWE's event page.
We are live! Wade Barrett and Corey Graves greet audiences at home as Rey Mysterio makes his way down to the ring. Santos Escobar follows.
Santos Escobar vs. Rey Mysterio
The bell rings and Rey wastes no time. He goes after Escobar, leveling him with a shoulder tackle and sending his head bouncing off the top turnbuckle. He continues wearing him down and lands a kick on Escobar's knee, then follows it up with a forearm and a hurricanrana off the top rope. He then follows it up with a running boot and a sliding dropkick to Escobar's knee, but Escobar levels Rey before he hits a dropkick. He goes for a pin, but Rey kicks out. Rey then sends Escobar crashing out of the ring with a hurricanrana and goes flying under the bottom rope.
Back from the break, Escobar delivers a pair of running knees to Rey in the corner. Rey responds with a kick to Escobar's chest out of the corner and rains down right hands on him, but Escobar sends Rey crashing into the opposite corner face first and drapes him off the top rope by his knees. He lands a running kick on Rey's chest and charges at him, but Rey moves out of the way and Escobar is sent colliding with the ring post. Rey then delivers a crossbody to Escobar on the outside from the top rope, then gets him back in the ring and delivers a senton off the top. He follows it up with a pair of clotheslines and a dropkick, then sends Escobar into the ropes and looks to dial it up for the 619. Escobar catches Rey with a superkick and goes for a pin, but Rey kicks out.
The pair end up on the outside, and Rey delivers a senton to Escobar off the ring apron that sends him crashing through the barricade near the timekeeper's area. Rey gets Escobar back in the ring and delivers a forearm to him from the apron, then looks to fly. A masked figure trips him, and reveals themselves to be Dominik Mysterio. This opens the door for Escobar to dial it up for the 619 and follow it up with the Phantom Driver for the win.
Winner: Santos Escobar
We then head backstage and see Bayley thank Naomi for helping her out with Damage CTRL last week. Bianca Belair then approaches, and confronts Bayley about the attacks her and Damage CTRL launched against her over the past couple years. She tells Bayley that the past has finally caught up with her and she deserves everything coming her way.
Back at ringside, Austin Theory and Grayson Waller make their way down.
Back from the break, we see Belair and Naomi argue about Bayley. Naomi says she won't back down, and tells Belair she can't face IYO SKY and Damage CTRL alone.
Back at ringside, The OC make their way out.
Grayson Waller and Austin Theory vs. The OC (w/ Michin)
Theory and Gallows begin the action. The bell rings and Theory delivers an open palm strike to Gallows. Gallows returns the favor, then tags in Anderson. Anderson holds Theory in place as the now legal Gallows delivers a boot to Theory's midsection. He follows it up with several right and left hands to his midsection. Waller and Anderson tag in, and Anderson delivers a boot to the side of Waller's head. Gallows then clotheslines an interfering Theory out of the ring, and Anderson goes flying over the top to level them both.
Back from the break, Michin lands an arm drag on Waller on the outside as Anderson tags in. Anderson delivers a senton to Theory in the ring and follows it up with an elbow, then connects with a Blockbuster and a spinebuster. He lands one on an interfering Waller, then delivers a boot to Theory out of the corner and follows it up with a neckbreaker off the middle rope. Gallows tags in and looks to land the Magic Killer with Anderson. Waller saves Theory, and Gallows sends Waller crashing to the outside. This opens the door for Theory to roll up Gallows (with his feet on the ropes and Waller holding them in place from the outside) for the win.
Winners: Grayson Waller and Austin Theory
Back from the break, Naomi makes her way down to the ring. Damage CTRL then appears on the ramp, but before SKY joins the rest of her teammates at ringside, we see attack Bayley backstage.
IYO SKY vs. Naomi
The bell rings and the two waste no time going after one another. Naomi fires off several shoulders on SKY's midsection, then follows it up with a Scorpion Kick and jams her boot in SKY's face. SKY lands a few right hands and a hurricanrana off the middle rope, but Naomi connects with a kick off the ropes and follows it up with a dropkick. She then delivers a bulldog.
Back from the break, Naomi ascends to the top and delivers a crossbody. She continues wearing down SKY, but SKY lands a jawbreaker off the top and follows it up with a dropkick. SKY then delivers a pair of running knees in the corner and ascends to the top. Naomi catches her with a kick and joins her up there, then delivers a superplex and transitions into a pin. SKY kicks out and delivers a kick to Naomi's chest, then charges at her. Naomi sends her onto the apron and spikes her, then looks to fly out of the corner. The rest of Damage CTRL run down to ringside, capturing Naomi's attention and opening the door for SKY to land the Over The Moonsault for the win.
Winner: IYO SKY
After the match, Damage CTRL beat down Naomi. Naomi tries fighting back, but Asuka spits blue mist into Naomi's face. Bianca Belair's music hits and she runs down to the ring to make the save. She lands a forearm on Dakota Kai and sends her crashing into the ring steps, then lands a spinebuster on Sane and rains down right hands on Asuka. She then sends Sane crashing into the mat and looks to hit her with a KOD, but the rest of Damage CTRL then begins attacking her.
Back from the break, we see Pretty Deadly interrupt a meeting between Kevin Owens and Nick Aldis. Pretty Deadly and Owens then begin arguing, and Owens challenges Pretty Deadly to a tag team match with a partner already in mind. His tag team partner appears, revealing himself as Randy Orton and agrees to tag with Owens.
We then head over to a video of AJ Styles sitting down with WWE's digital team to show how he's preparing for WrestleMania. A horn honking interrupts them, and the pair begin brawling. Police then arrive to break the two apart and arrest Knight as Styles' wife holds him back. Styles looks to go after Knight again, but one of the officers prevents him from doing so as the other puts Knight in their car. Knight then warns Styles that he'll be back.
Back at ringside, The Street Profits make their way down to the ring. Authors of Pain follow.
Authors of Pain (w/ Paul Ellering) vs. Street Profits
Ford and Rezar begin the action. The bell rings and Akam tags in. He fires off right and left hands on Ford, then tags Rezar back in. Rezar fires off a right hand on Ford, but Ford catches him with a boot and a dropkick that sends him crashing to the outside. Akam is sent out of the ring to join Rezar, and Ford flies to level them both. AOP catches Ford, and Dawkins looks to fly off the ring steps to level AOP. AOP sees him coming and powerbombs Ford on Dawkins.
Back from the break, Rezar rains down right hands on Ford and whips him into the corner. He clocks Dawkins on the apron, and Dawkins gets back in the ring. The referee tells him he has to get back on the apron, and AOP takes their opportunity to double team on Ford. Akam tags back in and continues wearing down Ford before Rezar tags back in and follows suit.
Dawkins and Akam tag in, and Dawkins delivers a swinging neckbreaker to Akam. He then delivers a splash in the corner and follows it up with an enzuigiri. Ford tags in and ascends to the top as Dawkins gets Akam in an Electric Chair position. Akam escapes and takes out Dawkins, then connects with a boot on Ford. Rezar tags in and AOP lands The Final Chapter on Ford. Rezar goes for a pin, but Dawkins breaks the fall. Akam sends Dawkins crashing to the outside, then tags in. Akam looks to land a delayed vertical suplex, but Dawkins levels Rezar. Ford sees an opening and escapes, then rolls up Rezar for the win.
Winners: The Street Profits
Back from the break, Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman make their way down to the ring.
Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns Meet In The Ring
Reigns says Heyman made a promise on Monday night to not have any other members of The Bloodline present. He says he's a man of his word, and no other Bloodline members are present. He then calls Cody Rhodes out to the ring and says it's time to acknowledge him.
Rhodes' music hits and he makes his way down to the ring. Reigns asks him if he kept his word like he did, and Rhodes says as long as Reigns came alone, then he did too. Reigns tells Heyman he kept his word like he said he would, then calls Rhodes a fool. He says he thinks with his heart and thinks everyone wants what's best for him, but says he needs to be thinking with his head. He says Rhodes aligned with his younger brother Seth "Freakin" Rollins, then questions where Rollins was on Monday night. He says him and Rollins didn't do good things and he thought they were becoming brothers in The Shield until Rollins stabbed him in the back. Reigns then asks Rhodes what he thinks will happen to him.
Rhodes reminds Reigns of the first team to beat The Shield, then says he's not unfamiliar with factions and betrayal. He says The Bloodline isn't a faction because they are family, then says while Rollins might hate his guts, he hates Reigns even more. He then questions if Reigns can trust The Rock at WrestleMania and says everyone is confused about who is really in charge of The Bloodline.
Reigns says Rhodes' words are spoken like a true politician, then says all he does is makes promises that he can't keep or deliver on. He says Rhodes told fans many lies, but they never came to fruition. He says Rhodes is a number two, and says that's all he'll ever be. Reigns then says that he's number one forever.
Rhodes says both he and Reigns grew up in the professional wrestling business. He says like him, Reigns grew up looking in the mirror and wanting to be the biggest wrestler on the planet. He says the next generation will want to be the next Reigns and that's his destiny while his destiny is being the one.
Rhodes wishes Reigns good luck at WrestleMania and offers him his hand. Reigns declines to shake it and mockingly shakes Heyman's hand instead. He exits the ring and heads back up the ramp.
Reigns snaps his fingers, and both Sikoa and Jimmy emerge through the crowd, proving that Reigns never kept his word. Rhodes looks concerned as they circle the ring and join Reigns on the ramp, but Rhodes' mood quickly changes when Jey Uso and Rollins make their way through ringside through the crowd to join him. All six men stare one another down as the show goes off the air.