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WWE SmackDown comes waltzing back into our lives on tape tonight (Feb. 18, 2022) with a show emanating from Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, featuring the final build to the upcoming Elimination Chamber event scheduled for tomorrow in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Advertised for tonight: There will be a WWE Elimination Chamber Contract Signing between the teams of Ronda Rousey & Naomi and Charlotte Flair & Sonya Deville.
Elsewhere on the card: Roman Reigns has a face-to-face confrontation with Goldberg, and Shinsuke Nakamura will defend the Intercontinental title against Sami Zayn.
This show was taped last week, and you can read the spoilers here.
Come right back here at 8 pm ET when the SmackDown live blog kicks off once the show starts on FOX. It will be below this line here. (Note: Going forward, there will be no ban on GIFs or images in the live blog threads. Feel free to post as you wish.)
WWE SMACKDOWN RESULTS AND LIVE BLOG FOR FEB. 18
To those who understand, I extend my hand. To the doubtful I demand, take me as I am. Not under your command, I know where I stand. I won’t change to fit your plan, because I’m too busy liveblogging this here pro wrestling show for you, folks.
The show opens with me, my wife, my lovely girlfriends, and my girlfriend’s partner on the couch together.
Wait, no, that’s true but that’s not how the SHOW opens, let’s try again.
The show opens with the intro video.
5-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion Adam Pearce is in the ring, with a table and chairs set up for a contract signing for Charlotte Flair & Sonya Deville vs. Naomi & Ronda Rousey.
We get entrances and Sonya is about to rush through her signature before saying the babyfaces need it broken down very simply because they don’t know how to follow rules. Ronda says rule one is sign the contract and Naomi says rule two is she’s gonna slap the taste out of her mouth.
Rousey asks if Sonya forgot how to spell her name and begins spelling it out as “bitch” and they end up bickering and shouting over each other. Deville signs the contract and passes it to Flair, who also signs. Sonya points out that this is their last chance to back out and Naomi yells at her to stop stalling or she’ll flip the table over and use her head as the pen.
Charlotte shushes her and tells them to listen to Deville’s new stipulation, which is that Ronda Rousey will have to have one arm tied behind her back, and the powers that be agreed to the stipulation. Rousey shrugs it off and signs the contract, Naomi signs, and Ronda says one hand is plenty to tapdance on her forehead with.
Rousey smashes Flair’s head into the table, Naomi lays Sonya out with a kick, and Ronda dumps the table over, sending the heels running.
We get a recap of the Cesaro/Ricochet vs. Sheamus/Ridge Holland feud.
Sheamus gives Ridge a pep talk in Gorilla and they make their entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Ricochet gets an inset promo where he says Sheamus will need to get a bigger exterminator to get rid of him.
Ricochet vs. Sheamus
Ricochet right in with corner dropkicks, Sheamus shoves him back and scoops him up but Rick reverses to a sunset flip for two! Strikes slow the One and Only down, Ricochet with a front kick, a dropkick, a tope con giro that sends the Celtic Warrior ass over teakettle!
Back and forth, Sheamus hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, choking him in the ropes, Rick turns him around and lights him up with body blows in the corner but the Celtic Warrior blasts him with a forearm and hits a back suplex! Sheamus with a reverse chinlock, Ricochet with a knee, a tijeras over the ropes and he follows it with the apron moonsault but Sheamus catches him and hits the fallaway slam to send us to break!
Back from commercial, Sheamus hits the battering ram clothesline and follows it with the Beats of the Bodhran. Ricochet with a satellite DDT and a diving elbow for two! Springboard moonsault, another nearfall! Fireman’s carry, Sheamus slips out, Alabama Slam... STILL NO!
The Celtic Warrior up top, jockeying for position, Ricochet hits a Spanish Fly off the top, a little back and forth...
Ricochet wins by pinfall with Recoil.
Post-match, Sheamus berates Ridge Holland and shoves him away.
My lovely wife Josie takes over for the next interview because I have to run to the bathroom.
Sami Zayn does an interview where he is grilled about his feud with Rick Boogs. He condescends the nice reporter lady and evades the question. Sami whines about being robbed for the millionth time, and how everyone is against him and how there’s a big conspiracy and stuff. Sami says he will win the ICC tonight and shoos the nice lady away so he can, I don’t know, mentally prepare for the fight or something.
And so we go to break.
Back from commercial, we get a video package for the Undertaker’s induction to the WWE Hall of Fame.
We see the Bloodline hanging out backstage.
We get a Goldberg/Reigns hype reel to send us to break.
Ivar vs. Jey Uso
Uso ducks a lariat and lands a superkick, setting up for punches in the corner. Ivar with punches, a side slam but Jey sidesteps the freight train crossbody and grabs a rear chinlock. Crossface strikes, enzuigiri, Warbeard comes back with a lariat and off the top with the 747 splash but Jimmy slides in and cracks him with his own headgear, forcing referee Charles Robinson to call it...
Ivar wins by disqualification.
Post-match, the vikings regain their headgear and stand tall after running the Usos off.
Drew McIntyre makes his entrance and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Drew McIntyre gets on the mic.
He talks about WrestleMania in New Orleans a couple years ago and ending up in the back of a police car, which wasn’t his fault, and another cop came along and let him out and he partied all night long. He’s been reflecting on his career because of his nearly career-ending injury at the hands of Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss last month, and we get a video of said injury.
Drew says he played that clip so he could remember how he felt doing rehab and hearing the doctor talk about how he wasn’t gonna make it. Last year he was WWE Champion, this year it’s personal, and Elimination Chamber is Anything Goes, and he can do whatever he wants, up to and including drowning Madcap Moss in the Red Sea.
Enter Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss.
Happy asks Drew what kind of role model he’s supposed to be, and Madcap tells him to pack a good neck pillow because he knows he’s nowhere near 100%, and tomorrow they can fight all over the arena, but the joke’s on him, because like any good comedian, he’s great at using his environment.
Moss has one more joke for him, and asks what Drew’s bad neck and a popular breakfast cereal have in common, and the answer is they both go “snap, crackle, pop.” McIntyre tells Madcap he has all the talent in the world but he’s made the mistake of allying with Corbin and coming after him, and at Elimination Chamber, the laughter will die.
Shinsuke Nakamura is interviewed in Gorilla and he says that if Sami Zayn thinks he can beat him for the title, he really must be insane.
Nakamura makes his entrance and we go to break.
Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (c) (WWE Intercontinental Championship)
Zayn keeping his distance in the ropes, asking referee Jessika Carr to keep him away, go-behind to a side headlock, into the corner with body blows and right hooks, arm wringer, whip across, Nakamura lands a jump kick and follows it up with chest kicks! Enzuigiri connects, Sami on the mat and Shinsuke lays falling knees in!
Good Vibrations, setting Zayn up in the turnbuckles for the running knee, slide out, Knee Trembler to the apron! Sami rolls away from the diving knee drop to the back of the neck and Shinsuke falls, down and out, to the floor as we go to break.
Back from commercial, Zayn still in control, crossface strikes raining down as he shifts to an arm-trap sleeper hold. Nakamura breaks his arm free and pivots towards the ropes, but Sami drops an elbow on him for a nearfall! Thudding chops put the champion into the ropes, a lariat follows, only two!
Overhead elbows, back to the sleeper hold, Shinsuke slings him off and grabs a cross armbar! Zayn counters with a pin, back on their feet and trading shots, Nakamura gets the better of the exchange, axe kick into a sliding dropkick and he throws Sami hard into the corner!
Charging in, boots up, Nakamura maintains control and hits the sliding German suplex! Back inside, cover for two, overhead elbows block the inverted exploder and then the Blue Thunder Driver is denied in the same manner but Zayn hits the Michinoku Driver... NOPE!
Shinsuke rolls to the floor, Sami goes for the suicide tornado DDT but runs into a kick! Lining up Kinshasa but Zayn sidesteps and he knees the steel hard to send us to break!
Back from commercial, Zayn putting boots to him in the corner, working the injured knee over. Setting him up top, jockeying for position, Nakamura with the diving Kinshasa... NOT ENOUGH! A little back and forth, Sami hits the Blue Thunder Driver... STILL NO!
Punches and kicks in the corner, working the champion over and referee Jessika Carr warns him off. Shinsuke with knees and forearms, getting a warning himself, he’s fired up and lands a roundhouse kick that staggers the challenger! Stomps in the ropes, Carr again warns him off, Nakamura lies in wait but Sami rolls out of the ring!
Posting the champion’s knee over and over, back inside, Zayn catches a kick and goes right after the knee again...
Sami Zayn wins by pinfall with an inside cradle, becoming the new WWE Intercontinental Champion.
A video package of WWE’s charitable efforts that ties in with Black History Month follows.
We see Goldberg’s locker room door to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Aliyah is chatting with Ricochet backstage, talking up his win over Sheamus.
Ricochet leaves and Sami Zayn arrives to shout about how he just won the Intercontinental Championship back.
We get an Elimination Chamber hype reel.
Roman Reigns makes his entrance, flanked by Paul Heyman, to send us to break.
Back from commercial, commentary hypes up the Elimination Chamber card for us.
Paul Heyman hands Roman Reigns the mic, and Reigns asks New Orleans to acknowledge him.
He then hands the mic back and demands Heyman celebrate him. Paul says this is the best part of his day and he loves standing this close to greatness every day and does some extended sports analogy that goes over my head.
Anyway, enter Goldberg, from the back as per usual.
He gets in the ring, mic in hand, before throwing the mic away. Roman says he was gonna give Bill one last chance to acknowledge him, but— Goldberg steps up to him and advances again when Reigns calls him on it. Roman tells him not to crowd him and he runs things here whether or not Goldberg understands it.
He asks Bill if he’s here to talk or fight and gives him the mic. Goldberg says tomorrow at noon, but he’s got to apologize in front of the world, he was wrong. Roman isn’t next, when it comes to the Universal Championship, it’s Goldberg that’s next.
That’s the show, folks.
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