:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70779348/mcintyrezayn1.0.jpg)
WWE SmackDown comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (Apr. 22, 2022) with a live show emanating from MVP Arena in Albany, New York, featuring all the latest build for the the upcoming WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view (PPV) set for early next month.
Advertised for tonight: Drew McIntyre goes one-on-one with Sami Zayn in a lumberjack match. This gimmick came about after Sami ran away from his previous two matches with Drew.
WWE is also teasing that tensions will escalate between The Usos and RK-Bro ahead of their tag team title unification match at WrestleMania Backlash.
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 APR. 22
Well, I’m an axe grinder, piledriver, mama says that I never, never mind her. Got no brains, I’m insane, the teacher says that I’m one big pain. I’m like a laser, six-string razor, I got a mouth like an alligator. I want it louder, more power, I’m gonna liveblog this here pro wrestling show for you, folks.
The show opens with commentary welcoming us to the show and running some of tonight’s festivities down.
Adam Pearce is in the ring to preside over a contract signing for the SmackDown Women’s Championship match at WrestleMania Backlash, introducing first Charlotte Flair and then Ronda Rousey. Pearce realizes he doesn’t have the contract and calls Drew Gulak to bring it down.
Drew tries to give a PowerPoint he made to explain the rules of an “I Quit” match and Flair berates him. She speculates on what maneuver will be best to make Rousey quit before deciding it doesn’t matter because she’ll always find a way to win. Ronda rambles about how the referee can’t save her,and eventually Charlotte tips the table over!
She hid a kendo stick under it and goes to town but Rousey is able to wrench it away from her and beat her down! Drew Gulak comes from behind to pull her off and point out she hasn’t signed the contract, but Ronda hits Piper’s Pit on him before locking him in the armbar!
Rousey signs the contract with Drew in the armbar!
We get a recap of the brawl between Fight Night and New Day last week.
New Day make their entrance and we go to break.
Pete “Butch” Dunne vs. Xavier Woods
Woods with an O’Connor roll, no dice, schoolboy for two, punches and chops, putting Dunne into the ropes. Whip blocked, duck an elbow, Xavier with jabs and a body blow, following with a knee and a discus lariat... NOPE! Pete raining forearms down, dropping a knee across the arm, wrenching back in a Fujiwara armbar!
Back suplex attempt, Woods lands on his feet, whip reversed a few times, up and over, Butch fishhooks him and smashes him into the turnbuckles! Dumping Dunne to the floor, putting him over the table, he recovers and jumps off the steps to take Xavier out and send us to break!
Back from commercial, Dunne has a chickenwing inverted crossface in but Woods fights out and bum rushes him with punches! Off the ropes, slide under, rolling elbow! Pete fires back, enzuigiri in the corner, Crash Landing... NOPE! Springboard tornado DDT sets it up...
Xavier Woods wins by pinfall with a small package.
Post-match, Pete Dunne leaves through the crowd, beating up a security guard on his way.
Backstage, Aliyah is hanging out with Ricochet, talking up how great his title reign has been and how many dudes he’s beaten, and Rick says he’s planning on being one of the greatest to hold the title.
Jinder Mahal and Shanky roll up, and Jinder says if he’s such a fighting champion he should fight one of them. Ricochet agrees and Shanky steps up and asks for the match. Rick accepts and we’re on!
Ludwig Kaiser is on the stage and cuts a promo introducing his boy GUNTHER, who makes his entrance and sends us to break.
GUNTHER vs. Teddy Goodz
Ted gets a good hope spot early but this is a squash...
GUNTHER wins by pinfall with the Tenryu Powerbomb.
We get a recap of our title unification story.
RK-BRO are hanging out backstage and Matt Riddle rambles about looking forward to seeing his best bros on the blue brand.
On cue, Drew McIntyre rolls up.
Riddle says he knows things are weird between Drew and Randy but he signed them up to be lumberjacks, and McIntyre says anybody that stands up against the Bloodline’s BS is fine by him, and Orton says they’re good. They fist bump and leave, as Sami Zayn stands up from behind some propane tanks with an excited look on his face.
RK-BRO make their entrance and we go to break.
Back from commercial, we get a Xia Li heel turn promo where she says she’s only protecting herself from now on.
Jey Uso vs. Matt Riddle
Riddle with a go-behind into a waistlock takedown, looking for the sleeper early but Uso gets the ropes and forces the break! Collar and elbow, Jey with a headlock, shot off, shoulder block, off the ropes, drop down, sleeper hold, Uso slings him aside!
Big uppercut, Karelin lift, Jey turns things around and traps him in the ropes for some vicious chops! Front kick, duck a kick, Uso to the floor, Riddle off the ropes but Jey cracks him in the face with a forearm to stop the dive! Throwing him into the steel steps, back suplex into the announce desk and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Uso with a reverse chinlock, Riddle breaks free, trading forearms, a front kick lays Jey out, Pele kick follows, Matt is fired up! Charging forearms, off the ropes, nobody home on the Penalty Kick or the senton and Riddle’s down and out! Vicious knee strike connect, Matt up top, corkscrew moonsault... JEY USO KICKS OUT!
Fireman’s carry, Bro 2 Sleep misses, schoolboy from Uso for two! To the apron, hanging DDT connects! Orton back suplexes Jimmy Uso into the announce table, Matt Riddle goes to that special place, RKO blocked, off the ropes, pop-up into a back suplex neckbreaker... RIDDLE KICKS OUT!
Running knee gets a superkick, Jey goes up top, knees up on the splash...
Matt Riddle wins by pinfall with a lateral press.
We see a displeased Roman Reigns watching the finish backstage.
Boss and Glow make their entrance and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Boss and Glow are interviewed in the ring.
They say they’re just getting started and Naomi says she knew what they were capable of and they backed it up and that’s why they’re dominating the tag division. Sasha Banks agrees and says they’re trailblazers and history makers, more than just a tag team, a sisterhood.
Naomi has had her back since day one and she’ll always have hers, and they flow so good together in and out of the ring, and that’s why Boss and Glow have no competition. They sent Carmella packing on her honeymoon, Rhea and Liv self-destructed, so it doesn’t matter who comes next.
Enter Natalya and Shayna Baszler.
Nattie points out they weren’t beaten and Sasha says she remembers them watching them win, and Neidhart reminds us of her records and says she’s a history maker. Naomi and Sasha meow at her and Baszler says they’ll take the titles and fun’s over. Boss and Glow hold the titles up and tell them to come and take them.
Madcap Moss is working out backstage when Happy Corbin rolls up.
He says he thinks it’s time and he’s willing to step up and be the bigger man and forgive Moss. Madcap thinks about it and says they shared some good laughs but there’s as much chance he goes back to Happy’s side as he does of growing a full head of hair and laughs until he leaves.
Madcap Moss makes his entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, we get a Raquel Rodriguez vignette.
Angel Garza vs. Madcap Moss
Moss in control from the jump, waistlock takedown, off the ropes, shoulder block, back body drop puts Garza over the ropes and to the floor, crashing into Humbert Carrillo! Throwing him back inside, Humberto trips him up and Angel snaps off a dropkick! Hooking him in the ropes, big chops, whip reversed, Mascap catches him with a fallaway slam!
Right hands, into the corner, punches and kicks, whip across, shoulder thrust! Clothesline takes Carrillo out, off the ropes, shoulder block turns Angel inside out! Fired up...
Madcap Moss wins by pinfall with the Punchline.
Post-match, Happy Corbin attacks and beats Moss down in the ring, capping it off with End of Days!
He goes to the floor to the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal in Memory of Andre the Giant trophy and walks off with it!
Sami Zayn is about to knock on Roman Reigns’ door and we go to break.
Back from commercial we get a hype reel for Make-A-Wish.
Roman Reigns is sitting with the Usos in his office.
Jey admits that he slipped and says it won’t happen again, and Paul Heyman interrupts to say that Sami Zayn is here to see The Big Dog. Zayn greets Roman and acknowledges him and says he’s a big fan of all the smashing, it’s great. There’s no dispute that he’s head of the table, but people sometimes forget that Sami is a locker room leader.
Reigns has his own locker room so he’s not worried about it, but Zayn sees all this talk, like Drew getting chummy with RK-BRO and now they’re going to be lumberjacks in his match, it’s unbelievable. He’d never snitch, he’s not a rat, but he heard them say some disrespectful things about his family and he has a proposal.
His reputation has taken hit after hit and people think he’s afraid of Drew McIntyre, but he’s not, and he needs this win to get his credibility back, and if there were some way he could maybe get some help with that, he’d be more than happy to help out in return.
He leaves without an answer.
Reigns says they have people on his show running their mouth about him and he wants the Usos to take his name out of their mouths.
We get another round of Lacey Evans’ Tragic Backstory (TM) (c), this time about how she had to learn how to do makeup by herself and her struggles carrying on without her mom and coming home to her dad passed out on the couch.
Lumberjacks filter out for our main event and we go to break.
Commentary hypes up next week’s show, featuring Ricochet vs. Shanky and a Beat the Clock Challenge for Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey.
Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn (Lumberjack Match)
The Usos make their entrance right as the match is about to start.
Zayn immediately rolls to the floor and tries to bail but lumberjacks throw him back inside! Circling, rolling to the floor, again lumberjacks take him back to the ring! McIntyre biels him into the corner, big right hands, this time Drew goes outside and Fight Night beat him up a little before throwing him back inside!
The lumberjacks face off against each other and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Zayn choking McIntyre in the ropes before kicking him to the floor for some punches from Fight Night. Back inside, belly-to-belly, jumping neckbreaker, kip-up, counting down, Sami bails to the floor and the Usos beat RK-BRO down before leaving!
Sami thrown back inside, lumberjacks brawling amongst themselves, Zayn goes outside again, Drew off the ropes... TOPE CON GIRO INTO THE LUMBERJACKS! Sami runs off and Adam Pearce comes down to berate him for running from a lumberjack match.
Next week, there’ll be no running, because he’ll fight Drew inside of a steel cage!
I guess the match is going to a no-contest because Sami ran away?
Jinder Mahal attacks Drew McIntyre and puts boots to him! McIntyre fights him and Shanky off, laying Mahal out with Claymore!
That’s the show, folks.
Loading comments...