WWE Friday Night SmackDown comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (Feb. 3, 2023) with a live show emanating from Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina, featuring the fallout show following last weekend’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV) event.
Advertised for tonight: Charlotte Flair defends the SmackDown women’s championship against Sonya Deville.
Elsewhere on the card: Braun Strowman and Ricochet take on Imperium in the final round of the SmackDown Tag Team title contender’s tournament, we should learn what’s next for Sami Zayn and Jey Uso after the dramatic show-closing angle at Royal Rumble 2023, and more!
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: Links to illegal streams are prohibited. Pics and GIFs are allowed.)
WWE SMACKDOWN RESULTS AND LIVE BLOG FOR FEB. 3
Another sleepless night, a concrete paradise, sirens screaming in the heat. Neon cuts the eye as the jester sighs at the world beneath his feet, but me? I’m just here to liveblog this pro wrestling show for you, folks.
The show opens with a recap of Sami Zayn turning on the Bloodline at the Royal Rumble and Jey Uso walking out.
The Bloodline, without Jey, roll up to the venue and get out of their SUV and run into an interview.
Roman Reigns brushes Kayla Braxton off and Paul Heyman tells her off for such a cold-blooded question and says at this time they can’t confirm or deny Jey Uso’s presence in the Bloodline.
Thence to the intro video.
Braun Strowman & Ricochet vs. Imperium (Giovanni Vinci & Ludwig Kaiser) (WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship #1 Contender’s Tournament)
Strowman and Vinci to start, bald on bald violence, Braun with a shove and Giovanni tags out! Cheap shot fails, Strowman throws ’em around. Tag to Ricochet, side headlock on Kaiser, shot off, back roll over, dropkick connects! Trading forearms, Ricky goes down but pops up with a jawbreaker!
Vinci runs interference and Ludwig blasts the One and Only with an uppercut! Strowman freight trains Giovanni on the floor and gets in GUNTHER’s face! Kaiser dives on him and gets caught! Vinci dives and takes both of ’em out and sends us to break!
Back from commercial, Strowman in control on Vinci but he gets passed into the turnbuckles! Tag to Kaiser, hanging Braun up and nailing him with a dropkick for two! Giovanni hanging on with a front chancery, Strowman pushing him into the corner, back body drop and a tag to Ricochet!
Diving crossbody, off the ropes, snap off a tijeras, into the corner, charging, shoulder block sets up a smash into the turnbuckles, enzuigiri, springboard lariat connects! Running shooting star press, cover… NOPE! Waiting for Kaiser to get up, drawing him up, fireman’s carry, Ludwig slips out with a pull of the beard.
Posting Ricochet, tag made, stereo dropkicks miss and Vinci goes down! Handspring back elbow connects, Braun blasts Vinci off the apron, directing traffic… ASSISTED DIVE TAKES IMPERIUM OUT! Ricochet fired up, GUNTHER gets in his face and a shoving match breaks out! Ryan Tran yells at GUNTHER and ejects him for shoving the One and Only!
Kaiser with a lariat, cover for a nearfall and we go to break!
Back from commercial, Ricochet laying forearms in on Kaiser, he gets an uppercut in return, whip reversed, more strikes from the One and Only! Springboard crossbody, tag made, Imperium with double-teams and clearing the apron, cover for two! Imperial Bomb blocked, float over a suplex, throw Ricky into the corner, boot up and a tag made!
Tossing Ricochet into a delayed vertical sheerdrop brainbuster… STILL NO! Braun back up on the apron, he wants the tag, and he gets it! Throwing Kaiser, shoulder blocking Vinci into obvlion to counter a dive, a big lariat follows! Drawing him up, Monster Bomb connects! Tag to Ricochet…
Braun Strowman & Ricochet win by pinfall with a senton atomico off of Strowman’s shoulders on Ludwig Kaiser, becoming #1 contenders to the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship.
We get a recap of the women’s Royal Rumble and Rhea Ripley’s choice to challenge Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania.
Charlotte Flair is interviewed backstage.
She says WrestleMania is going to be epic and you can’t underestimate someone as persistent as Rhea and tonight we’re in the Carolinas–
Sonya Deville rolls up to call it hicksville that nobody wants to be in and says she wants to win that title, and it’ll be her against Rhea at WrestleMania because Hollywood demands a star and she’s a star.
And so we go to break.
Back from commercial, we get video footage of New Day and Rey Mysterio getting accosted at a NASCAR event by the Judgment Day and racing about it.
Sonya Deville makes her entrance and we go to break.
Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Sonya Deville (WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship)
Circling, collar and elbow, Flair shrugs her off and follows with a shoulder block. Waistlock takedown, into a cover, not even a one count and Charlotte shifts gears to a wristlock. Deville with a hair pull to break loose, wristlock of her own, Flair rolls through, whip reversed, Flair Flip!
Boot from the apron, Charlotte goes up top and takes Sonya out with a diving crossbody for a two count! Stinger Splash sidestepped, pass to the apron, big forearm from the champion! Deville blocks an arm wringer and we go to break!
Back from commercial, Deville in control, reverse chinlock, shaking her around, Flair slings her off and lays into her with forearms! Chops and a back suplex follow, kip-up, champ fired up, dropping a knee across Sonya’s knee and following with the big boot… SO CLOSE!
Tangling Charlotte up in the ropes, Deville gets a pump kick for a deep two! Cutting her off in the corner, STO backbreaker, Sonya sidesteps a boot and kicks her knee out from under her! Diving knee connects… SO CLOSE! Small package counter nearly takes Deville out of it!
Lariat from Flair gets another nearfall, moving Deville into position, moonsault… THE BOOTS ARE UP! Even with feet on the ropes Sonya can’t put Charlotte away, spinning toehold, upkick blocks, sunset flip, roll through, spinning toehold and Flair gets the figure four leglock! Bridging up…
Charlotte Flair wins by submission with the Figure Eight, retaining the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship.
A Cody Rhodes video package follows, celebrating his comeback and Royal Rumble victory.
The Bloodline are backstage.
Roman Reigns asks Jimmy Uso where his brother is, and he says he doesn’t know and he hasn’t spoken to him. Reigns asks if he finds that disrespectful, that not only would Jey walk out, but not even communicate for a whole week when they have a title match next week?
You don’t walk out on your obligations, Roman says, and he asks Jimmy again if he’s spoken to Jey, and again Uso says he hasn’t heard, but he knows he’ll be there. Jey needs time to chill out, but he’ll be there next week. That’s not good enough for Reigns, and he tells Jimmy and Solo to go find Jey, now.
Brawling Brutes make their entrance and we go to break.
Brawling Brutes (Pete “Butch” Dunne & Ridge Holland) vs. Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar)
Dunne and Ivar to start, Warbeard backs him into the corner but Dunne launches forearms right back! Ivar clubbing him down, referee Jason Ayers warns him off! Short hammer whip into the turnbuckles, tag to Erik, but he gets caught in a Cobra Twist with extra finger manipulation!
Backing the Viking into the corner, tag to Holland, charging forearm, off the ropes, duck a lariat, shoulder block connects! Fighting for a suplex, delayed vertical takes Erik off his feet! Out of the corner, blind tag, Erik hung up in the ropes and the Beats of the Bodhran ensue!
Dunne slingshots to the floor, no Erik but Valhalla runs interference and the big man bowls Butch over and sends us to break!
Back from commercial, Dunne with a shoulder armbreaker and a tag to Holland. Ridge with a Saito suplex on Erik, pumphandle exploder suplex follows, belly-to-belly suplex, charging in, Viking cuts him off with a knee! Tag to Ivar, front kick sets up a piledriver attempt, reversed into an Alabama Slam… NOPE!
Pete tags in, enzuigiris get a lariat, big knee from Erik can’t keep Butch down! Back suplex lift, passing Dunne to Warbeard in the turnbuckles, Ridge pulls Erik out and Pete hammers Ivar with punches! Avalanche Frankensteiner… NOPE! Moonsault off the second, Ivar catches him and hoists him up!
Dunne reverses, sleeper hold, Erik with the tag and he clobbers Butch to break Warbeard free! Reverse roundhouse on the floor takes Holland out, another tag, picking Pete up…
Viking Raiders win by pinfall with Ragnarok on Pete Dunne.
Post-match, the Banger Bros hit the stage and attack the Viking Raiders, beating them down for some measure of revenge!
A video recap of the MTN DEW Pitch Black Match follows.
Bray Wyatt is shown rocking in his chair when a hand claps his shoulder. The figure bends to look into the camera and it’s Uncle Howdy, alive and well!
Shotzi Blackheart makes her entrance and we go to break.
Natalya vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Shotzi Blackheart vs. Zelina Vega (Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match)
Pairing off, Natalya going after Baszler, Blackheart finishes Vega off early and they take turns at Shayna briefly. Blackheart with a schoolboy on Neidhart for two, shoulder block, Zelina trips her Shotzi up and throws her into the barricade! Back inside, collar and elbow, schoolboy, roll-through enzuigiri for two!
Float over a slam, block the discus lariat, Yoshi Tonic from Vega but Shayna breaks it up! Tossing Karelin lift takes Zelina out, inverted headlock backbreaker on Blackheart and she follows it up with a wristlock, stepping on Shotzi’s head! Nattie breaks it up and throws Baszler to the floor!
Shayna with a lariat, a stiff knee on Natalya… NOT ENOUGH! And so we go to break.
Back from commercial, Blackheart and Baszler slugging it out, Shotzi rolls away from a stomp to the hand and nails Shayna with a combination of kicks! Off the ropes, senton to the back and a suicide dive follows! Vega up top, Orihara moonsault takes them both out!
Back inside, Vega breaks up a Sharpshotter with a bulldog, Shotzi suplexes her, Shayna with a German suplex for her and then drawing Zelina up for the Kirifuda Clutch! Vega fades, Neidhart with a discus lariat attempt, reversed to a Kirifuda Clutch but she slings Shayna out of the ring!
Back over to Vega…
Natalya wins by submission with a Sharpshooter on Zelina Vega, qualifying for the Elimination Chamber match.
Backstage, Paul Heyman apologizes to Roman Reigns as he informs him that Jey Uso’s phone goes straight to voicemail.
Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa return and Jimmy has to admit their attempt to contact Jey has also come up empty. Roman fumes about the timing of it all and then apologizes to Jimmy for talking that way to him. He says he needs them to be as strong as they ever were, because if they’re not, there’s no more ones to put up.
Reigns asks Paul to order catering to the bus– sushi, steaks, a good dinner– and tells Uso and Sikoa to go eat while he takes care of business in the ring.
And so we go to break.
Back from commercial, commentary hypes up next week’s show.
Roman Reigns makes his entrance, flanked by Paul Heyman.
They get in the ring and Heyman hands Reigns a microphone. He demands Greenville acknowledge him and says he’d rather talk about Cody Rhodes, the #1 contender and Royal Rumble winner who actually deserves his attention, but these simple folks have reduced him to talking about the past.
They want him to talk about Sami Zayn, so he’ll talk, and he reminds us there’s two sides to every story and we’re gonna hear his. In order to hear his side of the story, they gotta go back to WarGames. He looked into Sami’s eyes that night and saw everything he needed to see.
What he saw was greed, the same thing that he sees in everyone who ever interacts with him. When he walks into a restaurant everybody wants what they want and that’s to use him. He gave Sami a chance and all he did was use the Bloodline and use the Island of Relevancy. Nobody ever wants to give back–
SAMI ZAYN ATTACKS FROM OUT OF NOWHERE! Rabbit punches, he takes his hoodie off to reveal an edited Sami Uso shirt with “Zayn” taped on, but Reigns recovers and takes him out! Calling Paul to bring him a chair, he gets it but Sami wipes him out with a spear before he can use it!
Zayn grabs the chair and goes to wail on Roman with it but he rolls away and to the floor! Sami gets on the mic and screams for Reigns, a guttural yowl of pain, and says he Roman’s wrong, he never wanted anything from him, until now, and he’s going to take it, because he’s coming after him and the Undisputed Universal Championship.
Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa jump the barricade and attack Sami in the ring, putting boots to him with vigor and zeal! Samoan Spike from Solo! They horsecollar Zayn with the chair, Sikoa charges in but Roman stops him!
Reigns approaches Sami and says he wants something from him and pulls the chair off as thunderous “We want Jey!” chants come down. He yells at Zayn for breaking his Bloodline and says he’s gonna give him what he wants, but Roman wants him in Montreal at Elimination Chamber so he can break him in front of all his family and friends.
He continues jawing at Sami, telling him this is simple reality before holding his titles up.
That’s the show, folks.
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