WWE Friday Night SmackDown comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (April 21, 2023) with a live show emanating from Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio, featuring all the latest build to the upcoming Backlash event scheduled for early next month in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Advertised for tonight: Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan defend the WWE women’s tag team titles against Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green.
Tonight’s show also features Xavier Woods challenging GUNTHER for the Intercontinental championship, Braun Strowman and Ricochet look for revenge in a tag team match against The Viking Raiders, Karrion Kross has Shinsuke Nakamura in his sights, 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 APRIL 21
Well, I wish someone would help me, this decision is mine and my morals and emotions are hard to combine. And there is no easy way out to limit the time that it takes till she finds out for the love that I hide, but for now I’m going to liveblog this here pro wrestling show for you, folks.
The show opens with the intro video.
Commentary hypes up tonight’s show.
Judgment Day (Damian Priest & Finn Balor) vs. Latino World Order (Rey Mysterio & Santos Escobar)
Mysterio and Balor to start, sunset flip, roll through, basement dropkick! Tag to Priest, big boot, beating Rey down, quick tags to keep him off-balance. Electric chair reversed into a casadora bulldog, the path is clear, tag to Escobar! Whip reversed, duck a lariat, flying shoulder blocks, Superman punch clears the apron, quebradora on Finn!
Corner lariat, sidestep a charge, corner knees, pass Balor to the apron, knock Priest into him, shoulder and an assisted seated senton to Damian! Off the ropes, the low suicide dive misses because Damian pulls Finn out of the way! Santos neutralizes Priest but Balor takes him out with a lariat and we go to break!
Back from commercial, Escobar windmilling punches, boot to the face, cover… NOPE! Damian suffocating him with a reverse chinlock, box the ears, whip to the corner, mocking Rey Mysterio and Santos gets an elbow up! Boots, walking for the tag but Priest clocks him with a kick to the chest!
Escobar lands a dropkick, tags made! Satellite tijeras from Mysterio, to the apron, shoulder block, off the top, diving seated senton! Duck a lariat, springboard crossbody… SO CLOSE! Step-up enzuigiri sets him up, Priest with the tag, tilt-a-whirl, Rey floats out and a low-bridge sends him to the floor!
Headscissors puts Finn on the second rope, tag made, 619, off the top with a splash but Balor isn’t legal! Damian back in, South of Heaven…
Judgment Day win by pinfall with South of Heaven from Damian Priest on Santos Escobar.
Post-match, Damian Priest gets on the mic to talk about Bad Bunny’s return to Raw on Monday. He says he hopes this visit goes differently from the last time and laughs.
Commentary recaps last week’s main event and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Adam Pearce is in his office when Zelina Vega rolls up to talk about the draft.
She wants a shot against Rhea Ripley at Backlash, as the only female Puerto Rican on the roster, she wants to represent her home in her home. Pearce wants to talk to management and to Rhea about it and he’;ll get back to her.
We get a video package about Shinsuke Nakamura being the King of Strong Style and whatnot.
Karrion Kross appears to call Shinsuke out at length.
Scarlett Bordeaux rolls up with a handful of tarot cards and he runs down his accomplishments and everything he’s taken from various superstars in this last run.
Ricochet and Braun Strowman make their entrance to send us to break.
Braun Strowman & Ricochet vs. Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar)
Strowman and Ivar to start, Warbeard with body blows in the corner, back elbows, Braun giving as good as he gets, shoulder blocks, Erik with a blind tag and he cuts Braun off and they beat him down together! Raiders to the floor, Ricochet dives on him and we go to break!
Back from commercial, Erik grinding Ricochet down with a chinlock, the One and Only posts to his feet, body blows, tag to Strowman! Cleaning house, whip across, Stinger Splash, shotgun dropkick, freight train all around the ring! Back inside, Valhalla’s interference lets Erik get one over on the monster, tag made, Ivar off the top, 747 Splash… BRAUN KICKS OUT!
Double shoulder block, tag to Ricochet, enzuigiri from the apron, up and over, handspring back elbow but Ivar drops him with a big boot! Back handspring, rising knee, babyfaces running hot and Strowman throws Ricochet into Ivar! Up on Braun’s shoulders…
Braun Strowman & Ricochet win by pinfall with an assisted senton atomico on Ivar.
Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez are interviewed in Gorilla. Raquel calms Liv down and they go out there and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville make their entrance and cut a promo about how they’re gonna win tonight and they splash water at Liv Morgan.
Chelsea Green & Sonya Deville vs. Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez (c) (WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship)
Morgan and Green to start, Liv with a dropkick in the corner, Deville tags in, and then the champions start working them over. Raquel with short-arm shoulder blocks, fireman’s carry, Sonya slips out, chop block, tag to Chelsea. Schoolboy sends Rodriguez to the floor, cut off on a dive, Raquel hosses her around but Deville takes her out with a diving knee off the apron!
Somersault senton from Morgan, back inside and the tide turns against her as the heels work her over with kick tags and strikes. Tag to Raquel after a moment, big lariats, right and lefts, fallaway slam sends Green packing! Corkscrew Vader Bomb, Sonya breaks it up!
Liv with a blind tag, Raquel with a superplex, Morgan off the top, missile dropkick and all four women are down and out! Lungblower, roundhouse, big boot, low bridge as the “everybody do something cool” section goes in full effect, Liv pours Chelsea’s water bottle out over her, Raquel with a little assist on the cover…
Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez win by pinfall with a sunset and a foot for momentum on Chelsea Green, retaining the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.
Kayla Braxton interviews Matt Riddle backstage.
He says he looks at Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn like stepbros and says that this time Solo Sikoa will be the one buried under the table.
Xavier Woods makes his entrance and we go to break.
GUNTHER (c) vs. Xavier Woods (WWE Intercontinental Championship)
GUNTHER with a headlock takeover, Woods out of it, one of his own, the champion cuts him down with a chop and we go to break.
Back from commercial, GUNTHER wailing on Woods with chops to the front and the back, clubbing him down but he can’t put him away! Xavier firing back with chops and forearms but the Ring General catches him with a butterfly suplex for two! Jawing at Woods, calling him a disgrace, but X powers up with more chops and forearms!
Kicks in the corner, knotting his hamstring up, they shift to trading forearms in the middle of the ring! Big overhand chop but Woods fires up, rolling elbow connects and the champion is down! Out of the ring, Xavier with a wrecking ball dropkick, back inside, off the ropes again, tope con giro!
Gamengiri in the corner, GUNTHER is down, Woods off the top with the diving leg drop… NOT ENOUGH! Gojira Clutch applied, powerbomb attempt, Xavier floats over, wheelbarrow facebuster, crucifix driver… NOPE! O’Connor roll, GUNTHER goes back to the Gojira Clutch on the kickout!
Adjusting his positioning when Woods tries to get out…
GUNTHER wins by referee stoppage with the Gojira Clutch, retaining the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
And so we go to break.
Back from commercial we get a video package for the tag title feud.
The Usos make their entrance.
Commentary hypes up the Backlash card.
The Usos get on the mic and say everybody’s been asking how they feel since they lost at WrestleMania and Jey says they don’t know how they feel and they don’t look behind them, they’re coming straight at us, full-speed ahead. Next week is a big big rematch for them, but this week, Solo Sikoa’s gonna beat Riddle way up.
Sikoa makes his entrance and we go to break.
Matt Riddle vs. Solo Sikoa (No Disqualification Match)
Riddle blindsides Sikoa during his entrance and beats him down but Solo recovers and takes it to him! Piefacing, whip across, big back elbow, spinebuster breaks a hold but Matt kicks out! Sikoa to the floor, getting a pile of kendo sticks and steel chairs and walloping Riddle with them!
To the floor, kendo stick of his own, wailing on Solo, Matt goes for a table but Solo cuts him off and puts it away! A knee staggers him, Riddle puts him into the steel steps and hits a senton off of them to send us to break!
Back from commercial, trading punches, looking for Spinning Solo, Riddle gets away but gets caught by a Samoan Drop… NOPE! Solo goes for the Ode to Rikishi but Matt throws a steel chair at his face! Posting him into a chair wedged in the corner, wailing on him with a kendo stick!
More chairshots, Riddle slams him through some chairs, stacks some on top of him but Sikoa rolls out and trips him on the apron! Throwing Matt over the announce desk, Riddle stops him from tipping it over with his body, on the table, knee blocks the Samoan Spike and Matt takes his chance and tips the table over on him!
The Usos run in and beat Riddle up, throwing the ones up, he hangs on the ropes to block the 1D, low bridge sends them to the floor, corkscrew moonsault to the floor! Solo gets out from under the desk, back inside, he’s got the Samoan Spike but Riddle ducks!
Ripcord knee, Matt runs into a lariat…
Solo Sikoa wins by pinfall with a lariat.
Post-match, the Usos put boots to Riddle and set up a table with their brother… 1D THROUGH THE TABLE!
That’s the show, folks.
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