This week's episode of SmackDown featured Cody Rhodes making an appearance on the blue brand and The American Nightmare facing off with Roman Reigns. The two started the show together, and it quickly became about who was Dusty's favorite. Also on the program, Bobby Lashley called out Bray Wyatt, there was some Intercontinental Championship contender chaos, and Solo Sikoa vs. Sami Zayn closed the show as the main event.
This was a decent program with some intriguing decisions. Here are your winners and losers for Smackdown, on March 3, 2023:
Winner: Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns Promo
These two men stood face-to-face for the first time in a ring since Cody's return, and it didn't disappoint. The narrative here was who was Dusty Rhodes' favorite. Reigns claimed that whenever Dusty worked with him, he never mentioned Cody's name. Clearly that struck a nerve and Cody then said this match wasn't just about proving he could win the title, but merely existing, which meant he needed to win not just that he wanted to.
This was a solid opening encounter between the two men as it was serious, but not confrontational. There's plenty of time for these two to mix it up as Wrestlemania 39 draws closer.
Backstage, Roman asked Jimmy Uso about Jey and Jimmy said his brother just needed time to cool off. Reigns said he was losing patience and not just with Jey, but with Jimmy too.
Winner: Rhea Ripley Defeats Liv Morgan
Some will argue that Liv Morgan has taken a step backward in terms of her spot in the women's division, and that may be true, but this was a good match between the two women. Rhea Ripley needed to win on her road to Wrestlemania and Morgan was a legitimate opponent to help put her over. This was a solid match that ran through a commercial break and did a good job of building Ripley as the No. 1 contender for the SmackDown Women's title.
It's not clear where Liv goes from here or if she'll even be on the WrestleMania card. That would be a shame considering her showing at The Royal Rumble.
Loser: Santos Escobar Loses To Dominik
There was nothing wrong with this match, but the decision to turn Santos Escobar into a babyface makes no sense. What is the status of Legado del Fantasma and why is Santos' love of Rey more important than the growth of his group?
After a victory and help from Ripley, Dom got the mask Rey gifted to Santos and tore it up to show how disrespectful he is. When Rey came to get it back, Dom took a cheap shot at his father. WWE is building to this to the point that when Rey finally snaps, the fans will go insane and pop huge for Dom to get what's coming to him.
Winner: Intercontinental Title Chaos
Drew McIntyre came to the ring and called out Gunther. It wasn't Gunther who answered, but MacIntyre's good friend Sheamus. Sheamus wasn't at all happy his friend would go behind his back and challenge for a title that means a ton to him. As the two friends jawed back-and-forth, LA Knight came to the ring and reminded everyone that you can't have an LA WrestleMania without LA Knight. That brought out New Day, then Karrion Kross. The chaos ensued from there.
This was an intriguing way to get to a place where a Fatal Five-Way will determine the No. 1 contender, especially since there's no real rhyme or reason as to why these five men are the only competitors under consideration. Not only that, but Xavier Woods was active in the action but isn't being included in next week's contest.
Loser: Lashley Attacked By Uncle Howdy
It's still not clear what Bobby Lashley is in WWE these days. One week he comes out as a babyface, the next comes out as a heel. This week he appeared to be the babyface, calling out Bray Wyatt for his kid games. Instead of Wyatt answering the bell, it was Uncle Howdy who snuck in from behind and attacked Lashley. When The Almighty got the better of the mysterious masked man, the lights went out, and Uncle Howdy disappeared.
We still don't know why Wyatt has an issue with Lashley or how uncle Howdy is involved. In fact, there's still been no explanation as to what Uncle Howdy's relationship with Wyatt actually is.
Winner/Loser: Shayna Baszler Defeats Tegan Nox
A dominant win for Shayna Baszler is good. That dominant victory could've come as a member of a tag team in a match versus in a singles contest where, because of a previous segment backstage, Ronda Rousey would be dealing with an arm injury. If Rousey was legitimately unable to go on Friday night, that's another story; however, if she was going to go, why not have the tag match?
The idea is to set up Baszler and Rousey as dominant Tag Team challengers in the event that they are in line for a women's tag team title run, why not actually have them compete as a tag team?
Winner: Zayn Escapes Jimmy and Solo Attack
Before the main event, Roman Reigns told Jimmy Uso to make sure Sami Zayn was taken care of. That meant, win, or lose, Zayn was no longer to be able to take aim at The Bloodline. The idea was, if Sami was gone, Jey would come home. A strong match between Solo and Zayn closed the show. Jimmy moved Solo out of the way from a Helluva Kick, allowing for enough of a distraction that Sikoa could pick up the victory.
In the post-match sneak attack, Zayn was actually able to get the better of Jimmy Uso and Sikoa, escaping through the crowd and leaving Roman Reigns to watch the failures of his family. He was clearly disappointed that the plan didn't come to fruition.
Roman Reigns said that Jey Uso has until next week to decide if he's a member of The Bloodline or not. If he doesn't make his decision quickly, it could mean a crumbling of The Bloodline from within.
