Big match set up; Sami Zayn outsmarts The Bloodline

Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes came face to face on this week’s WWE SmackDown. It was one of the biggest segments set for the night as the two superstars, likely to be main eventing at WrestleMania 39, threw some harsh words at each other.

Meanwhile, Bobby Lashley wasn’t quite ready to sit down and play games with Bray Wyatt. He called out The Eater of Worlds on SmackDown, but Uncle Howdy attacked him instead. The All Mighty brought out the best in the masked figure to make a statement on the show.

Meanwhile, Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio also headed to SmackDown for a couple of matches. Many of the top superstars also looked to defend their opportunity in the Intercontinental Championship match against GUNTHER at WrestleMania.

Check out the five things WWE SmackDown got right on this week’s show.

#5. Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns met face to face to kick off WWE SmackDown

Bloodline stepped into the ring on WWE SmackDown without Jey Uso by his side. Roman Reigns got fans acknowledging him before Cody Rhodes joined him in the middle.

The American Nightmare wanted to speak to Reigns and asked him to send over Paul Heyman and the rest of The Bloodline. The tribal chief complied before pointing to Rhodes’ relationship with his father. Reigns elaborated and said that his father never even mentioned Cody’s name during his time in FCW. He tried to put himself in Rhodes’ shoes, but the Royal Rumble winner kept his cool.

Cody said that he can only get what he’s always wanted by defeating Reigns at WrestleMania. The American Nightmare promised to finish the story on The Show of Shows before Reigns left the ring.

The segment was phenomenal as he got the better of both superstars. The Tribal Chief showed a bit of concern as he walked out of the ring, and it showed that he is not as confident as he usually is when he faces his opponents.

WWE has put a lot of effort into this story and the creative team will need to build it up a bit before WrestleMania. Many fans still dream of seeing Sami Zayn defeat Reigns for the titles.

#4. Rhea Ripley made Liv Morgan resort to a new move

Rhea Ripley came to WWE SmackDown and faced Liv Morgan. Liv tried to take control of the match early on, but she was met with a big kick from the former RAW Women’s Champion.

Liv did a great dive and tried to stay on top of the match. She struck down a traitor but was unable to finish off The Nightmare. The former SmackDown Women’s Champion stayed on the attack and landed a couple of Codebreakers but she failed to connect with Oblivion.

Ripley missed the Riptide but hit a powerbomb soon after. She blocked Morgan in the Cloverleaf submission hold and forced her to tap out for the win. Ripley has used Riptide to finish almost all of her matches. It was amazing to see the dominant superstar perform a submission hold for the win.

The new finalist will add to her arsenal ahead of her big match against Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 39. Fans were able to see her reverse the Figure Eight’s leg lock in Cloverfield’s cellar to win the match at the show.

#3. Dominik Mysterio defeated Santos Escobar before demoting his father

Santos Escobar wanted to face Dominik Mysterio on WWE SmackDown and teach him a lesson. Escobar started well, but Dominik responded with some good moves of his own to get back into the match.

Dominik sent Escobar into the corner before sending him out of the ring for a dive. He went for 619 back to the ring, but hit Escobar with a knee instead. The former NXT Cruiserweight Champion came back with a few moves before Rhea Ripley got involved and pulled him out of the ring. She hit Escobar with a Riptide to the floor before Dom finished him off with a frog splash in the ring to win.

Dominik Mysterio ripped off his father’s mask after the win, and Rey Mysterio came out to face him. Dom continued to demean his father and tried to get him to hit him before the segment came to an end.

The match was decent and built a storyline that will likely lead to a match between Dominik and Rey at WrestleMania 39. The Master of 619 could get a win over his son at Show of Shows before retiring later on.

#2. Drew McIntyre calls GUNTHER; sets up a potential match to crown his challenger

Drew McIntyre came out to challenge GUNTHER at WrestleMania 39 for the Intercontinental Championship. He got into an argument with Sheamus about who should challenge The Ring General before LA Knight showed up.

Knight said he also wanted the match against GUNTHER. He was interrupted by Xavier Woods and New Day’s Kofi Kingston. Karrion Kross also made an appearance and said that he should get the title match.

A fight broke out between the men in the ring, and Knight sent Woods into Sheamus and McIntyre before carrying him out of the ring. The Celtic Warrior took out the former Million Dollar Champion before McIntyre nearly punched his best friend.

Kross delivered the finishing blow to Sheamus and was the last man standing in the ring as the segment came to a close. It looks like WWE has planned a big match between the Superstars for a chance to challenge GUNTHER at WrestleMania.

Surprisingly, The Ring General does not have a solid rivalry heading into The Show of Shows. However, a ladder match to determine who will face GUNTHER at WrestleMania will be entertaining for fans.

#1. Solo Sikoa defeated Sami Zayn with help from Jimmy Uso on WWE SmackDown

Roman Reigns set a deadline for Jey Uso to return to The Bloodline on WWE SmackDown. He told Jimmy to make sure his sister came back within a week, or he would be responsible for Jey not showing up.

Only Sikoa faced Sami Zayn in the main event of SmackDown and Jimmy kept interfering in the match. The distraction allowed Solo to take down a fired up Sami and send him into the ring post and barricades.

The Master Strategist didn’t back down and hit a DDT before connecting with the Blue Thunder Bomb for a near fall. He missed the Helluva Kick thanks to a distraction from Jimmy, and Sikoa took the opportunity to land the Samoan Spike for the victory on SmackDown.

The heels hit Sami after the match and a chair was put around his neck. The Master Strategist came out and hit Sikoa with the chair before connecting the Helluva Kick to Jimmy. He pushed through the crowd and ran away as the show came to a close.

WWE has been doing better and better with Sami Zayn in recent months. Defeating will not affect his value, as Jimmy Uso distracted him during the fight. He will remain in a feud with The Bloodline heading into WrestleMania 39.