Friday Night SmackDown is on the road to WWE WrestleMania 38. The main events were set focused on the champions of the blue brand. The Feb. 25 edition of WWE SmackDown would focus on building the card for The Most Stupendous Two-Night Event In WrestleMania History. 

Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar have been on a collision course since before the 2022 began, and The Beast Incarnate has done everything in his power to guarantee he would face The Head of the Table as WWE champion. The two champions would sign the contract for their match on SmackDown.

Sami Zayn once more holds championship gold. He defeated Shinsuke Nakamura last week to become a three-time WWE intercontinental champion. He promised a celebration this week on SmackDown.

Following an intense and physical battle at WWE Elimination Chamber against Madcap Moss, Drew McIntyre would finally get his hands on Happy Corbin in a one-on-one match.

Charlotte Flair continued to dodge Ronda Rousey, but with their match set for the main event of the first night of WrestleMania 38, The Queen would need to find a way to get some advantage over The Baddest Woman on the Planet.

WWE did not promise much on paper for this week's SmackDown, but the expectation on the road to WrestleMania is consistent surprises. Anything could happen this week.

Sonya Deville and Charlotte Flair Sneak Attack Ronda Rousey During Interview

Michael Cold interviewed Ronda Rousey about her road to returning to WWE. She brought up breaking both her hands and having her child before having a chance to think about returning. Cole brought up the tag team match at WWE Elimination Chamber, which brought out Charlotte Flair.

As The Queen taunted The Baddest Woman on the Planet, Sonya Deville attacked Rousey from behind. The two women tried to injure Rousey by going after her right leg, but The Baddest Woman on the Planet fought out of their grip and sent Deville running.

Adam Pearce announced next week that Deville would fight Rousey next week in Miami. Later in the night, The Baddest Woman on the Planet promised to show the world what happens when authority steps out of line on her watch.

Grade

D+

Analysis

This was an awkward open to the night. Rousey just did not sound confident talking about herself. She is The Baddest Woman on the Planet in the ring but struggles to sell herself on the mic. She needs a manager sooner rather than later.

The story seems to be that Charlotte will attempt to hurt Rousey before WrestleMania to say her SmackDown Women's Championship. It makes sense, but it's hardly a story big enough yet to main event Night 1 of WrestleMania 38.

Big E and Kofi Kingston vs. "The Lethal Lovers" Los Lotharios

Big E and Kofi Kingston drove out in a Polaris ATV that Kofi had brought for his friend. Los Lotharios isolated Kofi early, hoping to keep E out of the action. However, The Power of Positivity found his opening to tag in and take over.

E caught Angel with an elevated bulldog, and Humberto was barely able to break up the pin attempt. Angel caught Kofi with a superkick for a nearfall. E threatened to run over Humbero outside with his ATV, which distracted Angel long enough for E and Kofi to catch him with the Midnight Hour to win.

Sheamus and Ridge Holland challenged E and Kofi backstage for a match down the line.

Result

E and Kofi def. Los Lotharios by pinfall.

Grade

C+

Analysis

While this was a solid tag team match, WWE continues to put these matches on without any hype. It would have been interesting to see Angel and Humberto to pull off a surprise win in this rivalry, but instead New Day remains the dominant force in the tag team division.

Since Los Lotharios will only keep losing and the matches have not had enough variety, these two should be split up immediately for the sake of their momentum. Los Lotharios could be an interesting pair to go after the tag titles soon, but the time is clearly not yet.

Natalya vs. Xia Li

Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boogs went on test drive in a new Toyota Tundra and kayaking trip together. The Viking Raiders attacked The Usos during an interview, demanding the title match they deserve. Li promised to make Natalya pay for bullying Aliyah before she made her entrance.

Natalya dominated Xia Li early, wearing her down and stretching her out. The Protector fought back, hitting an explosive arm-trap suplex. The Queen of Harts tried to get the Sharpshooter locked in, but Li kicked her out then hit a roundhouse kick for the victory.

Result

Li def. Natalya by pinfall.

Grade

C

Analysis

It took over four months, but Li finally made her SmackDown debut. The crowd was flat throughout, which did not help a match that was fairly one-note. Natalya has always been good enough to allow someone to look good, but she needs a great opponent to push her.

The Protector did her job here, but she's just not the type of performer yet that can elevate her opponents. She will need to work with some of the best in the women's divisions to test her. For now, she got the win she needed.

Johnny Knoxville Ruins Sami Zayn's WWE Intercontinental Championship Celebration

Sami Zayn sang with delight as he had finally overcome the conspiracy to get his WWE Intercontinental Championship back. He promised Shinsuke Nakamura would get his rematch once his knee healed from the brutal attack of The Great Liberator in their match last week.

Johnny Knoxville arrived, hearing Zayn's open offer to anyone for a shot at the WWE Intercontinental Championship. The Jackass star taunted The Great Liberator until he beat down Knoxville and hit 2 Helluva Kicks.

Adam Pearce questioned Zayn about his actions backstage where Ricochet challenged him for a shot at the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Pearce made it official.

Grade

B

Analysis

While Knoxville is not the most exciting competitor for Zayn at WrestleMania, this was inevitable. The Jackass star is popular, getting the loudest reaction of the first hour of the show from the tepid crowd. His name is still in the spotlight thanks to Jackass Forever, so why wouldn't WWE want to capitalize?

Zayn is an entertainer in every way. He sold this moment perfectly. He made clear that Knoxville is more of a mental threat to him than physical. He has caused Zayn to lose his cool and may just have jumped the line for a title shot.

Sasha Banks vs. Shotzi

Naomi joined commentary for this match. Sasha Banks sent Shotzi to the mat immediately, trying to lock in the Bank Statement, but her rival countered her. Shotzi blocked the Three Amigos as well before hitting a running senton on the bottom rope.

The Legit Boss responded with a meteroa and running low double knee facebuster followed by a backstabber. She locked in the Bank Statement to win.

Naomi walked into the ring to announce she and Banks were going after the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships.

Result

Banks def. Shotzi by submission.

Grade

C+

Analysis

This was better than the previous match, but it was fairly one-sided. Banks gave Shotzi a few moves, only to squash her with one strong sequence. That is disappointing as the two women seemed to have a legitimate rivalry at the end of 2021. It was just nice to see The Legit Boss back at it again.

She and Naomi can be a great tag team. It is disappointing though that WWE has to continually throw together tag teams in the women's division to keep the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships remotely relevant. This could have been over several weeks at least.

Drew McIntyre vs. Madcap Moss (w/ Happy Corbin)

Happy Corbin seemed ready to fight for Madcap Moss, who was still hurt after WWE Elimination Chamber. However, once Corbin got in the ring, he backed down, talking Moss into fighting Drew McIntyre again instead.

Corbin and Moss beat down The Scottish Warrior before the match. Once the bell rang, McIntyre headbutt Moss, taking over and threatening to plant him with a reverse Alabama Slam again. Corbin distracted the referee and McIntyre to save Moss from a Claymore.

This allowed Moss to hit a thumb to the eye and send McIntyre hard into the steel post to nearly take the win. However, as the heel went off the ropes to build up steam, he ran right into a Claymore, which sealed the win.

Result

McIntyre def. Moss by pinfall.

Grade

C-

Analysis

This was another rematch that did not need to happen. The story makes sense as Corbin continues to use Moss to save himself, but these two men do not have enough chemistry to keep making these matches interesting. It was impressive though that Moss was able to compete after a brutal spot one week ago.

This feud between McIntyre and Corbin has been stretched out for months, treating McIntyre vs. Corbin like a much bigger attraction than it actually is. At this point, WWE has no choice but to put it on the WrestleMania card though because there's too much TV time behind it.

The best way McIntyre vs. Corbin can go is for The Scottish Warrior to win quickly and decisively to continue building him as a challenger to Roman Reigns.

Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar Sign the Contract for the WrestleMania Main Event

Paul Heyman hyped up why everyone needed to understand that Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar was "The Biggest WrestleMania Match of All Time".

Lesnar taunted and disrespected Reigns repeatedly before signing the contract. The Head of the Table got visibly annoyed, finally grabbing a microphone after signing the contract. Reigns revealed that he had bought the security in the ring as they tried to attack Lesnar. He took all of them out.

Grade

C+

Analysis

The pacing of SmackDown was awkward all night, but this was especially strange as there were two commercial breaks during this main event segment. Brock Lesnar did not come out until there was less than 10 minutes left in the show.

Once Lesnar got started, this went as expected. The Beast Incarnate had fun playing the Heyman role on the ring before getting in an easy workout throwing around some random people. Reigns played confident while clearly frazzled. The storytelling is simple beyond the repetitive need to hype the greatness of this match.

WWE has often felt the need to tell people how to feel, hyping this match beyond what it can deliver. Labeling a match that already happened twice at WrestleMania and even four months ago at WWE Crown Jewel as "The Biggest WrestleMania Match of All Time" will not make it so.