Posted on 2/14/126 by Bob Magee
The road to Elimination Chamber continues tonight from the
American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX, as SmackDown has two
more qualifying matches for the men’s and women’s Chamber
matches.
On the men’s side, rivals Cody Rhodes and Jacob Fatu find
themselves in the same qualifier, with Sami Zayn rounding
out the triple threat. Last week, Rhodes and Fatu got their
pound of flesh on Undisputed WWE Champion Drew McIntyre in
separate attacks, but only one of them will move a step
closer to facing McIntyre for the title.
Meanwhile, it will be Alexa Bliss versus Zelina versus
Giulia, with the winner set to join Rhea Ripley and Tiffany
Stratton as part of the women’s Elimination Chamber match.
And speaking of Rhea Ripley, she and IYO SKY will defend
their WWE Women’s Tag Titles tonight when they take on Nia
Jax and Lash Legend.
Jordynne Grace will finally get her chance to face Jade
Cargill for the WWE Women’s Championship after weeks of bad
blood.
Rey Fenix takes on Trick Williams once more tonight after a
tense confrontation backstage.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern.
– Joe Tessitore teed up tonight’s show as we saw shots of
Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn, Jacob Fatu, Alexa Bliss, Giulia,
Zelina, Jordynne Grace, and Jade Cargill backstage. Inside
the American Airlines Centre, Tessitore and Wade Barrett
welcomed us to tonight’s show.
Tiffany Stratton opens SmackDown
The former WWE Women’s Champion made her way to the ring to
kick off our show as we took a look at how she qualified for
the women’s Elimination Chamber match on last week’s show.
Once Stratton entered the ring, she asked the Dallas crowd
what time it was before she recounted how she lost her WWE
Women’s Title after her impressive rookie year. That was why
she decided to qualify for the women’s Elimination Chamber
because she wanted to walk in to expecting to win in
Chicago. Before she could get far, the music of perennial
rival Nia Jax interrupted.
Jax, accompanied by Lash Legend, addressed Stratton, stating
that she did get lucky last week. Stratton replied by
talking about how Jax seemed to be obsessed with her, and
that she got a replacement in the form of Legend. In
response, Legend said that she was the upgrade and that she
and Jax would defeat RHIYO for the tag titles later tonight.
And that Jax would qualify for the women’s Chamber.
Jax and Legend threatened to take care of their Stratton
problem right there and then, but they were interrupted by
the Women’s Tag Team Champions themselves, Rhea Ripley and
IYO SKY. Ripley said that Jax and Legend shouldn’t get too
ahead of themselves, because they wouldn’t be walking out of
the women’s tag titles, much less make it to WrestleMania.
Ripley said she and SKY would work together until they were
the last team standing. That led to our opening match.
A bit of a rough opening segment, if we’re being honest.
Maybe it’s just bad memories of Stratton and Jax’s never
ending feud from last year resurfacing again.
****************
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: RHIYO (Rhea Ripley & IYO
SKY) (c) vs. Nia Jax & Lash Legend
Our opener started with Jax getting the upper hand on SKY as
she chopped at her in the corner, followed by a mocking
slap. SKY escaped out of a Jax maneuver, which allowed her
to use her speed to get ahead of her massive foe. SKY
blasted Jax with a shotgun dropkick, as Ripley tagged
herself in and hit Jax with a big knee. Ripley sent Jax out
of the ring with a dropkick, as Legend was also dumped out.
This led to SKY hitting a diving moonsault from the apron to
knock both Legend and Jax down outside the ring.
Jax was brought back into the ring as SKY headed to the top.
Legend grabbed at SKY’s leg, which allowed Jax to hit SKY
with a Samoan Drop for an early near-fall, as we took a
break.
Back on SmackDown as Legend and Jax tried to work over SKY
in the corner. After Jax missed with a runnig attack, SKY
used her as a platform to hit Legend with a diving dropkick.
This allowed her to get the hot tag from Ripley, who used
her strength to match against Legend’s own strength. After a
struggle, Ripley hit Legend with a hurricanrana, followed by
a DDT for the two-count. SKY headed to the top, but Jax
escaped Ripley’s Riptide attempt, as she intercepted SKY on
the top rope. However, this left her open for Ripley’s
impressive feat of strength with the powerbomb. SKY off the
top rope with the Over the Moonsault. One… two… Legend
stepped in to break the count.
Outside the ring, Legend proceeded to slam SKY all around
the ringside area and the commentary table. Ripley hit a
dropkick as the match was called off by the referee.
As the bell rang, things just broke down as Jax and Legend
gained the upper hand on the tag champions. Legend pulled
out the Slim Jim-branded table from under the ring and set
it up. Legend set Ripley up on the table as Jax headed up
the top rope. Ripley escaped as SKY intercepted Jax and
tackled her through the Slim Jim table. Meanwhile,. Legend
sent Ripley through the timekeeper area’s barricade.
RHIYO vs. Nia Jax & Lash Legend ended in a No Contest
Not sure if I liked the title match randomly just ending,
because that finish was a bit of a hot mess, even if the
table break and barricade buster spots were exciting enough
to excite the crowd in Dallas. Still, what we got was a
decent match to start the show.
****************
– Cody Rhodes was interviewed about his chances in the
Elimination Chamber qualifier earlier tonight, as he talked
about he could be passionate or he could do his golden boy
thing and control his emotions. He talks about how there are
those who are hoping he, Sami Zayn, and Jacob Fatu rip each
other apart in the main event later tonight. Rhodes said
that he was two matches away, and as he is in the middle of
Von Erich Country, and that we shouldn’t bet against him
tonight.
– Carmelo Hayes was walking backstage as Matt Cardona and
Apollo Crews — again inexplicably hanging out with one
another — met up with him. Cardona and Crews called their
shot for the U.S. Title, but Hayes stated the Open Challenge
was closed for this evening. The Miz interrupted him and
talked about how Hayes was testing his three core values,
and he was going to teach him a lesson in respect. Hayes
walked off, telling Miz that he hoped he taught that lesson
better than he wrestled.
– We got a promo from Aleister Black that was focused on his
words to Randy Orton last week, while Zelina addressed her
Elimination Chamber qualifier foes Alexa Bliss and Giulia.
Let’s Hear from Carmelo Hayes
The United States Champion headed out to the ring, ready to
address the Dallas crowd.
Hayes, with mic in hand, said he wanted to talk to us real
quick as the fans chanted for him. Hayes said that for the
last 48 days he was the U.S. Champion, he chose to honor the
title in the same way the guys before he did. He talked
about how his matches were bangers after bangers and that he
backed it up more than once. Hayes said that he earned his
opportunity at WrestleMania, as he said he was going to
shoot his shot for the main event. Hayes declared himself
for an Elimination Chamber qualifier for next week. But,
before that, there is someone he made a promised to and he
owed it to him, as Ilja Dragunov was called out by Hayes.
Before this U.S. Title match could get started, the M.F.T.s
interrupted. Solo Sikoa said that if there’s any U.S. Title
matches, it’s not gonna involve Dragunov, it’s going to
start with him.
Dragunov mocked Sikoa after the M.F.T.’s abandoned him last
week. Hayes said that maybe he should leave Dallas with two
titles tonight, seemingly calling his shot for the WWE Tag
Team Titles. This led to Sikoa’s group marching into the
ring and launching an attack on Hayes and Dragunov. Matt
Cardona and Apollo Crews tried to even the odds, but the
numbers game was still in the M.F.T.s’ favor. Shinsuke
Nakamura ran in for the save to help Hayes and company get
rid of Sikoa’s group.
SmackDown GM Nick Aldis took notice and made a big 10-man
tag match to start right now (or at least after the
commercial break).
Not sure if I like seeing the U.S. Title get sucked into the
M.F.T. vortex as this segment seemed to suggest. Not a fan
of this segment at all, and this show’s off to a bit of a
rough start as a result.
****************
Ten-Man Tag Match: The M.F.T.s. (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga,
J.C. Mateo, Tanga Loa, Talla Tonga) vs. Carmelo Hayes, Ilja
Dragunov, Matt Cardona, & Apollo Crews
This match began in progress after the commercial as Cardona
mixed it up with Mateo briefly before Tanga was tagged in.
Cardona hit a dropkick on him for the near-fall. Tanga
pulled down on Cardona’s tights a bit too hard as he took
him down with a hard clothesline following Sikoa hitting
Cardona from behind.
The M.F.T.s continued to work over Cardona as Talla entered
with a tag and battered his foe’s back with clubbing blows.
Talla dropped Cardona with a huge Samoan Drop as he
maintained the attack. Tanga tagged in, but was foiled by
Cardona, who managed to tag Dragunov into the match.
Dragunov unleashed a flurry of offense on Tanga, capped off
with a big boot. On the top rope, Talla struck Dragunov down
from the top rope, which sent him crashing out of the ring.
Talla then cracked Dragunov with a running forearm as we
took a break.
We returned as Mateo had Dragunov in a resthold that was
quickly broken out of with a series of furious chops.
Dragunov missed with the enzuigiri, which allowed Mateo to
tag in Sikoa. However, Dragunov hit the kick on Sikoa, which
allowed him to tag in the U.S. Champion Hayes. Melo was on
fire, as he hit Sikoa with the springboard clothesline. Tama
was blasted with the backwards springboard legdrop by Hayes,
who then connected with La Mistica on Sikoa. Things began to
breakdown as all the competitors got involved in the chaos.
Talla Tonga was left as the last man standing as Hayes and
Dragunov attempted to team up on him. The two got dropped by
a double chokeslam by Talla. Crews and Cardona tried their
hand, but almost found themselves the victim of a chokeslam,
until Nakamura got involved. Eventually, the three managed
to put Talla out of commission with a flurry of dives.
Mateo took out Nakamura with a slam, but was taken out by
Sikoa. Hayes re-entered the fray and hit the First 48. Tama
Tonga pushed Hayes into a Samoan Spike, as he then entered
and hit his not-quite-Ospreayan Cutthroat on Hayes to pick
up the win.
As The M.F.T.s tried to celebrate their win, the lights went
out and The Wyatt Sicks were shown watching them in the
crowd as the Wyatts’ horror sting bumper played us out.
The M.F.T.s def. Carmelo Hayes, Ilja Dragunov, Matt Cardona,
Apollo Crews, & Shinsuke Nakamura via pinfall.
A decent ten-man match that got the crowd going nicely, but
yikes, I am not liking the idea of the U.S. Title scene
being subsumed by the M.F.T. vortex, much like how the tag
titles have been held hostage by the M.F.T./Wyatts nonsense,
as Tama Tonga getting the pin here seems to indicate.
****************
– Charlotte Flair offered a “Galentines Day” gift to Alexa
Bliss, which included flowers and a picture of herself as an
apology for what happened at the Royal Rumble. Bliss said
that Flair’s best present for her was to be at ringside to
“woo” her.
– Backstage, Damian Priest learned that he’d be facing
Carmelo Hayes & Trick Williams in an Elimination Chamber
qualifier next week. Kit Wilson marched into Nick Aldis’
office, incensed at being put in the situation with Oba Femi
last week. Wilson read a poem to Aldis, declaring him
“toxic”, so R-Truth offered a poem of his own to mock
Wilson, stating that he wasn’t a real man because he saw a
“camel toe”. Truth’s poem managed to get a laugh out of
Aldis and Priest (despite being rather unfunny), as Wilson
stormed off in disgust.
Women’s Elimination Chamber Qualifier: Alexa Bliss (w/
Charlotte Flair) vs. Zelina vs. Giulia (w/ Kiana James)
This match got underway as Bliss went for a pin on Zelina
right away. Giulia tried her hand on a pin on Bliss, but we
just ended up with a stalemate between the three.
Zelina fought out of a Sister Abigail, and sent Bliss into
the corner. Zelina and Giulia mixed it up in the ring, as
the Women’s U.S. Champion connected with a suplex. Giulia
followed that up with a stretching smash to the back of
Zelina, who responded with a back suplex. Meanwhile, Bliss
entered and had Zelina in a chokehold. Giulia interrupted,
and found herself slammed down to the mat by Bliss.
Cannonball from the apron to Giulia by Bliss, who herself
was taken out by a dive from Zelina as we took a commercial
break at this point.
We returned from break as Giulia stomped away on Bliss in
the corner before Zelina threw her aside. As Zelina took
shots at Bliss in the corner, she found herself Biel thrown
by Giulia. Zelina recovered and headed up top, but was
distracted by Kiana James, which allowed Giulia to head up
top and connect the avalanche butterfly suplex on Zelina.
Meanwhile, Bliss recovered and unleashed her fury on both
Giulia and Zelina, as he hit a double Natural Selection on
the both of them.
Bliss headed to the top rope, but Giulia caught her and
intercepted. Zelina climbed up to the top and hit a back
suplex from the middle turnbuckle for the near-fall. Zelina
and Giulia traded strikes in the middle of the ring until
Bliss got back to her feet and took out Zelina with an
elbow. With Giulia out thainks to a missed knee strike,
Bliss headed to the top and tried for the Twisted Bliss.
Giulia got her knees up to block it, as she was then dropped
by a Code Red from Zelina. Bliss caught Zelina with a DDT
and went for the cover, but it was broken up by an
Arrivederci Knee. Giulia hit the Northern Lights Bomb on
Bliss as her cover was broken up by Zelina.
Kiana James got on the apron and taken out by Zelina, who
then took Giulia out of the ring. As Zelina tried for the
running dive, she was intercepted by Alexa Bliss, who
connected with the Sister Abigail DDT to pick up the
victory.
Alexa Bliss def. Giulia & Zelina via pinfall to qualify for
the Women’s Elimination Chamber
Probably the best match of the night so far. Not sure if I
agree with Bliss as the winner of this match, but it doesn’t
take away from how much I enjoyed that match.
****************
– Tiffany Stratton and Jordynne Grace shared some friendly
words backstage. Stratton stated that she wouldn’t mind if
Grace defeated Cargill for the WWE Women’s Title later
tonight, while Grace said she was rooting for Stratton to
win the Women’s Elimination Chamber match in two weeks.
Chelsea Green, freshly injured, rolled up in a wheelchair
pushed by Alba Fyre and laid blame on her injury on
Stratton.
– We got a Sonic-sponsored recap of the beef between Cody
Rhodes and Jacob Fatu.
– Sami Zayn motivated Rey Fenix to teach Trick Williams a
lesson, as he told what Fenix told him last week was
something he was going to take into his Elimination Chamber
qualifier later tonight.
Trick Williams has something to say
Rey Fenix’s opponent made his way down to the ring as he had
quite a few things to say before his match. Williams talked
about nobody in Dallas wanted to hear Sami Zayn — “Mr. Can’t
Get The Job Done” — tell another sob story. Williams said
that Zayn begging for another opportunity made him sick.
Williams said that Zayn had a big opportunity later tonight
against Cody Rhodes and Jacob Fatu, but they would eat him
alive if he kept on moping. Next week, however, Williams
declared he was ready to do whatever it took to qualify for
the Elimination Chamber, lemon pepper steppers and all.
Williams turned his attention to Rey Fenix, stating that he
wasn’t going to lie down for him just because he was new
here. “When people go to the zoo, they don’t wanna see a
squirrel do a flip, they wanna see a lion like me,” said
Williams to wrap up his promo.
Speaking of Fenix, he made his way down to the ring as he
got set to take on Williams after the break.
There’s just something so compelling about Trick Williams’
promo ability that’s on full display whenever he gets a
chance to speak his truth. He’s acquitted himself well upon
his arrival to the main roster, and this short promo was no
exception.
Trick Williams vs. Rey Fenix
This match began as Williams ran through Fenix with a
shoulder block with linebacker-level strength. Williams
threw Fenix down and tried to assert physical dominance
early. Fenix hit Williams with a pair of kicks, followed by
the handstand elbow on his foe. Fenix tried for a rolling
attack, but Williams caught him and attempted to hit a chop.
Fenix recovered and connected with an incredible missile
dropkick for the two-count. Fenix had Williams in his
sights, but he was turned upside down by an amazing pinning
kick from Williams. In the corner, Williams withstood chops
from Fenix before he slammed him down on the ground.
Williams kept the momentum going with the tilt-a-whirl
backbreaker, followed by a jumping neckbreaker on Fenix. A
pin attempt by Williams, but Fenix kicked out as we took a
break halfway through this one.
We returned from the break as Fenix tried to rally back
against Williams with repeated chops to the chest and a
clothesline that failed to take his foe down. Williams
responded by sending Fenix upwards and then crashing to the
mat. A hard slap from Williams to the face of Fenix
followed, but the big man found himself taken out by a
spinning kick from one half of the Lucha Brothers. Fenix
woke up and hit the leaping spinning kick in the corner,
followed by an Adios Amigo kick that didn’t get all of
Williams. Fenix headed up top and hit a diving crossbody on
Williams, as he rolled back up and took off from the other
top turnbuckle with a frog splash. One, two…. NO!
Williams rolled out of the ring to catch his breath as Fenix
again took flight and hit Williams with another diving
crossbody on the outside. Fenix brought Williams back into
the ring and again went to the top rope. Williams recovered
and hit Fenix as he got him on his shoulders for some sort
of avalanche move. Fenix fought back and instead caught
Williams with a diving double stomp as he took off from the
tippy-top of the ring post. Again, Williams had the
wherewithal to kick out at two following that flurry from
Fenix.
Fenix missed with the moonsault, as he then found himself
turned inside out by Williams’ Trickshot Knee for the one,
two, three to pick up the win in this great match.
Trick Williams def. Rey Fenix via pinfall
Fantastic match taht highlighted both the strengths of both
Fenix and especially Williams. They’ve honestly done good by
Trick since his call-up and giving him this kind of exposure
early on in his main roster tenure has done him a world of
good so far. The crowd has responded well to Williams and
it’s helped him feel like quite the big deal.
****************
– IYO SKY and Rhea Ripley licked their wounds after their
opening match earlier, as Giulia angrily yelled after
failing to win her Elimination Chamber qualifier. SKY took a
good look at Giulia and appeared to call her shot for the
Women’s U.S. Title as an angry Giulia ran off being held
back by Kiana James. Jade Cargill walked by and stared down
Ripley before she left.
– We got words from Jacob Fatu ahead of the big Elimination
Chamber qualifier he’s set to be a part of later tonight.
WWE Women’s Championship: Jade Cargill (c) vs. Jordynne
Grace
Before we could get the official introductions, Liv Morgan,
the 2026 Royal Rumble winner, interrupted, accompanied by
Dominik Mysterio & Raquel Rodriguez. Morgan said that they
were going to have a closer look at this match, as Dominik
stated that he had set up a special date for him and Morgan.
There was a “lavish” table set up at ringside as Morgan and
Dominik sat there, getting ready to enjoy their chicken
nuggets.
As the match officially got underway, we got Cargill and
Grace testing out their strength with neither getting any
sort of upper hand whatsoever. Cargill hit a suplex on
Grace, but found herself trapped in a sleeper hold by her
challenger. Cargill tried to get out of it by slamming Grace
to the mat, but the hold wasn’t let go. The two rolled
outside, as Cargill slammed Grace into the ring post to
break the hold. Cargill missed with a chop on Grace, which
caused her to hit the ring post instead, as Grace hit a DDT
on the outside. Grace tried to lift Cargill up, but she was
sent onto the top of the timekeeper’s barricade instead by
the champion. Cargill stared down Morgan and Dominik at
their date night table and we took a mid-match break here.
This WWE Women’s Title match continued from commercial with
Grace trying to battle out of a Cargill hold, as she
targeted the champion’s injured arm. Grace hit Cargill with
a forearm to the face and lifted her up for a modified
Jackhammer for a near-fall. Cargill hit Grace with a big
kick, but couldn’t capitalize as she got hit with a
spinebuster afterwards. Cargill landed on her feet on a
Grace powerbomb attempt and connected with a spinebuster of
her own. One, two… NOT YET! Cargill went for her pump kick,
but Grace dodged it and went for roll-ups that couldn’t put
the match away. Grace hit a standing powerslam on Cargill,
but got yet another near-fall as the champion just managed
to kicked out.
Both Cargill and Grace got themselves up to their feet and
traded strikes. Grace tried for Beast Mode, but was
countered and got blasted with the pump kick. Cargill then
put the finishing touches with Jaded to pick up the three in
a successful, clean title defense.
After the match, Cargill turned her attention to Liv Morgan
at ringside, stating that if she challenged her at
WrestleMania, “that will be your ass”, as she pointed at the
WrestleMania sign.
Jade Cargill def. Jordynne Grace via pinfall to retain the
WWE Women’s World Title
I quite liked that match, and my only knock is how short it
was and how abrupt the ending felt. Still, I wouldn’t mind
seeing this matchup again down the line.
****************
– Fraxiom and the Motor City Machine Guns continued to laugh
at the saddened Johnny Gargano, who said that he had no
friends as his tag partner was gone. Candice LeRae tried to
console Gargano and said she was going to do something about
it. The M.F.T.s rolled up and taunted Fraxiom and the
M.C.M.G.s, stating that if they wanted to get a shot at the
Tag Titles, that they should get in line. As Solo Sikoa led
his group down a hallway, they came across their locker room
door and saw an effigy of Sikoa drawn onto a piece of paper
and taped onto the door. Sikoa angrily ripped it out.
– Nick Aldis was seen chatting with Oba Femi when Kit Wilson
angrily stormed into the room once more. Aldis took Wilson’s
book and read a poem that said some harsh words about Femi.
This led to Femi issuing a challenge to Wilson for next
week.
Next Week on SmackDown
Women’s Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Charlotte
Flair vs. Kiana James vs. Nia Jax
Men’s Elimiantion Chamber Qualifying Match: Carmelo Hayes
vs. Damian Priest vs. Trick Williams
– Drew McIntyre was interviewed about his thoughts on the
triple threat match coming up next. McIntyre said he
promised that Cody Rhodes would not make it to Mania or the
title, and that Jacob Fatu would be wishing he was behind
bars if he faced him. Before McIntyre could turn his
attention to Sami Zayn, he was confronted by Zayn himself.
McIntyre claimed that he was rooting for Zayn to win and
wished him “luck”.
****************
Men’s Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Cody Rhodes vs.
Sami Zayn vs. Jacob Fatu
As the bell rang, the three men faced off against one
another before Fatu hit Zayn with a superkick. This led to
Rhodes and Fatu going at it in the ring. Rhodes dropped down
and hit his strike to the face, but couldn’t connect with
the Cody Cutter as Fatu kicked him afterwards. Fatu missed
with the senton and got sent over the top rope with a
clothesline from Rhodes. Zayn entered the ring and hit
Rhodes with a pair of chops, as he then sent the former WWE
Champion out of the ring. Zayn got a steam of speed and took
off with a dive over the top rope to take Fatu and Rhodes
out, as we headed to a break in the action.
We returned to our main event as Rhodes avoided a running
splash from Fatu and one from Zayn on the opposite corner.
Rhodes then hit his two foes with separate snap powerslams.
Zayn attempted a Blue Thunder Bomb, but found himself hit
with the Disaster Kick from Rhodes and a near-fall. As Zayn
struggled to get up, Rhodes went for Cross Rhodes, but he
couldn’t connect. Zayn tried for the exploder suplex into
the corner, but Fatu bulldozed through both him and Rhodes
with a brutal running attack. Fatu hit a handspring
moonsault on Zayn, as he then failed to hit the pop-up
Samoan Drop on Rhodes. A jackknife pin on Zayn was attempted
by Rhodes, but Fatu broke up the pin just in time. Fatu
focused his attack on Zayn in the corner as he then ran into
Rhodes on an opposite corner. With both his foes stunned,
Fatu took his time to pummel both Rhodes and Zayn while they
were prone in the corner. This led to Fatu unleashing a
running hip strike on Rhodes, followed by the pop-up Samoan
Drop on Zayn. The cover, but Rhodes broke it up as we took
one final commercial break with all three men down on the
mat.
This massive main event continued as Zayn and Rhodes had
Fatu up on the top rope as they hit a double superplex on
him . With Fatu out of commission for the time being, Zayn
and Rhodes traded strikes while they struggled back to their
feet. Rhodes gained the upper hand with a kick, but he was
caught by Zayn as he ran for an attack. Exploder suplex into
the corner by Zayn on Rhodes. Zayn had Rhodes in his sights
for the Helluva Kick, but he was blasted by a superkick from
Fatu. Zayn took out Fatu with a kick to the back of the
head, as he almost rolled up Rhodes for a pin. Rhodes went
for a Cody Cutter, but he was caught by Zayn into a Blue
Thunder Bomb. One, two… 2.99999999!!!!!!!!
As Zayn and Rhodes got back to their feet, the two again
traded strikes while they were on spaghetti legs. Rhodes
managed to connect with the Dusty Elbow on Zayn as he had
him in his sights for the finish. Fatu hit Rhodes from
behind and threw him out of the ring before he turned his
attention to Zayn. Fatu left Zayn stunned in the corner and
ran into him to leave him loopy. Zayn recovered and missed
with the Helluva Kick, as Fatu headed to the top rope for
the splash. Zayn rolled him up into the Small Package upon
impact, but couldn’t put Fatu away.
Rhodes recovered and hit Zayn with a Cody Cutter, but he was
thrown out by Fatu. While Zayn was prone, Fatu connected
witht he moonsault on Zayn. One… two…. Drew McIntyre barges
in with a Claymore Kick on Fatu! Outside the ring, Fatu was
taken out by powerbomb through the announce table as he then
took Rhodes out with a Claymore Kick. McIntyre dragged
Zayn’s body over the down-and-out Rhodes for the pin, but
somehow, Rhodes kicked out at 2.9999999. Incensed, McIntyre
pummeled Rhodes, much to Zayn’s frustration, as he then got
blasted with a Helluva Kick. Unfortunately, this left Zayn
open for Cross Rhodes and that’s it, over. Cody Rhodes
qualifies for the men’s Elimination Chamber.
ADVERTISEMENT
Cody Rhodes def. Sami Zayn & Jacob Fatu via pinfall to
qualify for the Men’s Elimination Chamber Match
****************
That was a solid main event, and even though Cody Rhodes’
win seemed like a foregone conclusion, there was enough
drama added to cast some doubt into the finish. The
intensity between Rhodes, Fatu, and Zayn was well-conveyed,
and I found myself liking this match as result.
However, this was a weaker edition of SmackDown, not helped
by how much I disliked that first hour. Trick Williams’
segment and match, plus the main event were at least solid
enough to save this from being a total writeoff of a show.
It does, highlight though, how unexciting the road to
WrestleMania seems to be so far, outside of CM Punk vs.
Roman Reigns (and even that is going to be a mighty
challenge to sell given Reigns’ limited schedule). The
teased matches so far have done nothing to build any
excitement for April 18th and 19th, and the apparent reports
of lower ticket sales being a disappointment to TKO
executives reflect that.
Whether or not the Triple H-led braintrust can right this
ship remains anyone’s guess, but time is quickly running
out, and given the reception the booking from the Chief
Content Officer got last year, I’m not sure if this will be
something that can be easily remedied.