The road to WrestleMania Goes Hollywood continues tonight.
WWE SmackDown returns this evening on FOX at 8/7c from the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
On tap for tonight’s show is the long-awaited return of “The Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns, an appearance by Raw’s Cody Rhodes, as well as women’s singles action with Liv Morgan going one-on-one against Rhea Ripley.
Also scheduled is Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler vs. Tegan Nox & Natalya, as well as Sami Zayn going one-on-one against Solo Sikoa.
Featured below are complete WWE SmackDown results from Friday, March 3,, 2023. The following report was written by PWMania.com reporter Matt Boone (@MattBoone0709) as the show aired live from 8-10pm EST. on FOX.
WWE SMACKDOWN RESULTS (3/3/2023)
This week’s episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown kicks off with the usual “WWE Then. Now. Forever. Together” opening signature narrated by WWE legend John Cena.
After that, we shoot live inside the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. where the camera shows the WrestleMania Goes Hollywood sign and then pans the venue as Michael Cole and Wade Barrett welcome us to the show.
Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes Kick Off SmackDown
The familiar sounds of Roman Reigns’ theme hits and the crowd explodes as “The Tribal Chief” emerges to kick off this week’s show. He is accompanied by Jimmy Uso, Solo Sikoa and “The Wise Man” Paul Heyman.
Cole points out we’re 915 days, nearly two-and-a-half years with Roman Reigns ruling WWE as the Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweight Champion. He and The Bloodline head to the ring as Cole promotes Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania Goes Hollywood — which is four weeks away.
His music dies down as he settles in the ring and he soaks up the noise from the crowd, which picks up noticeably. He then begins, “Washington, D.C. …ACKNOWLEDGE ME!” Before he can say anything else, the familiar sounds of Cody Rhodes’ theme hits and the crowd erupts.
“The American Nightmare” emerges as advertised to confront his opponent on this year’s “Grandest Stage of Them All” at WrestleMania. Rhodes heads down to the ring in a suit as fireworks explode. The fans chant “Cody! Cody!” as his music dies down and he settles inside the squared circle.
He begins by saying, “contrary to what Mr. Heyman might have told you, I am not here to invade.” He says he is only here to have a conversation with his WrestleMania opponent man to man. He says with that in mind, he doesn’t see the need to have his Bloodline brothers here, unless he feels he needs them.
Roman Reigns then tells “The Wise Man” to leave us. “Solo goes, too.” He follows up. Uso also leaves. Reigns asks if that makes Cody more comfortable. He says he might not like this, but he’s gonna do it anyways. He then drops both of his titles in front of him and calmly says, “So, what do you wanna talk about?”
Cody says that’s fair enough and responds, “Let’s talk about you.” He then talks about Reigns’ record reign as champion and then offers up something he says Reigns might not know about his WrestleMania opponent.
He then goes on to list some of the things he had to overcome like Stardust and things he achieved that others said he couldn’t, such as selling 10,000 tickets for “a little indy show with me and my buddies.” He says so many might consider beating Reigns impossible — just not him.
Reigns laughs and says Cody is good. He questions if Cody practiced that speech all week. He then says, “Let me ask you a question … you ever won that one?” as he points to the titles at his feet.
He then asks if Cody has even competed for one of these or whether or not he has ever competed in the main event of WrestleMania before. He says he’s pretty sure he’s “done-did all of that.” Reigns says he’s been groomed since he was a little boy, not just by his father, but by Cody’s father, too.
Reigns continues to kill it as he talks about having too much respect to disrespect Cody’s father. He then does a Dusty Rhodes impression talking about how Roman Reigns not only “has it” but “is it” and couldn’t “sell it if he wanted to.”
He then asks if Cody wants to know what Dusty had to say about him. “Nothing.” At least not while he was there. He says maybe to some of the others he worked with, but when he was in there, it was like Cody didn’t exist. He closes by telling Cody that if there is anything Dusty didn’t teach him — he will.
Cody smiles and responds, “Oh my god. I’m not even playing on the same field …this is not chess. You didn’t send Mr. Heyman to Raw to get inside my head. You sent him to relay and convey the real-life situation, you send him to tell me the truth?”
He says if that’s the truth, then the truth is one of the fabled Dusty’s kids is better than Dusty’s actual kid. He says if that’s the truth then Roman is the son that Dusty always wanted. He says that changes absolutely everything, because it’s not just a dream or some story that needs to be finished — this becomes a necessity.
He says Roman says he doesn’t exit, but he has to exist and the only way to do that is by beating him at WrestleMania. Cody then says may the better man win and he and Roman shake hands. Great, great stuff to kick off this week’s show.
Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan
We see Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio walking backstage towards the entrance to the ring as we head to a commercial break. When we return, “Mami” goes one-on-one against Liv Morgan in women’s singles action.
As we settle back in from the break, we hear “This is my brutality!” and out comes Ripley accompanied by Dom. The two make their way down to the ring for our opening match of this week’s show.
Once Ripley settles inside the squared circle, her music dies down. She awaits the arrival of her opponent as the match graphic for she versus Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania flashes across the screen.
Now the familiar sounds of Liv Morgan’s entrance tune hits and out she comes. She settles in the ring as well and now the bell sounds to officially get this one off-and-running. Morgan’s call-out of Ripley is shown and then we see the match get underway. Morgan charges across the ring with a big drop-kick.
Morgan continues to come at Ripley and fares well early on, but within a few moments we see Ripley power advantage show itself as she hoists her smaller opposition overhead and launches her. She lands face-first on the mat and then taunts her as she gets right in front of the camera and says she hopes Charlotte is watching.
A missile drop kick by Morgan gets her back in the fight, however she goes for a big tope suicida on the floor and Ripley moves. She then heads over and taunts Charlotte Flair directly into the camera again as we head into a mid-match commercial break as the action continues.
When we return from the break, we see Morgan fighting her way back into the offensive lead. She comes off the top-rope after doing a D-X crotch-chop and connects with a crazy Code-breaker on the way down for a close near fall attempt. Moments later, Ripley turns the tide and hits a Rip-Tide.
She then gets an inverted Cloverleaf for the submission victory. After the match, we head into another commercial break.
Winner: Rhea Ripley
Roman Reigns Is Losing His Patience … With Jimmy Uso
When we return from the break, we see The Bloodline in the locker room sitting down. Roman Reigns asks Jimmy Uso if he’s talked to Jey Uso yet. Jimmy says he has. Reigns asks what he said. Jimmy then says he needs some time.
Reigns asks how much. Jimmy says you know how Jey is. Reigns says he’s getting fed up. Jimmy says he’ll tell Jey. Reigns says, “With you.” Jimmy says he’ll tell him and stands up and leaves to end the segment.
Santos Escobar Confronts Dominik Mysterio
We see our Progressive Flo of the Week segment, which is highlights of Dominik Mysterio getting in Rey Mysterio’s face after getting involved in his match and punking him out. When the segment wraps up, we see Dom and Rhea Ripley walking backstage.
Santos Escobar tells Dom when he passes by that Rey should have punched him in the face. He says he understands why he couldn’t, but points out that he can. He says Adam Pearce agrees with him, too.
Escobar says he’s going to the ring now and if Dom has any guts, he’ll meet him out there. He then kisses at Ripley and walks off as we head to another commercial break.
Santos Escobar vs. Dominik Mysterio
As we settle back in from the break, we see Santos Escobar emerge wearing a mask and holding the legendary Rey Mysterio mask that he was gifted by the future WWE Hall of Fame legend. Michael Cole gloats that Dominik Mysterio is going to finally get some sense slapped into him.
Dominik Mysterio’s theme hits and out he comes accompanied by Rhea Ripley despite Santos telling him to meet him man-to-man and leave “Mami” backstage during their match. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one.
Dom hides through the ropes upon the bell and then sneaks a shot in to get the early jump on Santos. Santos quickly takes over and starts working over Dom, yelling at him about his legacy while doing so. Cole and Barrett bicker on commentary about the Dom-Rey issues as well.
When Dom starts to take over on offense, which sees things spill out to the ringside area on the floor, we head to a mid-match commercial break as the action continues. When we return, we see Dom get some assistance from Ripley in the form of a Rip-Tide on the floor. He follows up with a frog-splash off the top-rope for the pin fall victory.
Winner: Dominik Mysterio
Dominik Mysterio Disrespects Rey Mysterio Once Again
After the match, Dom takes the mask that Rey gave Santos and tears it up. As he and Ripley leave with it, we hear Rey Mysterio’s theme hit. Rey confronts Dom and asks for the mask back.
Dom holds it away from him and dares his father to hit him once again. Rey says he’s not going to. Dom throws the mask down. Rey goes to pick it up and Dom hits him with a cheap shot. He poses with Rhea and walks off.
Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, LA Knight, New Day & Karrion Kross Have Words
We then hear the familiar sounds of the entrance tune for Drew McIntyre and “The Scottish Warrior” makes his way down to the ring as we head to another commercial break.
When we return from the break, we see McIntyre talking about how there’s four weeks until WrestleMania and he still doesn’t have a match. He says he wants to remedy that right now.
From there, he goes on to officially call out Gunther. Instead of Gunther, however, the theme for Sheamus hits and out he comes. He asks McIntyre what he thinks he’s doing. Drew tells Sheamus this is nothing personal. Sheamus says this is personal and Drew knows how much the Intercontinental title means to him.
McIntyre says he does and tells Sheamus to calm down so they can have a little chat about this. Sheamus takes offense to this and says Drew knew he wanted Gunther at WrestleMania. Drew says Sheamus isn’t his parent, he doesn’t have to ask his permission. He asks if he’s supposed to ask his permission to wipe his ass next.
Sheamus says that’s right. He says he’s not Drew’s parent. He says he thought he was his brother but he’s not. He says he’s just a back-stabbing bastard. Drew says friends can tell friends the truth. He says he had his chance, twice, and he lost.
Now the theme for LA Knight hits and out he comes to “talk to ya!” He says if you’re talking about the I-C title, you’re talking LA Knight “yeah!” As he joins them in the ring, The New Day theme hits and out comes Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods to mock LA Knight.
Karrion Kross’ theme hits and out he comes with Scarlett. As they come out, LA Knight attacks Kingston. This leads to everyone in the ring brawling until Drew McIntyre and Sheamus are the last two standing.
McIntyre turns around and walks away but then turns back around and hits a dive onto the guys on the floor. Kross then attacks Sheamus from behind and rams him into the steel ring post. He is left standing tall in the ring with Scarlett.
Ronda Rousey Injured In Backstage Attack
We head to a break after the multi-person in-ring segment. When we return, we hear Michael Cole talking about how Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler vs. Tegan Nox & Natalya was scheduled for tonight but says it’s off after a backstage brawl.
With that said, we are shown footage from earlier today of a brawl that involves Tegan Nox, Shayna Baszler and Ronda Rousey. Rousey’s arm gets injured in the mix, which changes this to a singles bout.
Shayna Baszler vs. Tegan Nox
As we head back inside the venue, Ronda Rousey’s theme hits and out she comes with her arm in a sling. She heads to the ring to accompany Shayna Baszler for what will now be singles action.
The theme for Natalya hits and out she comes to accompany Tegan Nox to the ring for this singles contest. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one. Nox tears into Baszler straight out of the gate.
After Nox does well in the early goings, we see “The Submission Magician” start to take over and work Nox over with kicks and ground action. She is focusing her attack on the right arm of Nox. Moments later, Baszler locks in the arm bar and gets the tap out victory.
Winner: Shayna Baszler
Kayla Braxton Interviews Intercontinental Champion Gunther
We shoot backstage and Kayla Braxton introduces her guest at this time, WWE Intercontinental Champion Gunther. He talks about not having an opponent decided yet for his title defense at the upcoming WrestleMania Goes Hollywood premium live event.
Gunther demands that Adam Pearce get him a worthy challenger for his match on “The Grandest Stage of Them All.”
Bobby Lashley Brawls With Uncle Howdy
Bobby Lashley’s theme hits as we head back inside the Capital One Arena. As “The All Mighty” heads to the ring, Michael Cole says it’s got to be WrestleMania season. He questions why Lashley is here.
We see the Bray Wyatt logo cut-in as we head to a commercial break with Lashley continuing to head to the squared circle. As we return from the break, we see Lashley in the ring as highlights are shown of his recent interaction with Bray Wyatt.
Lashley is then distracted by an image of Uncle Howdy on the big screen when from behind, he is attacked by Uncle Howdy. Lashley ends up fighting back and Spearing him, however. He then backs in a corner and waits for Howdy to get up, but when he does, the lights go out. When they come back on, he is nowhere to be found.
An Update From The Bloodline Locker Room
We shoot backstage and once again we visit The Bloodline locker room. Jimmy Uso walks in and Roman Reigns asks if he’s talked to his brother yet. Jimmy says he did. He says Jey Uso told him he needs a little more time.
Reigns asks if that’s really what he said. Jimmy said actually he said leave me the hell alone. Reigns questions how Jey could do this to him after all he … we … have done for him. Reigns decides it’s Sami Zayn’s fault that Jey is doing this. He decides to end it tonight.
As Jimmy leaves, Reigns tells Paul Heyman that Jey has one week to re-join The Bloodline and if he doesn’t, he’s not going to blame Jey, he’s going to blame Jimmy. After this, we head to another commercial break.
Solo Sikoa vs. Sami Zayn
When we return from the break, Solo Sikoa’s theme hits and out he comes accompanied by Jimmy Uso for our main event of the evening. He settles inside the squared circle and his entrance tune dies down.
Sami Zayn’s theme hits and the crowd explodes in Washington, D.C. as the former “Honorary Uce” makes his way down to the ring for our final bout of tonight’s show. Zayn immediately goes after Sikoa and brawls with him before the bell.
Zayn hits a big dive and splash onto Sikoa on the floor. Once Sikoa finally returns into the ring, the bell sounds and our headline bout of the show is now officially off-and-running.
We see Zayn fare well early on, however after some interference by Jimmy Uso at ringside, we see Sikoa jump into the offensive driver’s seat just as we head into a mid-match commercial break.
When we return from the break, we see Roman Reigns and “The Wise Man” Paul Heyman watching on with vested interest via a monitor backstage in The Bloodline locker room. Zayn fights back into the offensive driver’s seat and takes over.
A few times we see Sami get close to pulling off the victory, but Sikoa hangs on. After more interference from Jimmy Uso at ringside, we see Sikoa hit the Samoan Spike on Zayn and cover him for the 1-2-3.
Winner: Solo Sikoa
Sami Zayn Gets One-Up On The Bloodline
Once the match wraps up, we see Jimmy Uso join Solo Sikoa in the ring for a post-match beat down of Sami Zayn, per the orders of Roman Reigns earlier in the night, who demanded they finish Sami off once and for all.
They hit the ring and begin a prolonged beat down of Zayn. Jimmy then wants to finish him off but the slight hesitation results in Zayn popping up and using the steel chair brought into the ring by The Bloodline to bash Sikoa with it.
He goes to do the same to Uso, but Sikoa recovers and comes after him. Zayn ducks outta dodge and exits the ring and heads through the crowd. We see Roman Reigns looking on upset and Uso looking nervous in the ring with his hands on his head realizing Zayn got away as this week’s show goes off the air. Thanks for joining us!
