WWE on FOX is back tonight.
SmackDown returns from the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio with this week’s two-hour WWE on FOX show.
On tap for tonight’s show is GUNTHER vs. Xavier Woods for the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Also scheduled is Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez vs. Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green for the WWE Women’s Tag-Team Championship, as well as Braun Strowman & Ricochet vs. The Viking Raiders.
Additionally, Rey Mysterio & Santos Escobar vs. Damian Priest & Finn Balor, as well as Solo Sikoa vs. Riddle in a No Disqualification match will take place tonight.
Featured below are complete WWE SmackDown results from Friday, April 21, 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 (4/21/2023)
This week’s show kicks off with the usual “WWE Then. Now. Forever. Together.” opening signature narrated by John Cena and then we shoot to the regular SmackDown theme song and “Who better than me?!” cold open video intro.
Damian Priest & Finn Balor vs. Rey Mysterio & Santos Escobar
From there, we shoot inside the arena in Columbus and fireworks explode as Michael Cole welcomes us to the final SmackDown before the 2023 WWE Draft kicks off next week. Then he and Wade Barrett run down the advertised lineup for tonight.
We then hear the familiar sounds of The Judgment Day’s theme song as the lights in the building go out. When they come back on, Damian Priest and Finn Balor are making their way out and heading to the ring for our opening contest.
As the two settle in the ring, Cole talks us through highlights of Bad Bunny knocking out Dominik Mysterio and then being put through a table by Damian Priest on Monday Night Raw three weeks ago.
The theme for The Judgment Day wraps up and then the music for Rey Mysterio plays and out he comes accompanied by Santos Escobar in their LWO shirts. The two fan-favorites make their way to the ring to a nice pop and then settle inside.
Now the bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this big-time tag-team contest. Mysterio and Balor kick things off for their respective teams coming out of the gate. Rey immediately takes it to Balor.
Balor gains the upper-hand after a minute or two and then he tags in Priest, who picks up where he left off, taking it to Rey as the fans boo like crazy. Rey starts firing away with shots to the body of the larger Priest, but the bigger man muscles him back into control.
Priest works Rey over in The Judgment Day corner and then tags in Balor, Balor gets in a move or two and then tags Priest right back in. The two have Rey comfortably under control in their half of the ring. Priest even heads over to taunt Escobar at one point.
We see Finn Balor go for an Electric Chair on Mysterio out of the corner, but Rey counters with a bull dog and then crawls over to his corner to make the much needed tag to Escobar. The LWO member hits the ring with a ton of energy and starts taking it to Balor and Priest by himself.
“The Emporer of Lucha Libre” continues to put his high-paced offensive style on display. Rey joins him and the two hit wild double-team spots on Balor and Priest. Priest ends up slowing down their momentum, sliding Rey out of the ring and to the floor.
Escobar looks to fly out to the floor but Balor slides in the ring and turns him inside-out with a huge lariat. After that, we head to a mid-match commercial break as the action in this exciting tag-team contest continues.
When we return from the break, we see Santos and Damian trading shots. It looks like Escobar is going to gain the upper-hand, but the bigger Priest slows him down and grounds him and controls him.
He ends up hitting a drop kick to slow Priest down and then the crowd rallies behind him as he makes it to his corner for a much-needed tag. Priest also tags out. Mysterio and Balor comes in, but it is Rey who takes the offensive momentum and begins flying all over the place as the crowd goes wild.
Mysterio gets the 6-1-9 on Balor. Escobar follows up with a top-rope splash but neither realize he isn’t the legal man. Priest, who is the legal man, comes in and hits his finisher on Santos for the pin fall victory. Good opener.
Winners: Damian Priest & Finn Balor
Damian Priest With A Message For Bad Bunny
Once the match wraps up, we hear Damian Priest on the mic with Finn Balor by his side boasting the return of Bad Bunny on Monday Night Raw next week live in a sold out arena in Chicago, He sarcastically says he hopes things go better for Bad Bunny this time around.
The Bloodline Have Arrived
We are shown footage of Solo Sikoa’s recent rampage, flipping the commentary table over onto Riddle recently. After that, the commentators plug the Riddle vs. Sikoa battle in a No DQ rules bout later tonight as we see “The Enforcer” of The Bloodline himself arriving backstage with The Usos. From there, we head to a commercial break.
Zelina Vega Wants To Make History At WWE Backlash
As we settle back in from the break, we hear some hype for the 2023 WWE Draft and then shoot backstage where the only Puerto Rican on the roster explains to Adam Pearce why it should be Zelina Vega vs. Rhea Ripley for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at WWE Backlash in Puerto Rico. Pearce says he’s gonna talk to upper-management and “Mami” herself and will get back to her.
Karrion Kross Wants To Take Away Shinsuke Nakamura’s Honor
A mixed-martial arts / Japanese karate film style video package airs to hype the return of “The King of Strong Style” Shinsuke Nakamura to the scene on SmackDown. From there, we return live to a special message from Karrion Kross.
He talks about lives and how easily they can be destroyed as Scarlett walks up behind him with a bunch of cards. Kross says he’s never hurt anyone, it was the cards. He says we don’t know who we really are until someone takes something from them.
He talks about taking Drew McIntyre and Madcap Moss and Rey Mysterio traits from them. Shinsuke Nakamura is next. He vows to take away Nakamura’s honor. Tick tock!
Ricochet & Braun Strowman vs. The Viking Raiders
We return live inside the arena in Columbus where Ricochet’s theme hits. He comes out and stops and then Braun Strowman’s tune hits. The two make their way to the ring together.
As they settle in the ring,. Michael Cole shows footage of The Viking Raiders sneak attack on them last week. From there, he hypes the tag-team showdown between the two teams coming up next. We then head to another commercial break.
When we return from the break, the theme for The Viking Raiders hits and out they come accompanied by Valhalla. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running. Ivar and Braun Strowman kick things off for their respective teams.
Ivar backs Strowman into a corner with a barrage of strikes, but “The Monster Among Men” starts to tear into him after that. He beats him down with elbows and knees and then pounds on him with massive forearms. He hits the ropes for a big shoulder tackle and then decks Erik off the apron for good measure.
Now we see Ivar fight back into the offensive lead. He tags in Erik and the two beat on Strowman together for several seconds. Strowman ends up shucking them both off before tagging in Ricochet.
He slams Ricochet onto The Viking Raiders and now Ricochet flies all over the place, taking it to Erik and Ivar, including a big moonsault over the ropes onto both of them on the floor. We then head to a mid-match commercial break as the action continues.
When we return from the break, we see Ricochet being beat on by The Viking Raiders. He finally makes the tag to Strowman, who fires way up, including hitting a drop kick before getting the Strowman Express going on the floor at ringside.
Back in the ring, The Viking Raiders take back over after Valhalla distracts Strowman. The two hit their double-team splash off the ropes in the corner for a super close pin attempt. Strowman hangs on and the crowd comes alive.
Ricochet finally tags in and he helps shift the offensive momentum into the babyface’s team. Strowman tags back in and he helps clean house of Erik and Ivar. He then hoists Ricochet onto his shoulders for a super-splash for the pin fall victory. Fun match.
Winners: Ricochet & Braun Strowman
WWE Women’s Tag-Team Championships
Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan (C) vs. Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green
We shoot backstage and we see Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan with their titles warming up in their ring gear. Up comes Kayla Braxton who asks how eager they are to get revenge on Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green tonight after their recent attack.
Liv Morgan goes nutty in her response until Rodriguez tells her to save it for the ring. Liv says watch me and walks off. The theme for the WWE Women’s Tag-Team Champions hits and out comes Morgan and Rodriguez for their latest title defense.
The champs settle inside the ring and then we head to a pre-match commercial break. When we return from the break, Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green come to the ring cutting a heel promo.
They splash water in the faces of the champs and this one gets off to a bang. We see some good back-and-forth offense from each team and then ride into the finish, which sees Liv squirt water back in the faces of the challengers and help Rodriguez score the pin fall victory to retain.
Winners and STILL WWE Women’s Tag-Team Champions: Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan
Riddle Is Ready For Revenge … BRO!
We shoot backstage and Riddle is shown for a quick interview. He talks about his No DQ main event against Solo Sikoa later tonight. He references being buried under a commentary table from a recent attack by “The Enforcer” of The Bloodline. He vows to get revenge for that tonight and leave Sikoa buried under a table — BRO!
WWE Intercontinental Championship
GUNTHER (C) vs. Xavier Woods
New Day rocks! We head back into the arena and hear the familiar entrance tune for The New Day. Out comes Xavier Woods playing his trombone looking ready for action. He settles in the ring as we head to a pre-match commercial break.
When we return from the break, Michael Cole reads a Mike’s Hard Lemonade ad and then we see Woods in the ring waiting for his opponent. His theme dies down and the lights dim in the building.
Now the theme for the reigning and defending WWE Intercontinental Champion hits and out comes GUNTHER accompanied by his Imperium pals Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser. They all head to the ring and GUNTHER settles inside.
The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with our second of two scheduled championship contests here on the final Friday Night SmackDown show before next week’s two-week 2023 WWE Draft kicks off.
We see GUNTHER jump off to an early offensive lead and as he begins to add insult to injury by taunting the crowd while Woods is down and out, we head to a mid-match commercial break as the action continues.
As we settle back in from the break, we see Woods fighting from underneath back into competitive form. He takes over and even hits a big top-rope leg drop for a super close near fall, while Michael Cole was screaming his lungs out like a title change was possibly going to happen.
In the end, however, GUNTHER slaps a choke on The New Day member to retain his title in a good match. We head to another commercial after the bout wraps up.
Winner and STILL WWE Intercontinental Champion: GUNTHER
Special Look At Next Week’s WrestleMania Rematch
When we return from the break, we see a lengthy video package that shows the entire build-up to Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn making history by closing out WrestleMania in the main event at night one of WrestleMania 39 to capture the Undisputed WWE Tag-Team Championships from The Usos.
The package was designed to promote the WrestleMania Rematch between Owens & Zayn vs. The Usos with the tag titles on-the-line.
No Disqualification
Solo Sikoa vs. Riddle
Once the video package wraps up, we see The Usos make their way down to the ring. As they do, Seth Rollins vs. Omos, Rhea Ripley vs. Zelina Vega for the SmackDown Women’s Championship, and Austin Theory vs. Bronson Reed vs. Bobby Lashley for the WWE United States Championship is announced for WWE Backlash 2023.
From there, The Usos settle in the ring and their music dies down. Jimmy Uso plays the role of dumb white-guy stoner with his voice impression and asks a bunch of rhetorical questions out loud, which Jey Uso emphatically responds to, all of which relate to the WrestleMania rematch next week with the undisputed tag titles up for grabs.
They then wrap up the hype and introduce “The Enforcer” of The Bloodline. With that said, Solo Sikoa makes his way out and heads to the ring for this advertised no disqualification match against Riddle. Tonight’s main event is up next. On that note, we head to a pre-match commercial break.
When we return from the break, Michael Cole hypes The Usos vs. Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens in their WrestleMania rematch for the tag titles, as well as the start of the 2023 WWE Draft on next week’s show. We then hear the familiar sounds of Riddle’s theme and out comes “The Original BRO.”
Solo looks at the entrance aisle and waits for Riddle, but instead, Riddle appears behind him in the ring and immediately starts brawling with him before his theme dies down or the bell sounds. This one is off-and-running on that note, as the bell does sound to officially get this one started.
Riddle gets in some early offense, but it isn’t long at all before Sikoa takes over and settles into a comfortable offensive lead. Michael Cole and Wade Barrett remind everyone watching that Sikoa has The Usos in the building tonight, whereas Riddle does not have Zayn or Owens.
Sikoa immediately takes advantage of the no disqualification rules for this match, as he grounds Riddle and heads out to the ringside area on the floor. He reaches under the ring and pulls out multiple Kendo sticks, which he throws in the ring. He also tosses in a steel folding chair.
“The Enforcer” of The Bloodline enters the ring, picks up one of the Kendo sticks and immediately starts whacking the piss out of him with it. Riddle eventually catches Sikoa with an unsuspecting kick that knocks the Kendo stick out of his hand. Riddle charges at him but Sikoa shucks him out to the floor.
Sikoa takes his time heading out after Riddle, but walks into a Kendo stick shot to the dome from “The Original BRO,” who follows up with multiple additional shots for good measure. Riddle reaches under the ring and pulls out a table just as they are chanting “We want tables!”
We see Sikoa blast Riddle with a shot before he can pull it out and the fans boo. Sikoa goes for a Samoan Drop on the floor but Riddle fights back and knees him in the grill. He sends Sikoa into the steel steps and splashes on him after leaping off the steps. We head to a mid-match commercial break on that note.
As we settle back in from the break, we see Riddle trying to rally back on offense on Sikoa, but he isn’t having much luck, as “The Enforcer” of The Bloodline beats Riddle down in the ring. We see multiple chairs and Kendo sticks scattered around the ring now.
Barrett calls Sikoa “The Pinnacle of Ice Cold Terror” as he bashes a steel chair into the back of Riddle. He beats Riddle down in the corner and then puts the chair around the neck of Riddle, the same thing he did to put “The Original BRO” on the shelf for several months.
Riddle fights free before Sikoa can do anything. He then takes over on offense, beating the piss out of Sikoa with a Kendo stick and then unloading on him with repeated steel chair shots in this no disqualification match. He goes for the cover after that, but Sikoa hangs on to keep this one alive.
Now we see Riddle setting up two steel chairs unfolded and facing each other. He hits a release-suplex on Sikoa and “The Enforcer” of The Bloodline goes flying and crashing into the two chairs, which are badly dented by his body. Riddle goes for the follow-up cover, but Sikoa kicks out.
From there, Riddle buries Sikoa under a pile of chairs. He heads to the top rope backwards but Sikoa rolls out to the floor. Riddle tries leaping off the ropes for a kick onto Sikoa on the ring apron, but he avoids it and sends Riddle sailing over the commentary desk again.
In a similar scene to last week, we see Sikoa go to flip the commentary desk onto Riddle, but Riddle leg-presses the desk back at Sikoa to avoid it. Riddle then blasts Sikoa to avoid a Samoan Spike and he buries Sikoa under the commentary table like he promised he would do earlier this evening.
As Riddle celebrates like it’s over, even though this no DQ match continues, The Usos hit the scene. Jimmy and Jey Uso proceed to beat Riddle down. They bring him in the ring but then Riddle clears the ring of both former tag champs. He leaps and springboards off the ropes for a turning splash onto both guys.
Sikoa recovers and resurfaces from under the rubble of the commentary table. He blasts Riddle with a Urinagi on the hard part of the ring apron. Back in the ring he looks for a Samoan Spike but Riddle avoids it. He ends up connecting with it moments later for the pin fall victory.
After the match, The Usos join Solo Sikoa in the ring. The three beat Riddle down some more. The Usos hit their 1-and-Done finisher to put Riddle through a table. As he lays there unconscious in the pile of toothpicks that used to be a table, Michael Cole hypes The Usos vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn for the titles in a WrestleMania rematch on next week’s show. That’s how this week’s show goes off the air. Thanks for joining us!
Winner: Solo Sikoa
