The road to WrestleMania Goes Hollywood continues tonight.
WWE SmackDown returns on FOX this evening at 8/7c from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada with one of the final shows leading up to the two-night premium live event on “The Grandest Stage of Them All.”
On tap for tonight’s show is Rey Mysterio vs. LA Knight, Cody Rhodes vs. Ludwig Kaiser, as well as an appearance by The Mysterio Family as Dominik Mysterio continues to try and convince his father to face him at WrestleMania 39.
Also scheduled is The KO Show with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, as well as the contract signing for the WrestleMania 39 Intercontinental Championship bout pitting GUNTHER vs. Drew McIntyre v.s Sheamus.
Featured below are complete WWE SmackDown results from Friday, March 24, 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 (3/24/2023)
This week’s show kicks off with the usual “WWE Then. Now. Forever. Together” opening signature narrated by pro wrestling legend John Cena.
From there, we shoot to video from last week’s show of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn finally making up and getting back on the same page, leading to their match against The Usos for WrestleMania being announced.
“Who’s better than me?! I don’t see nobody …” plays and after the regular SmackDown intro and theme wraps up, we shoot inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena where we see the giant WrestleMania Goes Hollywood sign hanging in the rafters.
Cody Rhodes vs. Ludwig Kaiser
After that, we hear Michael Cole welcome us to the show as the camera pans the venue. The lights go out and we hear the familiar sounds of the entrance theme of Cody Rhodes. With that said, “The American Nightmare” emerges in his gear for tonight’s opener.
The challenger for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 39 settles inside the ring as fireworks and pyro explodes for the second time during his entrance. As he gets a warm reaction from the Vegas crowd in the ring, we hear Cole and Wade Barrett running down the lineup for tonight’s show.
Already in the ring is Cody’s opponent, Ludwig Kaiser. He is joined by his Imperium brothers as the commentators hype Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns for WrestleMania. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with our first match of the evening.
We see Cody jump off to an early offensive advantage. As he continues dominating the action, we see “The Wise Man” of The Bloodline emerge. Paul Heyman settles in at the top of the entrance stage and takes a closer look at the action in the ring as we head to a mid-match commercial break.
When we return from the break we see the match still in progress. The action spills out to the floor where Cody continues to work over the Imperium member. Back in the ring, Kaiser cuts Cody off as he looked to leap backwards off the middle rope for a Cody Cutter.
From there, we see Kaiser settle into a comfortable offensive lead. He works over “The American Nightmare” as the fans in Vegas try and rally behind Rhodes with loud “Cody! Cody!” chants.
Kaiser continues to work over Cody, and after walking away we see Giovanni Vicci sneak in a cheap shot of his own from ringside. Slowly but surely we see Cody start to shift the offensive into his favor. Just as he has Kaiser ready for the Cross-Rhodes, he sees Solo Sikoa join Heyman at the top of the stage.
We see Kaiser start to beat down Cody some more at ringside as Sikoa and Heyman slowly make sure their way down to the ringside area. Kaiser slams Cody into the steel ring steps and then we head into another mid-match commercial break.
This time we return from the break just as Cody and Kaiser collide into each other with simultaneous clotheslines. As both guys are down and recovering, we see Heyman and Sikoa watching on from ringside.
The two slowly get back to their feet in the ring and start exchanging back-and-forth shots as the crowd reacts to each one that lands with boos and cheers. Kaiser tries taking over but Cody catches him coming off the top-rope. He hits a Cody Cutter after that and then connects with his Cross Rhodes finisher for the pin fall victory.
Winner: Cody Rhodes
Cody Rhodes’ Opponent For Next Week’s Raw Announced
Once the match wraps up, we see Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa hit the ring apron. Heyman grabs a mic and tells Cody that he is owed an apology. He says the ring announcer didn’t do a good enough job on the announcement for his victory.
Heyman then does a dramatic announcement himself, “Your winner and …STILL.. the challenger for your UNDISPUTED WWE Universal …” etc and so on. He then announces Cody will be going one-on-one against Solo Sikoa on Monday’s Raw.
“The Wise Man” for The Bloodline then says if Cody wins on Raw, then all roads leads to next week’s SmackDown where “The Tribal Chief” will be in attendance live and says he will see him face-to-face one final time before their showdown at WrestleMania.
Cody gives his response, reiterating that Heyman and The Bloodline are not ready, which prompts the fans to chant “You’re not ready!” He then says Sikoa isn’t ready and Roman Reigns will find out at WrestleMania that he is not ready either.
John Cena To Kick Off Night 1 Of WrestleMania 39
Michael Cole and Wade Barrett appear on camera from their commentary desk at ringside and they announce that John Cena vs. Austin Theory for the WWE United States Championship will be the opening match at night one of WrestleMania Goes Hollywood.
Charlotte Flair Addresses Rhea Ripley: Fear vs. Respect
Now we see Charlotte Flair walking backstage as we head to another commercial break. When we return, we hear the familiar sounds of the entrance theme music of “The Queen.”
As the SmackDown Women’s Champion heads to the ring, we see her savage brawl with Rhea Ripley from last week’s show. She settles inside the squared circle and her music dies down.
She gets on the mic and talks about the differences between fear and respect. She says she doesn’t fear Rhea Ripley, as much as she might want her to, but she does respect her. She gets the “What?” treatment from the fans and calls them on it, which of course helps her 0% in getting more of them.
Flair marches on and talks about how she respects everyone from the past in the WWE women’s division, naming many of them, and says they all used the same three things against her — nepotism being the main one. She says she’ll never shy away from being proud of continuing the legacy of Flair.
Rey Mysterio vs. LA Knight
We hear the legendary sounds of Rey Mysterio’s entrance tune and as his theme music plays, the masked icon and one of the inductees into the 2023 class of the WWE Hall of Fame emerges and heads to the ring.
Mysterio stops and shows some love to his family, who are in attendance as advertised. As Mysterio settles in the ring and soaks in the love from the Las Vegas fans, we head to a pre-match commercial break.
Now we settle in from the break, and we see Mysterio in the ring awaiting the arrival of his opponent for tonight. The theme for LA Knight hits and out he comes as split-screen footage is shown of his backstage interaction with Mysterio on last week’s show.
Back inside the arena, we see Knight settling inside the ring. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one. Mysterio dominates out of the gate and is having an easy time handling Knight until finally the theme for Dominik Mysterio hits.
When Dom’s theme plays, Mysterio gets attacked on the top-rope by Knight. He is on the mat clutching his knee as Dom heads down to the ring and we shift to a mid-match commercial break as the match continues.
As we settle back in from the break, we see Mysterio firing up for an offensive comeback. He comes off the top-rope with a big seated senton on Knight. He hits a springboard cross-body for a close two count and then as he goes for the 6-1-9, we see Dom trip him up at ringside. This leads to Knight rolling Rey up for the upset.
Winner: LA Knight
Dominik Mysterio Gets What He Wants
Once the match wraps up, we see Dominik Mysterio get in the ring and as he has the last several weeks, begins punking out his father. He pushes him and knocks him over and asks him if he’s gonna give him what he wants.
As Rey rolls out of the ring and heads to the back, we see Dom yell out to the Mysterio family in the crowd, asking how it feels to be married to a dead-beat man. He then heads over and starts punking his mom, calling her a dead-beat. She tries saying something but he snatches the mic from her and yells at her.
Now we see Rey start to turn around. He heads down to ringside and runs over and knocks Dom on his ass with a big shot. He gets on the mic and yells at Dom, saying he made him do this. He says you don’t hit your mother. “That’s my wife!” He tells Dom he wanted a fight at WrestleMania and now he’s on. “I’ll see you at WrestleMania son.”
Xia Li & Lacey Evans vs. Shotzi & Natalya
After a video plays promoting Andy Kaufman’s induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, we return inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena where Xia Li and Lacey Evans make their way down to the ring.
They settle inside as we see Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez seated at ringside. Out next comes the team of Shotzi and Natalya on Shotzi’s tank. The winning team in this match will join Morgan and Rodriguez in the women’s showcase four-way tag bout at WrestleMania Goes Hollywood.
We hear the bell sound to officially get this one off-and-running and it is Lacey and Shotzi who kick things off for their respective teams. Lacey jumps into an early offensive lead. She bull-rushes Shotzi into her teams corner and tags in Xia.
Xia picks up where Lacey left off, taking it to Shotzi. She ends up tagging Lacey back in and the heel duo continues to dominate the green-haired fan-favorite. Lacey does a headstand in the corner and splashes into Shotzi before slamming her face-first into the mat repeatedly.
Lacey ends up taking out her own partner with a big shot. Shotzi then knocks her out of the ring and splashes onto her with a big splash. Back in the ring, Nattie and Shotzi hit the Hart Foundation double-team finisher on her and then Nattie slaps on the Sharpshooter for the win. With the win, Shotzi and Nattie are going to WrestleMania.
Winners: Shotzi & Natalya
A Third Team Added To Women’s Showcase Match At WrestleMania
Once the match wraps up, we see Shotzi and Natalya celebrating their victory. Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez hop on the ring apron and do the point to the giant WrestleMania sign routine.
As this is going on, we hear “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey’s theme hit. Out she comes accompanied by Shayna Baszler. Baszler talks about how everyone in the ring has a reason to want to get revenge on them.
Rousey gets on the mic and says how many times have we sold out this arena ourselves. They decide they’ve given enough to Vegas and claim they aren’t giving them anything else tonight.
They then announce that they’ve been added to the women’s showcase match at WrestleMania. That makes 3 teams, and the fourth will be made official next week.
Contract Signing For WWE Intercontinental Title Match At WrestleMania
Now we return from the break and we see the ring decked out with the contract signing set-up. With that said, Drew McIntyre emerges and heads to the ring where Adam Pearce is waiting with the contract.
McIntyre takes a seat and then Sheamus’ theme hits. “The Celtic Warrior” emerges with a microphone in-hand and talks as he walks to the ring about being stabbed in the back by “The Scottish Warrior.”
The two go back-and-forth a bit and then they each sign the contract for their Intercontinental Championship showdown against reigning, defending title-holder and Imperium leader GUNTHER at WrestleMania.
Sheamus and Drew then start bickering and the theme for Imperium hits. GUNTHER comes out and gets right in Adam Pearce’s face. He demands that Pearce justify forcing him into a match where Sheamus or Drew can pin or submit each other and take his title.
GUNTHER then says he’ll do whatever it takes to retain. He points one by one to each guy and says he’ll take them out if need be. Butch ends up leaping over the table and decking him, which leads to a brawl. We head to a commercial break as GUNTHER gets in Pearce’s face again.
GUNTHER vs. Butch
When we return from the break, we see the ring cleared of all of the contract signing stuff. Already in action in the ring are GUNTHER and Butch. We see GUNTHER taking it to Butch as Sheamus and Ridge Holland watch on from one side of the ring and Drew McIntyre watches from the other.
As the action continues, we head to a mid-match break. When we return this time, we see GUNTHER still controlling the action until Butch yanks at his fingers to buy him some time.
From there, we see a bunch of chaos as the guys at ringside get involved. When the action resumes inside the squared circle, GUNTHER hits his finisher and scores the pin fall victory.
Once the match wraps up, we see Sheamus head into the ring and stare at GUNTHER. The two look at the WrestleMania Goes Hollywood sign hanging in the rafters. Out of nowhere, Drew McIntyre hits a Claymore Kick that takes out GUNTHER.
We see Sheamus and Drew McIntyre stare each other down intensely as GUNTHER remains laid out in front of them. That’s how the post-match scene wraps up.
Winner: GUNTHER
The Street Profits, Braun Strowman & Ricochet Backstage
Now we shoot backstage where we see The Street Profits clowning around and goofing off when Braun Strowman and Ricochet approaches them. They take exception to being the butt of a joke by Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins. This leads to some bickering between the two teams.
The KO Show With Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
As we head back inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, we hear the familiar sounds of the entrance theme song of Kevin Owens. “The Prize Fighter” heads to the ring for our main event version of The KO Show.
As Owens settles inside the squared circle for our final segment of the evening, we head to a commercial break.
When we return from the break, we see Owens in the ring and then he introduces his guest at this time — Sami Zayn. Zayn emerges and heads to the ring where he settles inside and his music dies down.
Owens asks Zayn if that was good enough, referring to the introduction he gave him coming out. He says he insisted on them making their own entrances so the fans could hear both of their entrance tunes. Owens jokes Zayn just wanted to have his own pop.
Zayn asks if they’re gonna reveal anymore behind-the-scenes stuff or can they get down to business and talk about WrestleMania. Zayn then asks Owens if he realizes what they’re about to accomplish. He then brings up their issues with The Bloodline and their match against The Usos at WrestleMania.
Kevin Owens mentions how he told Zayn when he was given an “Honorary Uce” shirt by The Bloodline that he needed a new shirt. He brings one out and shows him the WrestleMania Goes Hollywood logo on the back covered by KO so it reads, “KO-Mania.”
He then gives Zayn a shirt and says the gift is what is on the other side. He turns it around and we see the WrestleMania Goes Hollywood logo but with Zayn over it so it reads, “Zayn-a-mania.”
Sami is excited. He puts the shirt on and throws his hands open looking for another hug from Owens. Owens says you get one hug a year and that’s it. He then says screw it and goes for another big hug. As they embrace they are ambushed with an attack by The Usos.
The Usos beat down Zayn until Owens starts to fight back. They head out of the ring and stare down Owens and Zayn in the ring as Zayn is laid out and Owens is jawing back at them. That’s how this week’s show goes off the air. Thanks for joining us!
