WWE SmackDown live spoilers from Bologna, Italy

The following are live spoilers for Friday’s WWE SmackDown which is taking place live from Bologna, Italy, and airing live on Netflix throughout the world with the exception of the U.S.

The show will air in the U.S. at 8 PM Eastern on USA per usual with our usual detailed live coverage.

This post will be updated as the show progresses.

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  • The show opened with separate shots of Jade Cargill, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez, Braun Strowman, the New Bloodline, and CM Punk entering the arena.
  • Randy Orton kicked off SmackDown as the Bologna crowd loudly sang his theme. Before Orton could say anything, Kevin Owens interrupted and blamed Cody Rhodes for his actions towards Orton. Owens claimed that he saved Carmelo Hayes because he didn’t want Orton to go back to being the Legend Killer. Orton refused to accept Owens’ apology and offer to vie for the WWE Tag Titles at WrestleMania 41, instead challenging him to a match. Orton promised to kick Owens’ head “off his freakin’ shoulders” in Las Vegas.
  • Drew McIntyre & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Damian Priest & Jimmy Uso was the first match of the night. Priest and Uso got the victory after the former hit South of Heaven on Nakamura. After the match, McIntyre attacked Priest, as he laid him out with a Claymore kick.
  • LA Knight and Braun Strowman talked backstage, with Strowman calling his shot for the US Title once he took care of Jacob Fatu tonight.
  • Tiffany Stratton & Charlotte Flair had a split-screen interview with the commentary team. Flair said that she chose Stratton as her WrestleMania opponent because she felt sorry for her. Stratton told Flair that she finds the hottest thing and throws water on it, before she said that she’d see Flair at WrestleMania to conclude the interview.
  • Jacob Fatu vs. Braun Strowman was our second match tonight, with the winner earning a U.S. Title shot on next week’s SmackDown. The match ended in a disqualification win for Strowman after Solo Sikoa & Tama Tonga attacked, which seemed to anger Fatu a bit. LA Knight ran in for the save to help Strowman clear the ring of the New Bloodline.
  • Backstage, Fatu blew a gasket over Sikoa causing the DQ in his match, warning that Sikoa better “watch it”.
  • Piper Niven defeated Zelina Vega via pinfall with a running crossbody after Alba Fyre & Women’s U.S. Champion Chelsea Green provided enough of a distraction for Niven to take advantage of.
  • A recap of John Cena’s venomous, hate-filled heel promo and Cody Rhodes responding to him on this past Monday’s Raw was shown.
  • Liv Morgan defeated Jade Cargill via pinfall with ObLIVion after Naomi interfered and blasted Cargill with one of the Women’s Championship title belts. Post-match, Naomi continued her assault on Cargill, ending with a forceful shove from the apron into the commentary table. The match itself was fantastic.
  • Drew McIntyre was asked about why he kept targeting Damian Priest with his ambushes in the past two weeks. As he was about to leave, he was confronted by Seth Rollins.
  • New WWE Tag Team Champions the Street Profits entered the ring to the theme they formerly used as part of The Pride with Bobby Lashley. They celebrated their victory from last week in a promo before they were interrupted by Legado Del Fantasma. Santos Escobar said that Angel and Berto were ready to challenge for the belts as they were then interrupted by Pretty Deadly, the official number one contenders for the Tag Titles. As Legado and Pretty Deadly bickered, Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford threw down the gauntlet against LDF and and wanted the smoke.
  • The Street Profits (Dawkins & Ford) defeated Legado Del Fantasma (Angel & Berto) via pinfall after Ford landed his Frog Splash on Angel to pick up the win in this impromptu tag match. One noteworthy spot saw Ford land on his feet after Angel and Berto attempted a double team suplex from the top rope, much to their incredulous reaction.
  • Pretty Deadly were confronted backstage by #DIY, who tried to broker a deal with the duo of Elton Prince and Kit Wilson to “help” them next week in their Tag Title match next week. Pretty Deadly responded with an emphatic “no, boys” to Gargano & Ciampa. After Pretty Deadly left, the Motor City Machine Guns mocked #DIY for their bad fortunes.
  • Roman Reigns, CM Punk, and Seth Rollins’ confrontation closed out the night. Reigns was first to enter, as he talked about what was on his mind with what Punk and Rollins tried to do him. He challenged someone to step up to him, which brought Rollins out to a loud reaction. Rollins read Reigns the riot act for not letting him finish Punk off when he had the chance. Punk himself soon joined the fray. He brought up the favor that Paul Heyman owed him from last year’s WarGames. Punk struck Reigns from behind with the microphone as Rollins entered the scuffle. The corps of referees, road agents, and security ran in to separate the three from one another. At ringside, Reigns took out both Punk and Rollins with the steel steps. SmackDown ended with the brawl between Reigns, Rollins, and Punk still very much in progress and the three making it clear they want to fight one another at WrestleMania 41.

Notes

  • Orton namedropped Italian football legend Roberto Baggio during his promo, mentioning that he was going to punt Owens’ head as hard as Baggio’s kicks.
  • Italian rapper Anna was shown in the crowd during a segment on the show.
  • Match made official for WrestleMania 41: Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens
  • Another “4” teaser with white smoke, the number “3”, and quick flashes of someone was shown, again seeming like a tease for a returning Aleister/Malakai Black.
  • We got another apparent teaser for Rey Fenix, this time giving us somewhat a bit of a clearer shot of him.
  • Matches for next week’s SmackDown: LA Knight vs. Braun Strowman (US Championship match), Pretty Deadly vs. Street Profits (WWE Tag Team Championship match)