Here are my Smackdown Thoughts & Facts & Stats:
Now it's back being the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. Last night, the poster for Cody Rhodes VS Roman Reigns had Reigns listed as WWE Champion.
It's so weird hearing Triple H being called by his real name.
Awesome Triple H promo. I love that for now, we're getting Cody Rhodes VS Roman Reigns. And we're getting an Inter-Brand Chamber Match to determine Seth Rollins' WrestleMania Opponent. I love Qualifying Matches on both shows. I don't mind Raw wrestlers on Smackdown. It's WrestleMania Season.
Awesome. Randy Orton VS Sami Zayn in the other Chamber Qualifying Match for tonight.
AJ Styles VS Drew McIntyre was an excellent unexpected match to kick off Smackdown. I like LA Knight getting involved to continue his feud with Styles. FACTS: This was AJ Styles' 1st Smackdown since January 19 & his 1st Smackdown opener of 2024. This was Drew McIntyre's 1st Smackdown match & opener of 2024, his 1st Smackdown since he & Sheamus defeated Imperium on March 31, 2023, & 1st 1-on-1 on Smackdown since he wrestled Sheamus to a No Contest on March 17, 2023. This was the 2nd 1-on-1 Match between them after Raw on June 14, 2021, which was also won by McIntyre.
Great promo by Sami Zayn. I will have facts later about his history with Randy Orton.
Funny segment with Pretty Deadly.
Bianca Belair VS Michin was a solid match. Good showing by Michin. FACTS: This was Bianca Belair's 1st Smackdown since January 12. This was Michin's 2nd week in a row on Smackdown, making it the 1st time since she lost to Bayley on January 9, 2023 & defeated IYO SKY on January 16, 2023 that she wrestled 2 1-on-1 Matches in a row & the 1st time she did it on Smackdown. This was the 5th 1-on-1 Match between them after NXT on November 14, 2018, May 8, 2019 (both won by Belair), May 29, 2019, & June 5, 2019 (both won by Michin), so now Bianca Belair won 3 matches & Michin won 2.
Cool segment with Triple H & Bron Breakker & Paul Heyman. Interesting comments by Heyman.
Good segment with Bayley & seeing where Dakota Kai's allegiances lie. I hope that's a sign that Dakota's cleared to wrestle.
A very good promo by Randy Orton.
Good promo by Bobby Lashley & The Street Profits. I like B-Fab as part of the group. Lashley VS Bronson Reed will be a war on Raw on Monday.
#DIY VS Tyler Bate & Pete Dunne was incredible. I'm so happy that Bate & Dunne won since we already saw DIY VS Judgment Day. Bate & Dunne VS JD will be awesome at Elimination Chamber. FACTS: This was Tyler Bate & Pete Dunne's 2nd week in a row on Smackdown, the 1st time Bate teamed with the same wrestler 3 times since he & Trent Seven in NXT UK in 2022, & the 1st time that Dunne teamed with the same wrestler 3 times since he & Ridge Holland in 2023. This was Tommaso Ciampa's 1st Smackdown since the Andre The Giant Battle Royal on April 1, 2022, Johnny Gargano's 1st Smackdown since the Andre The Giant Battle Royal on March 31, 2023, & their 1st 2-on-2 Tag Team Match on Smackdown since they defeated The Bar on February 19, 2019. They were the 1st wrestlers of 2024 to wrestle on Raw & Smackdown in the same week & the 1st time they wrestled British wrestlers since they def Bate & Trent Seven at Worlds Collide on January 25, 2020. And to answer Wade Barrett's question. Bate has never wrestled on WWE PPV, but Ciampa wrestled as part of NXT at Survivor Series in 2019 & he was in the SummerSlam Battle Royal in 2023.
Fun segment with Dominik Mysterio, Kevin Owens, & R-Truth. Put R-Truth on every show.
Good segment with Nick Aldis, Adam Pearce, & Logan Paul. I like Paul having to wrestle on Smackdown. BTW, what happened to Aldis annoucing who Paul's next challenger. I guess it will wait until after Elimination Chamber.
What a week of Chamber Qualifying Matches: Bobby Lashley VS Bronson Reed, LA Knight VS Ivar on Raw, & Kevin Owens VS Dominik Mysterio, The Miz VS Logan Paul on Smackdown for the Men, & Shotzi VS Tiffany Stratton & Naomi VS Zelina Vega on Smackdown for the Women.
I am so happy that I'm not working the day of Elimination Chamber. My office opens 1 Saturday a month & we're opened tomorrow, so we're closed in 2 weeks. So, I can stick to my plan of reading the results when I wake up, updating my site, & then watching the show. Randy Orton VS Sami Zayn was a tremendous match. I figured that Orton would win to continue the storyline of Zayn & his WrestleMania dream slipping away. I love the faceoff between Orton & McIntyre. FACTS: This was Randy Orton's 1st Smackdown & main event since January 19. This was Sami Zayn's 1st Smackdown match & main event of 2024, his 1st Smackdown since he & Kevin Owens defeated The LWO on September 1, 2023 & 1st 1-on-1 on Smackdown since he lost to Jey Uso on April 7, 2023. This is the 3rd 1-on-1 Match between them after Smackdown on October 24, 2017 & December 5, 2017, which were also won by Orton.
Here are my Smackdown Match Rankings:
1) #DIY VS Tyler Bate & Pete Dunne
2) Sami Zayn VS Randy Orton
3) AJ Styles VS Drew McIntyre
4) Bianca Belair VS Mia Yim
Here are my Level Up Thoughts & Facts & Stats:
Kelani Jordan VS Stevie Turner was a decent match. Both women worked hard & showed their talents. FACTS: This was Kelani Jordan's 1st Level Up since January 26, her 1st Level Up opener of 2024, & her 1st 1-on-1 Match since she defeated Kiana James on NXT on November 28, 2023 & 1st on Level Up since she lost to Blair Davenport on 6/30/23. This was the 1st time she wrestled a British wrestler. This was Stevie Turner's 1st Level Up match & opener of 2024, her 1st Level Up & 1st 1-on-1 Match since she lost to Gigi Dolin on November 10, 2023. This was Jordan's 1st win since she defeated Kiana James on Level Up on November 28, 2023.
Javier Bernal VS Keanu Carver was a fun match. Carver is a monster. FACTS: This was Keanu Carver's 1st Level Up since January 26. This was Javier Bernal's 1st Level Up since January 12. This was Bernal's 1st win since he & Luca Crusifino defeated Tyson Dupont & Tyriek Igwe on Level Up on October 6, 2023 & 1st 1-on-1 win since he defeated Boa on Level Up on May 26, 2023.
Tavion Heights VS Myles Borne was a great match. FACTS: This was Tavion Heights' 1st Level Up match & main event since Jamuary 12. This was Myles Borne's 1st Level Up match & main event of 2024, his 1st Level Up & 1st 1-on-1 Match since he defeated Trey Bearhill on November 3, 2023. This was Borne's 1st win since he defeated Trey Bearhill on Level Up on November 3, 2023.
Here are my Level Up Match Rankings:
1) Tavion Heights VS Myles Borne
2) Keanu Carver VS Javier Bernal
3) Kelani Jordan VS Stevie Turner
EXIT 4 Smackdown in Charlotte, NC on the Road to WrestleMania was excellent. I love the Chamber Qualifying Matches & everything having a purpose. Next week will be a good one. Level Up was good.
NEXT STOP: EXIT 5: Raw in Lexington, KY
Ends Smackdown & Level Up Thoughts & Facts & Stats. For the History of the Elimination Chamber Match, visit
darrenswinloss.wordpress.com/2018/02/12/elimchamber/