Friday Night SmackDown aired this week from inside the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. With Rhea Ripley beating out five other women in the Elimination Chamber match to face Jade Cargill for the WWE Women’s Championship at this year’s WrestleMania, Mami has made it clear that she will be in the building tonight to address Cargill. Lash Legend and Nia Jax also plan on throwing a celebration for winning the Women’s Tag Team Championships last week. How well did it go? Let’s get started and find out.
With balloons, champagne, and a red carpet covering the ring mat, the new Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax and Lash Legend made their way out and in style to celebrate their victory. Jax took the mic to tell the Portland crowd to soak it all in and get a real good look at six-foot, thoroughbred stallions. Now, with these titles, they have the entire tag division on lock as two of the most dominant women in WWE. They are generous champs and they’re not going to just settle, so any and all challengers are welcome, but to be fair, it won’t make a difference.
Legend says Jax is absolutely right about that, because if anyone is brave enough to step to them and try to take these tag team titles, just know that if you run up, you’re going to get done up. And for all of those in the back and in the locker room, this is their first, last, and only warning that The Irresistible Forces are here, and they ain’t going nowhere. Since it’s Women’s History Month, it’s only fitting for them to have a toast and have a cheer to the most grande and most dominant WWE tag team champions. They each grab a small glass of champagne and pyro went off to celebrate their new title reign.
Charlotte Flair’s music interrupted the proceedings, with her and Alexa Bliss making their way out to the ring, Flair clad in her ring gear. Bliss said she was really happy for Nia as it looked like she finally found a coattail to ride all her way to the top, but Bliss and Flair remember what actually happened. The only reason the two lost the titles to The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) back in November was because Nia and Lash, referred to by Bliss as “you two cheaters”, interfered in their matches. Flair then added that the champions want challengers, and they’re looking at the next ones in line.
The two teams stared at each other before Giulia’s theme music hit. Arriving with Kiana James, it was James who inserted herself into the conversation, wondering if the other women had memory issues as she mentioned her defeated of Flair and Jax two weeks ago to qualify for the women’s Elimination Chamber match as well as pinning Bliss to eliminate her first from the Chamber match itself. Giulia and her plan on going to WrestleMania one way or another. Giulia then spoke to the two teams in Japanese, before mentioning that her and James were going to walk out of Las Vegas, the site of this year’s show, with the Women’s Tag Team Championship. As James asked for Flair and Bliss to step to the side, the two teams began to argue, prompting Nick Aldis to make his way out to book a match to start right now.
With the match beginning during commercials, the show returned with the Allies of Convenience taking out the heel tandem, but it wasn’t long before James took advantage, kicking down Flair and driving her shoulders into Flair’s midsection repeatedly. The Queen would get her knees up when James attempted a moonsault, leaving the two dazed and tagging in Bliss and Giulia to the loud ovation of the fans.
The show returned from commercials with Bliss having tagged in Flair, who unleashed waves of offense, from a crossbody to chops to a clothesline, to increasingly louder waves of cheers; a moonsault from the top turnbuckle to James inched very close to putting her away. Ultimately, what did the heel team in was a Natural Selection to Giulia after Bliss stopped James from intervening, with Bliss and Flair winning the match.
After Randy Orton tried to give Sami Zayn some encouragement, Zelina appeared with her husband Aleister Black to talk to him. While the interaction was very brief, it was Black who advised Zayn not to worry about him, with Vega adding that Orton can’t help himself, smiling in a very sinister manner as the two walked off.
Rhea Ripley entered the stage later on to come face-to-face with WWE Women’s Champion, Jade Cargill. Ripley grabbed the mic to say that she was here on SmackDown after promising she would come. Since she knows Jade has a lot she wants to say to her, she can come out here and say it to her face.
Jade Cargill arrived and once she entered the ring, shared a suspicious handshake with a smile on her face. Cargill said she gave her a handshake because she respects Ripley. She respects all her accomplishments, how the people love her, how she earned her way to see her in a title match at WrestleMania, and as someone who works hard in the gym, she respects how hard she works to build the body she has. But she’s not impressed; her arms might be big, but her arms are bigger; her legs are muscular, powerful even, but hers are more powerful. Cargill considers herself more worthy for the WWE Women’s Championship and come WrestleMania, she’s going to beat the hell out of Ripley and there is nothing she can do about it, because she’s that bitch, dropping the mic.
Ripley now extends her hand in the same way Cargill did, mentioning that she respects her honesty; now she knows how she really thinks about her. Ripley guesses she doesn’t impress Cargill physically, but she has to say, Cargill does impress her physically. Cargill’s shoulders, arms, legs, and hands might be bigger than hers, but if she hits her with her best shot, does she really think Ripley is going to go down and stay down? No. But if Ripley hits Cargill with hers, there’s absolutely no way The Storm is getting back up.
The difference between the two is that Rhea considers Jade’s body to be for show, while hers is built for fighting. Cargill works out so she’s more aesthetically pleasing, but Rhea works out so her body can survive and thrive within this business. When that bell rings, Cargill can flex all she wants; it doesn’t matter because she is going to fight, and she’s going to take that title from her and take it with force, and there’s not a damn thing she can do about it, because she’s that bitch, also dropping the mic as she exited the ring.
Johnny Gargano continued to lie face-down on a box as Candice LeRae spoke with Alex Shelley of the Motor City Machine Guns. Shelley mentions that he has known them both for a long time, and if she didn’t marry who Gargano is in his current state, he needs to know who the real Johnny Gargano is. LeRae agrees and has been wondering the same thing for weeks, as her husband’s depression has extended beyond just losing Axiom’s blue mask, especially considering he left LeRae during her match against Jordynne Grace last week.
Shelley’s tag team partner Chris Sabin walks in, wondering why Shelley is even engaging with conversation with them; Shelley feels the way the rest of the tag team division has poked fun at Gargano has been a bit cruel lately and it’s time for them to let it go. The two then walk away to discuss other matters, but LeRae tells Gargano that they can’t keep doing this. She needs him to get up and get back to being “Johnny Wrestling”, the “Johnny Wrestling” who believed that he could do it himself. Gargano gets up, her words seemingly getting through to him as he says she’s right. Gargano says he’s going to the ring, to which LeRae follows him hurriedly.
After the next commercial break, the show returned with LeRae in the ring with Gargano, who cut a promo talking about how he is one of the best professional wrestlers in the world and is tired of pretending like he’s not. As she clapped and smiled in support, Gargano said it’s about time everyone remembers who he is, and more importantly, it’s time he remembers who he is, issuing an open challenge to anyone in the locker room.
Unfortunately, the person to answer that challenge was Oba Femi, and Gargano was quickly defeated with LeRae dismayed at the loss.
Right after, we saw Jade Cargill walking backstage, and as has been happening for the past two weeks, running into Michin and B-Fab. Michin questions again if Jade forgot about her already, as she’s been waiting for her pound of flesh. Jade replies by saying she didn’t forget, because she’s got a million things going on, and questions Michin as to why she let Rhea skip the line. Michin reminds her that Rhea earned her spot to challenge for the title, and says that once she gets her beating and takes her title, then she’ll worry about Rhea. Cargill says she’s done talking, and will see Michin next week. A match between the two was subsequently booked for next week’s episode.
Friday Night SmackDown airs next week from inside the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Here is what’s set to take place:
- Jade Cargill vs. Michin