WWE SmackDown live results: Elimination Chamber qualifiers continue
The road to Elimination Chamber continues tonight from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX, as SmackDown has two more qualifying matches for the men’s and women’s Chamber matches.
On the men’s side, rivals Cody Rhodes and Jacob Fatu find themselves in the same qualifier, with Sami Zayn rounding out the triple threat. Last week, Rhodes and Fatu got their pound of flesh on Undisputed WWE Champion Drew McIntyre in separate attacks, but only one of them will move a step closer to facing McIntyre for the title.
Meanwhile, it will be Alexa Bliss versus Zelina versus Giulia, with the winner set to join Rhea Ripley and Tiffany Stratton as part of the women’s Elimination Chamber match.
And speaking of Rhea Ripley, she and IYO SKY will defend their WWE Women’s Tag Titles tonight when they take on Nia Jax and Lash Legend.
Jordynne Grace will finally get her chance to face Jade Cargill for the WWE Women’s Championship after weeks of bad blood.
Rey Fenix takes on Trick Williams once more tonight after a tense confrontation backstage.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern.
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– Joe Tessitore teed up tonight’s show as we saw shots of Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn, Jacob Fatu, Alexa Bliss, Giulia, Zelina, Jordynne Grace, and Jade Cargill backstage. Inside the American Airlines Centre, Tessitore and Wade Barrett welcomed us to tonight’s show.
Tiffany Stratton opens SmackDown
The former WWE Women’s Champion made her way to the ring to kick off our show as we took a look at how she qualified for the women’s Elimination Chamber match on last week’s show.
Once Stratton entered the ring, she asked the Dallas crowd what time it was before she recounted how she lost her WWE Women’s Title after her impressive rookie year. That was why she decided to qualify for the women’s Elimination Chamber because she wanted to walk in to expecting to win in Chicago. Before she could get far, the music of perennial rival Nia Jax interrupted.
Jax, accompanied by Lash Legend, addressed Stratton, stating that she did get lucky last week. Stratton replied by talking about how Jax seemed to be obsessed with her, and that she got a replacement in the form of Legend. In response, Legend said that she was the upgrade and that she and Jax would defeat RHIYO for the tag titles later tonight. And that Jax would qualify for the women’s Chamber.
Jax and Legend threatened to take care of their Stratton problem right there and then, but they were interrupted by the Women’s Tag Team Champions themselves, Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY. Ripley said that Jax and Legend shouldn’t get too ahead of themselves, because they wouldn’t be walking out of the women’s tag titles, much less make it to WrestleMania. Ripley said she and SKY would work together until they were the last team standing. That led to our opening match.
A bit of a rough opening segment, if we’re being honest. Maybe it’s just bad memories of Stratton and Jax’s never ending feud from last year resurfacing again.
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WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: RHIYO (Rhea Ripley & IYO SKY) vs. Nia Jax & Lash Legend
Our opener started with Jax getting the upper hand on SKY as she chopped at her in the corner, followed by a mocking slap. SKY escaped out of a Jax maneuver, which allowed her to use her speed to get ahead of her massive foe. SKY blasted Jax with a shotgun dropkick, as Ripley tagged herself in and hit Jax with a big knee. Ripley sent Jax out of the ring with a dropkick, as Legend was also dumped out. This led to SKY hitting a diving moonsault from the apron to knock both Legend and Jax down outside the ring.
Jax was brought back into the ring as SKY headed to the top. Legend grabbed at SKY’s leg, which allowed Jax to hit SKY with a Samoan Drop for an early near-fall, as we took a break.
Back on SmackDown as Legend and Jax tried to work over SKY in the corner. After Jax missed with a runnig attack, SKY used her as a platform to hit Legend with a diving dropkick. This allowed her to get the hot tag from Ripley, who used her strength to match against Legend’s own strength. After a struggle, Ripley hit Legend with a hurricanrana, followed by a DDT for the two-count. SKY headed to the top, but Jax escaped Ripley’s Riptide attempt, as she intercepted SKY on the top rope. However, this left her open for Ripley’s impressive feat of strength with the powerbomb. SKY off the top rope with the Over the Moonsault. One… two… Legend stepped in to break the count.
Outside the ring, Legend proceeded to slam SKY all around the ringside area and the commentary table. Ripley hit a dropkick as the match was called off by the referee.
As the bell rang, things just broke down as Jax and Legend gained the upper hand on the tag champions. Legend pulled out the Slim Jim-branded table from under the ring and set it up. Legend set Ripley up on the table as Jax headed up the top rope. Ripley escaped as SKY intercepted Jax and tackled her through the Slim Jim table. Meanwhile,. Legend sent Ripley through the timekeeper area’s barricade.
RHIYO vs. Nia Jax & Lash Legend ended in a No Contest
Not sure if I liked the title match randomly just ending, because that finish was a bit of a hot mess, even if the table break and barricade buster spots were exciting enough to excite the crowd in Dallas.
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– Cody Rhodes was interviewed about his chances in the Elimination Chamber qualifier earlier tonight, as he talked about he could be passionate or he could do his golden boy thing and control his emotions. He talks about how there are those who are hoping he, Sami Zayn, and Jacob Fatu rip each other apart in the main event later tonight. Rhodes said that he was two matches away, and as he is in the middle of Von Erich Country, and that we shouldn’t bet against him tonight.
– Carmelo Hayes was walking backstage as Matt Cardona and Apollo Crews — again inexplicably hanging out with one another — met up with him. Cardona and Crews called their shot for the U.S. Title, but Hayes stated the Open Challenge was closed for this evening. The Miz interrupted him and talked about how Hayes was testing his three core values, and he was going to teach him a lesson in respect. Hayes walked off, telling Miz that he hoped he taught that lesson better than he wrestled.
– We got a promo from Aleister Black that was focused on his words to Randy Orton last week, while Zelina addressed her Elimination Chamber qualifier foes Alexa Bliss and Giulia.
Let’s Hear from Carmelo Hayes
The United States Champion headed out to the ring, ready to address the Dallas crowd.
Hayes, with mic in hand, said he wanted to talk to us real quick as the fans chanted for him. Hayes said that for the last 48 days he was the U.S. Champion, he chose to honor the title in the same way the guys before he did. He talked about how his matches were bangers after bangers and that he backed it up more than once. Hayes said that he earned his opportunity at WrestleMania, as he said he was going to shoot his shot for the main event. Hayes declared himself for an Elimination Chamber qualifier for next week. But, before that, there is someone he made a promised to and he owed it to him, as Ilja Dragunov was called out by Hayes.
Before this U.S. Title match could get started, the M.F.T.s interrupted. Solo Sikoa said that if there’s any U.S. Title matches, it’s not gonna involve Dragunov, it’s going to start with him.
Dragunov mocked Sikoa after the M.F.T.’s abandoned him last week. Hayes said that maybe he should leave Dallas with two titles tonight, seemingly calling his shot for the WWE Tag Team Titles. This led to Sikoa’s group marching into the ring and launching an attack on Hayes and Dragunov. Matt Cardona and Apollo Crews tried to even the odds, but the numbers game was still in the M.F.T.s’ favor. Shinsuke Nakamura ran in for the save to help Hayes and company get rid of Sikoa’s group.
SmackDown GM Nick Aldis took notice and made a big 10-man tag match to start right now (or at least after the commercial break).
Not sure if I like seeing the U.S. Title get sucked into the M.F.T. vortex as this segment seemed to suggest. Not a fan of this segment at all, and this show’s off to a bit of a rough start as a result.
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Ten-Man Tag Match: The M.F.T.s. (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, J.C. Mateo, Tanga Loa, Talla Tonga) vs. Carmelo Hayes, Ilja Dragunov, Matt Cardona, & Apollo Crews
This match began in progress after the commercial as Cardona mixed it up with Mateo briefly before Tanga was tagged in. Cardona hit a dropkick on him for the near-fall. Tanga pulled down on Cardona’s tights a bit too hard as he took him down with a hard clothesline following Sikoa hitting Cardona from behind.
The M.F.T.s continued to work over Cardona as Talla entered with a tag and battered his foe’s back with clubbing blows. Talla dropped Cardona with a huge Samoan Drop as he maintained the attack. Tanga tagged in, but was foiled by Cardona, who managed to tag Dragunov into the match. Dragunov unleashed a flurry of offense on Tanga, capped off with a big boot. On the top rope, Talla struck Dragunov down from the top rope, which sent him crashing out of the ring. Talla then cracked Dragunov with a running forearm as we took a break.
We returned as Mateo had Dragunov in a resthold that was quickly broken out of with a series of furious chops. Dragunov missed with the enzuigiri, which allowed Mateo to tag in Sikoa. However, Dragunov hit the kick on Sikoa, which allowed him to tag in the U.S. Champion Hayes. Melo was on fire, as he hit Sikoa with the springboard clothesline. Tama was blasted with the backwards springboard legdrop by Hayes, who then connected with La Mistica on Sikoa. Things began to breakdown as all the competitors got involved in the chaos. Talla Tonga was left as the last man standing as Hayes and Dragunov attempted to team up on him. The two got dropped by a double chokeslam by Talla. Crews and Cardona tried their hand, but almost found themselves the victim of a chokeslam, until Nakamura got involved. Eventually, the three managed to put Talla out of commission with a flurry of dives.
Mateo took out Nakamura with a slam, but was taken out by Sikoa. Hayes re-entered the fray and hit the First 48. Tama Tonga pushed Hayes into a Samoan Spike, as he then entered and hit his not-quite-Ospreayan Cutthroat on Hayes to pick up the win.
As The M.F.T.s tried to celebrate their win, the lights went out and The Wyatt Sicks were shown watching them in the crowd as the Wyatts’ horror sting bumper played us out.
The M.F.T.s def. Carmelo Hayes, Ilja Dragunov, Matt Cardona, Apollo Crews, & Shinsuke Nakamura via pinfall.
A decent ten-man match that got the crowd going nicely, but yikes, I am not liking the idea of the U.S. Title scene being subsumed by the M.F.T. vortex, much like how the tag titles have been held hostage by the M.F.T./Wyatts nonsense, as Tama Tonga getting the pin here seems to indicate.
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– Charlotte Flair offered a “Galentines Day” gift to Alexa Bliss, which included flowers and a picture of herself as an apology for what happened at the Royal Rumble. Bliss said that Flair’s best present for her was to be at ringside to “woo” her.
– Backstage, Damian Priest learned that he’d be facing Carmelo Hayes & Trick Williams in an Elimination Chamber qualifier next week. Kit Wilson marched into Nick Aldis’ office, incensed at being put in the situation with Oba Femi last week. Wilson read a poem to Aldis, declaring him “toxic”, so R-Truth offered a poem of his own to mock Wilson, stating that he wasn’t a real man because he saw a “camel toe”. Truth’s poem managed to get a laugh out of Aldis and Priest (despite being rather unfunny), as Wilson stormed off in disgust.
Women’s Elimination Chamber Qualifier: Alexa Bliss (w/ Charlotte Flair) vs. Zelina vs. Giulia (w/ Kiana James)
This match got underway as Bliss went for a pin on Zelina right away. Giulia tried her hand on a pin on Bliss, but we just ended up with a stalemate between the three.
Zelina fought out of a Sister Abigail, and sent Bliss into the corner. Zelina and Giulia mixed it up in the ring, as the Women’s U.S. Champion connected with a suplex. Giulia followed that up with a stretching smash to the back of Zelina, who responded with a back suplex. Meanwhile, Bliss entered and had Zelina in a chokehold. Giulia interrupted, and found herself slammed down to the mat by Bliss. Cannonball from the apron to Giulia by Bliss, who herself was taken out by a dive from Zelina as we took a commercial break at this point.
We returned from break as Giulia stomped away on Bliss in the corner before Zelina threw her aside. As Zelina took shots at Bliss in the corner, she found herself Biel thrown by Giulia. Zelina recovered and headed up top, but was distracted by Kiana James, which allowed Giulia to head up top and connect the avalanche butterfly suplex on Zelina. Meanwhile, Bliss recovered and unleashed her fury on both Giulia and Zelina, as he hit a double Natural Selection on the both of them.
Bliss headed to the top rope, but Giulia caught her and intercepted. Zelina climbed up to the top and hit a back suplex from the middle turnbuckle for the near-fall. Zelina and Giulia traded strikes in the middle of the ring until Bliss got back to her feet and took out Zelina with an elbow. With Giulia out thainks to a missed knee strike, Bliss headed to the top and tried for the Twisted Bliss. Giulia got her knees up to block it, as she was then dropped by a Code Red from Zelina. Bliss caught Zelina with a DDT and went for the cover, but it was broken up by an Arrivederci Knee. Giulia hit the Northern Lights Bomb on Bliss as her cover was broken up by Zelina.
Kiana James got on the apron and taken out by Zelina, who then took Giulia out of the ring. As Zelina tried for the running dive, she was intercepted by Alexa Bliss, who connected with the Sister Abigail DDT to pick up the victory.
Alexa Bliss def. Giulia & Zelina via pinfall to qualify for the Women’s Elimination Chamber
Probably the best match of the night so far. Not sure if I agree with Bliss as the winner of this match, but it doesn’t take away from how much I enjoyed that match.
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– We got a Sonic-sponsored recap of the beef between Cody Rhodes and Jacob Fatu.
– Sami Zayn motivated Rey Fenix to teach Trick Williams a lesson, as he told what Fenix told him last week was something he was going to take into his Elimination Chamber qualifier later tonight.
Trick Williams has something to say
Rey Fenix’s opponent made his way down to the ring as he had quite a few things to say before his match. Williams talked about nobody in Dallas wanted to hear Sami Zayn — “Mr. Can’t Get The Job Done” — tell another sob story. Williams said that Zayn begging for another opportunity made him sick. Williams said that Zayn had a big opportunity later tonight against Cody Rhodes and Jacob Fatu, but they would eat him alive if he kept on moping. Next week, however, Williams declared he was ready to do whatever it took to qualify for the Elimination Chamber, lemon pepper steppers and all. Willams turned his attention to Rey Fenix, stating that he wasn’t going to lie down for him just because he was new here. “When people go to the zoo, they don’t wanna see a squirrel do a flip, they wanna see a lion like me,” said Williams to wrap up his promo.
Speaking of Fenix, he made his way down to the ring as he got set to take on Williams after the break.
There’s just something so compelling about Trick Williams’ promo ability that’s on full display whenever he gets a chance to speak his truth. He’s acquitted himself well upon his arrival to the main roster, and this short promo was no exception.
Trick Williams vs. Rey Fenix
This match began as Williams ran through Fenix with a shoulder block with linebacker-level strength. Williams threw Fenix down and tried to assert physical dominance early. Fenix hit Williams with a pair of kicks, followed by the handstand elbow on his foe. Fenix tried for a rolling attack, but Williams caught him and attempted to hit a chop. Fenix recovered and connected with an incredible missile dropkick for the two-count. Fenix had Williams in his sights, but he was turned upside down by an amazing pinning kick from Williams. In the corner, Williams withstood chops from Fenix before he slammed him down on the ground.
Williams kept the momentum going with the tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, followed by a jumping neckbreaker on Fenix. A pin attempt by Williams, but Fenix kicked out as we took a break halfway through this one.
We returned from the break as Fenix tried to rally back against Williams with repeated chops to the chest and a clothesline that failed to take his foe down. Williams responded by sending Fenix upwards and then crashing to the mat. A hard slap from Williams to the face of Fenix followed, but the big man found himself taken out by a spinning kick from one half of the Lucha Brothers. Fenix woke up and hit the leaping spinning kick in the corner, followed by an Adios Amigo kick that didn’t get all of Williams. Fenix headed up top and hit a diving crossbody on Williams, as he rolled back up and took off from the other top turnbuckle with a frog splash. One, two…. NO!
Williams rolled out of the ring to catch his breath as Fenix again took flight and hit Williams with another diving crossbody on the outside. Fenix brought Williams back into the ring and again went to the top rope. Williams recovered and hit Fenix as he got him on his shoulders for some sort of avalanche move. Fenix fought back and instead caught Williams with a diving double stomp as he took off from the tippy-top of the ring post. Again, Williams had the wherewithal to kick out at two following that flurry from Fenix.
Fenix missed with the moonsault, as he then found himself turned inside out by Williams’ Trickshot Knee for the one, two, three.
Trick Williams def. Rey Fenix via pinfall
Fantastic match taht highlighted both the strengths of both Fenix and especially Williams. They’ve honestly done good by Trick since his call-up and giving him this kind of exposure early on in his main roster tenure has done him a world of good so far. The crowd has responded well to Williams and it’s helped him feel like quite the big deal.
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– IYO SKY and Rhea Ripley licked their wounds after their opening match earlier, as Giulia angrily yelled after failing to win her Elimination Chamber qualifier. SKY took a good look at Giulia and appeared to call her shot for the Women’s U.S. Title as an angry Giulia ran off. Jade Cargill walked by and stared down Ripley before she left.
WWE SmackDown recapper. Former NXT PLE/WWE Saturday Night's Main Event/fill-in recapper.