 Raw Tag Team Champions RK-Bro Agreed to Face SmackDown Tag Team Champions The UsosThe Usos went to Raw on Monday to challenge RK-Bro to a title unification match, so RK-Bro came to SmackDown to accept the challenge. It was announced later in the show that it will take place at WrestleMania Backlash. This was a solid segment with the two teams exchanging words, though the most notable part being when Randy Orton got animated out of nowhere. You can you tell he's having the most fun of his entire career right now. Rhea Ripley def. WWE Women's Tag Team Champion NaomiRipley was conspicuous by her absence last week on SmackDown and this past week on Raw, so I'm glad she's back and that the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match is officially on for next week's Raw. She and Liv Morgan didn't tease any tension here, and in fact, they're riding a wave of momentum going into Monday's Raw, likely so it's more of a surprise when Ripley turns on her. This wasn't hurt by the babyface vs. babyface dynamic at all seeing as how hot the crowd was for both women. It was a really good match that received the time it deserved. Madcap Moss def. HumbertoPersonally, I've never seen anything special in Moss, but I hope he can get over as a babyface because SmackDown needs new stars. To his credit, the pre-match promo he cut backstage wasn't bad, but he has to ditch the dumb name and joking gimmick. I don't see it getting beyond a certain level. The match itself was fine and gave Moss a momentum-building win, though I wish WWE was doing more with Los Lotharios. SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair Attacked Drew GulakGulak suddenly transitioning into an on-air broadcasting role is random, but I'm willing to give it a chance. Hey, it's better than him not being featured on the show at all and being at risk of getting released, so there's that. Plus, this felt more like it's going to be a character thing as opposed to Gulak strictly being an interviewer, so we'll see where it goes. Flair did a decent job of furthering her feud with Ronda Rousey in promo form, but their storyline is still completely sold. Drew McIntyre def. Sami Zayn by Count-OutAlthough this lasted a little longer than their encounter last week, it was the same song and dance with McIntyre beating up Zayn for a few minutes before Zayn escaped into the crowd, once again leading to McIntyre winning by count-out. The angle was well done even though it was exactly what they did a week ago. They'll have one more match next week contested under Lumberjack rules, so that should be entertaining at least. Intercontinental Champion Ricochet def. Jinder MahalThe build to this bout was basically nonexistent. Mahal asked Adam Pearce for a title shot last week and had it granted. Seriously. I couldn't bring myself to care about Mahal challenging for a pointless prop, so maybe it was for the best that this was kept short and sweet. Granted, it did nothing to boost its prestige or make fans feel like it's important at all, but it was harmless. Ricochet needs more credible competition if this reign is going to matter. Riddle def. SmackDown Tag Team Champion Jimmy UsoFor a match with no stakes designed to serve as a preview of the tag title unification match at WrestleMania Backlash, this was a quality main event. It helps that RK-Bro are so damn over and that The Usos are established. It worked as the main event for this week because nothing else made sense to be slotted there. Even Riddle is attempting to perfect the RKO out of nowhere, so kudos to him. Overall ShowThe lack of Roman Reigns on this show was certainly noticeable and left this show feeling inconsequential on the whole. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed some of the matches, but this was pretty middle-of-the-road stuff, and the best parts of the program featured Raw Superstars. If the Brand Split isn't ending, SmackDown's going to need some more star power in addition to the recent call-ups/returns of Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser, Raquel Rodriguez and Lacey Evans (though they're a start). I thought they may be building toward Reigns vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, but considering their altercation last week wasn't acknowledged once on this episode, now I'm not so sure. In fact, I don't think the company itself is sure what the hell they're doing with the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship going into WrestleMania Backlash.
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