Friday Night SmackDown Review - March 4, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Ricochet def. Sami Zayn to Win the Intercontinental Championship

Despite how badly he's been booked on WWE's main roster, Ricochet is still a blast to watch work. Zayn's in-ring ability can never be overstated as well, so this was a fun match. When Ricochet vs. Zayn was originally announced last week, I thought there was no chance Ricochet would win, but the title change makes more sense than keeping the belt on Zayn if he's facing Johnny Knoxville at WrestleMania 38, which was confirmed afterward. Ricochet is damaged goods in my book and I don't have much faith for this title run of his, but here's hoping it helps him in the long run.

Austin Theory Attacked Pat McAfee

Vince McMahon informed McAfee on The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday that McAfee would be in action at WrestleMania, but it didn't sound like his opponent would be Vince himself despite what was rumored. Well, we found out here he'll indeed be facing Austin Theory, which I'm totally fine with. McAfee hasn't wrestled in a while, so hopefully he can pull off something similar to what he did at NXT TakeOver 30 and TakeOver: WarGames IV. This was fairly basic and did what it needed to do.

Naomi def. WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Carmella

For those curious, no, we didn't hear from Naomi or Banks beforehand or afterward regarding why they decided to reunite and challenge for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. I'm well aware they have history from their Team B.A.D. days, but it's beyond random right now and beneath both women. This match was way too short to be anything substantial, and in fact, it reminded me of the old Divas division days with how quick and pointless it was. This didn't change my opinion on the feud at all.

Drew McIntyre def. Jinder Mahal

This was the SummerSlam rematch no one asked for. I know McIntyre and Mahal have both said in past interviews that they feel they're capable of having a really good match together if given the time, but I can't say I feel the same way, hence why I was happy this was kept short and sweet. Mahal is nowhere near McIntyre's level. It's bad enough that McIntyre has to face Happy Corbin at WrestleMania, so at least he made quick work of Mahal here.

The Bloodline Attacked Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boogs; Universal Champion Roman Reigns Addressed WWE Champion Brock Lesnar

As popular as they are, Boogs and Nakamura doing their usual shtick after Nakamura lost the Intercontinental Championship two weeks ago and Zayn attacking Boogs the week before that was weird. Thus, I had no issue with The Bloodline laying them out. I assume that means we'll be getting yet another multi-team match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania. Reigns' promo was standard stuff for him, but it did effectively further his feud with Lesnar.

SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos def. The Viking Raiders

This was the match we were supposed to get at Elimination Chamber but was bumped from the card due to budget cuts. There were a few points Viking Raiders nearly had me convinced they were going to win the tag titles, which was impressive considering I didn't view them as a threat whatsoever coming into this contest. They made the most of the time they had and produced an entertaining affair. That's all you could really ask for.

Big E vs. Sheamus Went to a No Contest

I was looking forward to these two rekindling their rivalry from 2020 knowing how well they work together, but it never had a chance to get going due to turning into an angle instead. Ridge Holland attacked Kofi Kingston at ringside while he was sitting on this ATV, so that prevented the match from getting underway. Footage was then shown of Sheamus and Holland destroying the ATV backstage. That sets up a tag team match for next week.

Ronda Rousey def. Sonya Deville

This was more about this being Rousey's first match ever on SmackDown than it was about being actually competitive. I knew that would be the case coming in because of how Deville has been positioned as more of an authority and less of a threat in the ring, but I wish they saved this for after WrestleMania for when it could have meant more. Nonetheless, it was a solid showcase for Rousey, who looked better in this bout than she did at Elimination Chamber. It's interesting that Rousey has been made to look so dominant since returning. Flair will need to get some heat in the coming weeks if the idea is for Rousey to take the title at WrestleMania (as she should).

Overall Show

SmackDown needed an eventful and entertaining episode after a string of boring shows. Thankfully, they delivered everything that was advertised and it was a newsworthy night with the Intercontinental Championship changing hands and two more WrestleMania matches being made official. I don't know if they can do a show like this every week, but this was an encouraging step in the right direction for the blue brand. I could have done without some of the filler, but at least everything served a purpose.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews