WWE Friday Night Smackdown Live Coverage - March 8th, 2024

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Will Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins accept The Rock and Roman Reigns' WrestleMania challenge?

The Rock proposed that Rhodes and Rollins battle him and Reigns in a tag team match on WrestleMania Saturday. If Rhodes and Rollins win, The Bloodline will be barred from ringside for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Match. If The Head of the Table and The Most Electrifying Man in All of Entertainment are to win, however, the main event title showdown the following night will become "Bloodline Rules". The Rock threatened that if Rhodes and Rollins do not answer the challenge, the story would tragically end. Rhodes and Rollins declared they are coming to the blue brand to give their adversaries a face-to-face answer. Will they agree to the the stipulation? Will tonight's confrontation spin out of control?


:smackdown:

– This week's show kicks off with a video package recapping The Rock and Roman Reigns issuing a challenge for a tag-team match to Cody Rhodes and Seth "Freakin'" Rollins for night one of WrestleMania XL on last week's show.

– Backstage, we see The Rock pull up in a pick-up truck. He hops out and puts on a cowboy hat. We see him start walking into the building with extra security behind him. The camera cuts backstage and we see Roman Reigns and The Bloodline walking the hallways with extra security behind them.

We then see Cody Rhodes walking the hallways backstage. Up walks Seth "Freakin'" Rollins and the two begin walking together when they are stopped by SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis. They smile and walk on as Corey Graves and Wade Barrett welcome us to the show.

– Inside the American Airlines Center we hear the familiar sounds of Logan Paul's theme music. Out comes the WWE United States Champion to a ton of boos from the Dallas crowd. He settles inside the ring and gets on the microphone to kick off this week's show.

Logan talks about Dallas being a city of history for him. He says two years ago it marked the location of his first-ever WrestleMania. He then mentions how tonight in Dallas is going to be big as well. The fans give him the "What?" treatment and he says he's not doing that. They boo.

He starts talking again and they do it again. "Oh, you guys suck" he says with a chuckle as he realizes he has to continue whether they "What?" him to death or not, which is exactly what they're going to do now that he has called them out and taken a hard stance against it.

Paul calls himself the "secret sauce of WWE's business boom," taking credit for the recent records broken and history-making deals. "You could say WWE is in its' PRIME," he says, before asking for a drum roll. He removes a cloth off the mat and we see the logo for his PRIME energy drink.

He says his company PRIME has made a deal to be the exclusive center ring sponsor for WrestleMania XL and every other WWE premium live event from now on. He then continues and says he wants to "welcome to the PRIME ring" his partner, KSI.

The social media sensation and influencer boxing star hops the barricade from the crowd and joins him in the ring to a ton of boos. The fans then give him a loud "USA!" treatment after Paul points out he came all the way from England to be here.

He has a camera man get on the apron to take a photo of the two PRIME company leaders posing in front of the center ring PRIME logo sponsorship. As they pose for the picture, the theme for Randy Orton plays. "The Viper" doesn't show up at first, but eventually appears in the ring behind Logan Paul and KSI.

He goes for an RKO on Logan, but Logan barely avoids it and exits the ring. KSI is still looking at the entrance way for Orton to come out as Orton stands up behind him. KSI does the slow turn and Orton blasts him with an RKO for a big pop as Logan watches on from the entrance stage.

We see a cool blimp over-head camera shot of KSI laid out from the RKO right over the PRIME center ring sponsorship. Orton picks up a PRIME bottle KSI dropped and takes a sip of it. "This is very good" he yells to Logan outside the ring before pouring it all over the unconscious KSI. The opening segment ends on that note.

Randy Orton & Kevin Owens vs. Austin Theory & Grayson Waller

After the opening segment wraps up, Graves and Barrett promote Orton and Kevin Owens against Austin Theory and Grayson Waller in tag-team action for tonight. We then head into a commercial break. When we return, we see the Triple H social media video touting WWE's YouTube passing 100 million subscribers.

Back inside the arena, Kevin Owens joins Randy Orton in the ring for our first match of the evening. The duo of Austin Theory and Grayson Waller come out next and the bell sounds to get this one officially off-and-running. Owens and Theory kick things off for their respective teams.

Owens takes the early offensive lead over Theory. While controlling him in an arm-bar on the mat, "The Prize Fighter" takes some time to yell to Waller on the ring apron, "Nobody likes you!" Waller finally tags in and he and Owens stare each other down. Owens teases a tag to Orton.

Waller doesn't want that. Owens does it anyways. "The Viper" comes into the ring and stares Waller down. The two lock up and Orton powers Waller into the corner, where he jabs him with a finger in the eye before climbing up on the ropes over him for the ten-punch spot, with the crowd counting as each shot lands.

We head to a mid-match commercial moments later. When we return, we see Orton and Owens fighting from underneath back into competitive form. Ultimately, Orton hits an RKO for the win. After the match, Logan Paul hits the ring for an attack. He pulls out the brass knuckles, but Orton and Owens run him off when Orton gets the brass knuckles.

Winners: Randy Orton & Kevin Owens

– We see a look outside of the joint locker room for WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth "Freakin'" Rollins and "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes, with about a dozen security guards hired by Nick Aldis for the duo, and The Bloodline, for their in-ring challenge announcement later tonight. We head to another commercial break.

– When we return, Graves and Barrett hype Bayley challenging IYO SKY for the WWE Women's Championship at WrestleMania XL and then show a video package looking at the history between Bayley and IYO SKY/Damage CTRL, including Dakota Kai setting her up again for a turn last week.

– Back live, we see Bayley sitting down with Kayla Braxton for a one-on-one discussion. She mentions how she's hanging on by a thread after being betrayed so many times. She says she's unable to tell what was real with Damage CTRL and what was just them using her. She mentions Dakota Kai using these emotions against her to set her up a second time last week.

– After that wraps up, we see Naomi watching a monitor and looking like she feels sorry for Bayley. Up walks Bianca Belair, who asks her why she feels bad for her. She says she got what she deserved, and explains how she wasn't here the past year to see all the chaos she caused. She says Bayley made her bed. Naomi still isn't sure what to think.

Bobby Lashley vs. Karrion Kross

We head back inside the arena for our second match of the evening. We hear the sounds of the theme music for Bobby Lashley and out comes "The All Mighty" for scheduled one-on-one action. As he settles inside the squared circle, we shift gears and head into a quick pre-match commercial break.

When we return from the break, Karrion Kross' theme hits and The Fallen Testament leader makes his way out accompanied by Scarlett. The bell sounds and off we go with this one. We see Lashley start off strong, but Kross takes over. Kross hits a big spot on Lashley on the floor and Scarlett starts passionately sucking on his finger as we head into a mid-match commercial.

As we settle back in from the commercials, we see Kross has Lashley locked in an arm-bar in the middle of the ring. Kross continues to control the action until finally "The All Mighty" comes to life on the floor, sending Kross violently bouncing off the ring post.

Back in the ring, Lashley has Kross ready for a Spear when The Authors of Pain hit the ring and attack him, which prompts the ref to call for the bell, putting an end to this match. The Street Profits hit the ring to make the save, and help Lashley run off The Final Testament members.

Winner via DQ: Bobby Lashley

– Backstage, we see Dragon Lee and Legado Del Fantasma talk about Rey Mysterio. Santos Escobar says he's dead and gone, and he's the future. He says Legado Del Fantasma is the future. They punk out Dragon Lee, shoving him on his ass. Angel crouches down and tells him he'll see him later tonight.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Michin

Inside the arena, we hear the sounds of Tiffany Stratton's theme song. The fans pop and out comes Stratton yelling "It's Tiffy-Time!" She settles inside the squared circle for our next match of the evening, and as she does, we head into a quick pre-match commercial break.

When we return, we see the updated list of inductees for the 2024 class of the WWE Hall of Fame, which includes Paul Heyman, Bull Nakano and the US Express tag-team of Barry Windham and Mike Rotunda. Back live, Michin is in the ring finishing up her entrance. The bell sounds and this one gets started.

Early on we see some basic back-and-forth action, but within a minute or two, Stratton takes over and starts to dominate. She sets Michin up and heads to the top-rope, where she connects with the Prettiest Moonsault Ever for the quick-and-easy victory.

Winner: Tiffany Stratton

– We shoot to a video package featuring AJ Styles talking directly into the camera. He mentions flying all the way to Australia to do what he did at the WWE Elimination Chamber: Perth event, attacking LA Knight, because he's an overachieving, un-talented loud mouth.

Styles says Knight doesn't even deserve to be in the same locker room with him. He vows to be the one to give Knight that reality check. We see LA Knight watching this on a television backstage. He gets out of his chair and yells about taking a practice swing before knocking the TV down with the chair.

He continues to talk trash about Styles as he beats the TV up with the chair on the ground. Back inside the arena, the theme for Legado Del Fantasma plays and out comes the whole group for our next match of the evening, which will feature Angel going one-on-one against Dragon Lee.

Angel vs. Dragon Lee

As the Legado Del Fantasma member settles in the ring, we shift gears and head into a quick pre-match commercial break. When we return, we see Tyler Bate playing the WWE 2K24 video game backstage and trying to tell Pete Dunne about it, but "The BruiserWeight" isn't interested.

Back live inside the arena, the theme for Dragon Lee hits and out comes the masked man touted as the next coming of Rey Mysterio. The bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with this one. Dragon Lee starts off well, but after Angel fakes a leg injury to draw the ref in and buy himself a breather.

He capitalizes by attacking Dragon Lee and taking over, blasting him with a knee that knocks him through the ropes backwards, where he lands on his head on the floor. On that note, we head into a mid-match commercial break. When we return, we see Angel still dominating the action.

Dragon Lee starts to take over and we see Santos Escobar looking nervous at ringside. Moments later, Dragon Lee gets a roll-up for the win. As soon as he scores the three-count, Legado Del Fantasma hit the ring for a post-match attack. No one comes out to make the save, and Dragon Lee is left laying.

Winner: Dragon Lee

– We see Damage CTRL backstage. They talk into the camera about Bayley's comments earlier. They then tell her they've been running things all along. They say it's always been IYO SKY's Era. She says Bayley claims she's gonna tear down Damage CTRL. She tells her to try it in the ring next week.

Now we see SmackDown G.M. Nick Aldis walk up to the locker room for The Bloodline. The Rock and Roman Reigns aren't there. He asks the security guys where they are. We head to another commercial break.

– When we come back from the break, Rey Mysterio's return and Bayley vs. Dakota Kai is announced for next week's SmackDown.

– Back inside the arena, Roman Reigns' theme hits and out he comes accompanied by "The Wise Man" Paul Heyman, Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso. As The Bloodline settle in the ring, his music dies down.

Before he says anything, the theme for The Rock hits and out comes the WWE legend in another fancy, "$5,000" colorful vest. He settles in the ring and dose his pose on the ropes and then settles next to The Bloodline instead of with them, per usual, as his music dies down.

Roman begins on the mic. "Dallas, Texas ..." he stops. He and The Rock do the old Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage "Mega Powers" handshake again and then Reigns finishes, "ACKNOWLEDGE US!" The theme for Cody Rhodes hits before he can say anything else. Out comes "The American Nightmare" through the crowd.

As he stops and soaks in the atmosphere, the camera shows Seth "Freakin'" Rollins in all black, wearing dark sunglasses, also in the crowd. On that note, we shift gears and head into another mid-segment commercial break. When we return, we see Cody and Seth settling into the ring.

Heyman, Uso and Sikoa head out to the ringside area. The fans do the Seth Rollins sing-along with no music playing as The Rock and Roman Reigns stand in the ring on one side, while Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins stand on the other. Cody says he knows it's kind of tense.

He says there's a lot of bad blood, but he still feels lucky to be standing in this ring. Cody says the four of them should take a moment and feel this in front of a sold out crowd in Dallas, TX. Cody brings up The Rock's challenge and asks if he has the authority to make the stipulation for it that he did.

Cody says just last week he acknowledged Roman Reigns as his "Tribal Chief." As Cody continues to talk, The Rock cuts him off. "You shut your mouth! And you, you walking clown emoji, you shut your mouth before you even start talking!" As The Rock keeps talking, the fans cut him off with a loud "Diareah!" chant.

Seth Rollins laughs off-mic loudly and dances around as the chant picks up momentum. The Rock repeats the challenge and Seth cuts him off. "Now you shut your mouth, Mr. Mid-Life Crisis!" He tells The Rock he had his time, he damn sure can't have theirs. He accepts the challenge.

Reigns laughs and asks if he's gonna let this cross-dresser Seth make his decisions for him. The Rock talks again and literally says the same thing he's said twice now, reminding him what the challenge is and what the stakes are, while calling Seth a walking clown emoji.

He then brings up Cody's sister being a cheerleader for the Dallas Cowboys. He mentions his Hall Of Fame brother and how Cody is 20 years younger than both of his siblings. He says it's because Cody was a mistake. Cody goes after Rock, but Seth holds him back. Rock tells Seth to let him go. Cody b*tch-slaps the hell out of The Rock. The show abruptly goes off the air.