WWE Friday Night Smackdown Live Coverage - April 28th, 2023

https://i.imgur.com/IHdbIH9.jpg


The 2023 WWE Draft Begins Tonight

Get ready for things to shake up again as the WWE Draft returns! Night one begins this Friday on SmackDown, followed by night two next week on Monday Night Raw on USA. Each night of the WWE Draft will see a unique pool of Superstars eligible to be drafted.


:smackdown:

– The WWE Draft Night 1 edition of SmackDown on FOX opens live from the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas as Michael Cole welcomes us. He’s joined at ringside by Wade Barrett. They hype the show and Cole says the arena is sold out.

– We go right to the stage and out comes WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H for Round One of the Draft. Samantha Irvin does the introduction. Triple H welcomes us to SmackDown and to the 2023 Draft.

Triple H goes over rules for tonight – every Superstar on RAW and SmackDown can be sent to another brand, 50% of the roster will be drafted tonight, and the rest on RAW. He did not mention the picks on The SmackDown LowDown tomorrow morning. We see the Draft pool for tonight. Triple H says select WWE NXT Superstars are also eligible, and he post-Draft rosters will go into affect on Monday, May 8, coming out of WWE Backlash. He asks if we’re ready and then announces that SmackDown has selected The Bloodline – Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa and Paul Heyman. Triple H confirms now that the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion will be on RAW. The second pick goes to RAW and they choose to keep Cody Rhodes.

The third picks sees SmackDown select RAW Women’s Champion Bianca Belair. The final pick of round one sees RAW keep Becky Lynch. Triple H says the second round is being negotiated in the back, but in the mean-time, it’s his pleasure to introduce The Usos. The music hits and out they come.

– Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso embrace Triple H and then congratulate Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns on once again being the #1 Draft pick. The Usos, speaking from the stage, are fired up now. They go on about all the ways Roman has ignored their attempts at communications since WrestleMania 39, then promise to bring gold home tonight. They dedicate tonight’s win to Reigns.

The music interrupts and out comes Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to join The Usos on the stage. Sami brings up how Reigns continues to ignore The Usos, but they’re still dedicating their match to him, and not only that, The Usos were left out of The Bloodline in the Draft pick. Sami says that should tell you all you need to know. They continue arguing over the match and if Owens will turn on Sami. Owens yells to interrupt, and he’s heard enough. Owens says all that matters if he and Zayn will beat the hell out of The Usos in the ring tonight and leave with the gold. The two teams face off to end the segment.

Butch vs. LA Knight

We go to the ring and out comes The Brawling Brutes – Butch with Sheamus. No sign of Ridge Holland. We go to commercial.

Back from the break and we see the doors of the RAW and SmackDown draft rooms, we also see WWE NXT Superstars watching from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. RAW Women’s Champion Bianca Belair checks in with a video from on tour in the UK. She talks about being excited to represent SmackDown once again, and she plans to have the longest reign as blue brand champion. Belair says she will see us on Friday nights. Cole points to how SmackDown Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley isn’t eligible for a pick until Monday’s RAW. We go back to the ring and out comes LA Knight as we see last week’s backstage segment that led to this match.

The bell rings and they go at it. They run the ropes and Butch drops LA. Butch grounds LA now and starts bending his fingers back. Butch bends the elbow and stomps it.

Knight fights out of the corner but Butch counters and delivers the inverted 10 Beats of the Bodhrán, but goes way past 10 as he unloads. Butch flies off the top but has to roll through as LA moves. They tangle and LA sends Butch throat-first into the rope to turn it around. They end up on the floor and LA drives Butch into the edge of the apron. LA returns to the apron and poses to boos as we go back to commercial.

Back from the break and they’re going at it, trading shots. Butch stomps away on LA’s hands, then nails a knee for a 2 count. LA rolls to the floor to regroup as some fans chant for him. Butch with a moonsault to the floor.

Butch brings it back in and goes to the top but LA rocks him. LA climbs up but Butch starts bending the fingers, sending LA to the mat. LA ends up going back to the top for a big superplex but Butch kicks out just in time. Fans chant for LA but Butch counters BFT and nails an enziguri. Butch charges but LA levels him with a big boot. Butch counters again and takes LA down by the arm.

LA gets the bottom rope and regroups at ringside. Butch approaches but LA pulls him shoulder-first into the ring post. LA follows up with the BFT for the pin to win in the middle of the ring.

Winner: LA Knight

– After the bell, LA stands tall as the music hits and fans cheer him on.

– The Usos, Solo Sikoa and Paul Heyman are backstage. The Usos are getting hyped up for tonight’s title shot. Heyman continues their “tonight is the night” narrative and cuts a tense promo. Heyman says tonight they will be on The Island of Relevancy or the Ocean of Obscurity as former champions. He says Roman Reigns wants them to know success is the only avenue, and he wants them to reject the stain of failure Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens put on The Bloodline. Heyman goes on with the pep talk. Reigns wants them to know one way or another, he will only accept the fact that tonight is the night. Heyman hands the tape to Solo and he starts taping up his hand for the Samoan Spike. The Usos thank Heyman.

– We see Rob Van Dam coming out of the RAW Draft room and he will be a special presenter. Michael Hayes comes out of the SmackDown Draft room. Back to commercial.

– Back from the break and WWE Hall of Famers Rob Van Dam and Michael “PS” Hayes come out to the stage for Round Two of the WWE Draft. We see NXT Superstars watching from Orlando. Hayes announces the first pick of round two and SmackDown chooses The Street Profits. Fans chant “RVD!” now. RVD announces that RAW has chosen Imperium (WWE Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER, Ludwig Kaiser, Giovanni Vinci). Hayes announces the third pick for round two and SmackDown has picked WWE Hall of Famer Edge from RAW. RVD announces the final pick for the second round and Matt Riddle is staying on RAW.

The Street Profits vs. Ricochet and Braun Strowman vs. The LWO

We go back to the ring and out comes Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins of The Street Profits. They’re dressed in all blue and cut promos on how nothing has changed but the night they work because they still want all the smoke. The music hits and out next comes Braun Strowman and Ricochet. The LWO’s Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro are out next.

Ford, Wilde and Braun go at it to start. Braun clears the ring with ease. Ricochet runs in and Braun grabs him but they avoid a repeat from last week. Braun reassures Ricochet he’s got him, then launches him out to the floor on their opponents. Braun and Strowman stand tall as we go to commercial.

Back from the break and Ricochet, Cruz and Dawkins are going at it. Cruz hits a big missile dropkick to take Dawkins out. Cruz and Ricochet trade high-impact offense now. Cruz with a rolling enziguri.

Wilde tags in and springboards out, taking down The Profits on the floor for a big pop. Ricochet and Wilde go at it now. Ricochet ends up getting an opening and now Strowman rallies. Cruz tags in and decks Braun, then drops Ricochet to prevent a tag. Cruz slams Ricochet for a 2 count as Braun breaks it up just in time.

More back and forth between the three teams. Ford tries to fly at Strowman but he gets knocked out of mid-air to the floor. Strowman decks another opponent, then runs around the ring with the Strowman Express. Braun celebrates at ringside but Dawkins runs him over. Ricochet then flies out and takes Dawkins down.

Ricochet drops Dawkins in the ring but misses off the top. Dawkins rocks him and in comes Ford for the double team Spinebuster and Frogsplash combo. Ford covers Ricochet for the pin to win.

Winners: The Street Profits

– After the match, the music hits as The Profits stand tall. We go to replays.

– Tonight’s Progressive Match Flo looks at Bad Bunny and Damian Priest to promote their Street Fight at WWE Backlash. Bunny will be at next Friday’s SmackDown, which is also being held in Puerto Rico.

– We see JBL coming out of the SmackDown Draft room. Teddy Long comes out of the RAW Draft room. Back to commercial.

– Back from the break and out come WWE Hall of Famers JBL and Teddy Long for Round Three of the WWE Draft. JBL announces the first pick and SmackDown selects Bobby Lashley from RAW. Teddy announces that RAW has picked Drew McIntyre from SmackDown. JBL announces the third pick and SmackDown has picked The O.C. (AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Mia Yim) from RAW. The final pick sees RAW keep The Miz.

Zelina Vega vs. Sonya Deville

We go back to the ring and Sonya Deville waits as Zelina Vega makes her way out. Chelsea Green is out with Deville. Cole hypes Vega vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley at WWE Backlash.

The bell rings and they lock up. Deville slams Vega to the mat with ease. Deville trash talks and drops Vega with ease again to prevent a lock-up. Vega with a takedown but Deville blocks the next attempt.

Deville unloads with body blows in the corner. Vega uses the ropes for an arm bar but she’s forced to break. Vega ends up on the floor, arguing with Green, which allows Deville to drop her from behind. Deville brings it back in for a 2 count.

Deville unloads with kicks in the corner now. Deville takes Vega down and rag-dolls her with a headlock. Vega fights up and out but Deville quickly cuts her off and drops her for 2. Deville unloads in the corner again as the referee warns her. Deville goes for a long vertical suplex but Vega counters.

Vega looks to mount offense but she runs into an elbow and goes down. They tangle again and Vega rolls Deville up for the pin to win out of nowhere.

Winner: Zelina Vega

– After the match, Vega stands tall as the music hits. Ripley suddenly attacks Vega and lays her out. Deville goes for Ripley but Ripley nails a headbutt. Green gets on the apron but she jumps off when Ripley stares her down. Ripley goes for Vega again to deliver Riptide, but Vega counters and spikes her with a DDT. Ripley sits up in the corner, clutching her title, and she’s furious as Vega runs away to the back.

– We see Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens warming up backstage. Back to commercial.

– Back from the break and Zelina Vega is backstage with Santos Escobar and 2023 WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio. She says the win felt so good, and The LWO has sparked a fire in her. Vega says she’s ready to go to WWE Backlash to perform in front of family. Rey says no matter what Vega thinks her chances are against SmackDown Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley, all she has to do is fight with her heart and mind, and she will leave Puerto Rico as champion.

– We go back to the ring and out comes The O.C. – AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, and Mia Yim. The new SmackDown Superstars hit the ring but before AJ can speak, the music interrupts and out come The Viking Raiders – Erik and Ivar with Valhalla.

AJ takes the mic and wants to make sure The Vikings came out for a fight. He says it would be 4-on-3 so they’re not very smart. AJ says he’s going to scoot to the corner, and now The O.C. can handle business. A brawl breaks out with all six Superstars as AJ watches. The action ends with Gallows and Anderson hitting a Magic Killer on Erik in the middle of the ring. The O.C. now stands tall over Erik. AJ takes the mic and announces to SmackDown that The O.C. is just getting started. The music of The O.C. starts playing but Ivar gets back up. AJ goes to the apron and hits a Phenomenal Forearm to put Ivar right back down. AJ’s music starts up as The O.C. leaves.

– We see WWE Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels coming out of the SmackDown Draft room, while WWE Senior Vice President of Live Events “Road Dogg” Brian James comes out of the RAW room. Back to commercial.

– Back from the break and out comes WWE Hall of Famers DX – Shawn Michaels and “Road Dogg” Brian James. Shawn announces the first pick to Round Four of the WWE Draft and SmackDown selects Damage CTRL (Bayley, IYO SKY, Dakota Kai) from RAW. Road Dogg announces that RAW has selected Shinsuke Nakamura from SmackDown. Shawn announces that SmackDown has selected NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre. We see NXT stars celebrating at the WWE Performance Center. Shawn isn’t happy with that pick or the next one. Road Dogg announces the final pick of the night and RAW has selected NXT Women’s Champion Indi Hartwell. We get another live shot from Orlando.

– McKenzie Mitchell interviews Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre and they’re excited to come to the main roster after dominating NXT. Katana Chance and Kayden Carter interrupt and the two teams agree to have a title match on Tuesday’s NXT.

– Kayla Braxton is backstage with Shinsuke Nakamura now. He’s excited to go to RAW… Karrion Kross suddenly attacks from behind and destroys Nakamura. Kross and Scarlett stand tall over Nakamura now.

– The Usos are backstage, telling Solo Sikoa to head out with them. Paul Heyman says The Tribal Chief wants Solo to stay back because he wants the spotlight on The Usos tonight… because tonight is THE night. The Usos leave. Solo looks at his taped up thumb as Heyman flashes him a sinister look. It feels like a swerve is coming for The Bloodline tonight.

:sdtag::rawtag:

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Titles Match: The Usos vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn

We go back to the ring for tonight’s main event and out first comes Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Back to commercial.

Back from the break and we see Triple H’s announcement from RAW on the new WWE World Heavyweight Title, confirming that the new champion crowned at WWE Night of Champions will be on RAW. We also get a look at tonight’s Draft picks, and a reminder on the picks continuing tomorrow morning. We go back to the ring and out comes The Usos – Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso. We get formal ring introductions from Samantha Irvin.

The Usos attack the champs right before the bell hits. They take Zayn and Owens to the floor, sending them into the edge of the announce table and the barrier. Zayn is tossed into the barrier and then off to the side while Owens is double teamed.

The Usos bring Owens back into the ring but he blocks Jey’s superkick. Jey blocks a Stunner and drops Owens with a superkick. The Usos with a double superkick to Owens now right in the middle of the ring. He kicks out at 2. Zayn is still down at ringside as we go back to commercial.

Back from the break and The Usos continue to dominate Owens. Sami finally comes back to the apron. Jey tags in for a quick double team to keep Owens down. Jey taunts Owens and works on the hurt leg. Jimmy wraps the leg around the ring post as fans boo.

Owens pulls Jimmy face-first into the ring post now. Owens crawls for a tag and in comes Sami. Jey also tags in. Sami unloads on Jey. Jey with a back elbow. Sami drops him with forearms. Sami clotheslines Jey to the floor, then does the same to Jimmy for a pop. Sami runs the ring and leaps out, taking both of The Usos down for a big pop.

Sami brings Jey back in and goes to the top but Jey rocks him. Jey climbs up for a superplex but Sami fights back and nails a Sunset Bomb for a close 2 count. Jey pounds on Sami but Sami nails a Blue ThunderBomb in the middle of the ring for a close 2 count. Sami goes back to the top but Jey jumps up and superkicks him to the mat. Jey sits up in the corner for a breather while Sami tries to recover while down at ringside. Back to commercial.

Back from the break and Owens nails a corner cannonball to Jimmy. Owens goes to the top but Jimmy rocks him and climbs up for a superplex. Owens counters with the super Fisherman’s Buster but he goes back up top and hits a Swanton instead of pinning. Owens now pins but Jimmy kicks out at 2.

The camera cuts backstage to Paul Heyman taking a phone call from Roman Reigns. He says “yes sir” a few times, and thanks his Tribal Chief. Heyman tells Sikoa that he just received “the” call, so tonight is your night. Solo walks off.

Back in the ring, Jimmy blocks a Stunner but Owens blocks a superkick. Another superkick is blocked, so is a Pop-Up Powerbomb. Owens nails the Pop-Up Powerbomb now, and covers for 2 as Jey rushes in to break the pin up just in time. Sami unloads on Jey and sends him to the floor. Sami flies out but Jey superkicks him in mid-air. Owens knocks Jey to the floor but Jimmy rolls him up for 2. Owens with the Stunner to Jimmy for a close 2 count. Owens is frustrated and can’t believe it now.

Solo slowly walks down the ramp now. Matt Riddle suddenly attacks from behind and beats Solo into the backstage area. Owens limps to Jimmy but Jimmy nails an enziguri. Jey tags in. Jimmy superkicks Owens, then Jey superkicks him. They hit double superkicks now and Jey covers but Owens kicks out. The Usos can’t believe it.

Jimmy tags in and they hit another double superkick, then one to Sami to drop him on the apron. The Usos hit another double superkick to Owens and Jimmy covers for 2. The Usos are frustrated. Jey tags back in and superkicks Owens while Jimmy holds him. Jey covers for 2. Owens stumbles around the ring now and starts unloading on Jey. Jey with a superkick to put him down.

Jimmy tags back in and The Usos stand tall to boos. Sami pulls Jey to the floor to prevent the 1D. Sami sends Jey into the steel ring steps. Owens with a Stunner to Jimmy. Sami tags in with a Helluva Kick to Jimmy for the pin to win and retain.

Winners: Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn

– After the match, Zayn and Owens recover as the music hits. The Usos recover at ringside and they are disappointed. We see Sikoa staring them down from the stage area. The WWE Draft Night 1 edition of SmackDown on FOX goes off the air with Owens and Zayn raising their titles.