WWE SmackDown advertised Rey Mysterio’s return match against Santos Escobar and a face-to-face showdown between Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns. On WWE Raw Paul Heyman vowed Reigns would come alone. Raw also advertised The O.C. vs. Grayson Waller and Austin Theory and The Street Profits vs. AOP.
Last week’s broadcast of SmackDown garnered a viewership of 2.340 million, the biggest viewership on all of television.
WWE SmackDown Results | March 22, 2024
- Santos Escobar def. Rey Mysterio
- Grayson Waller and Austin Theory def. The O.C. | Tag Team Title Qualifier
- Iyo Sky def. Naomi
- The Street Profits def. AOP | Tag Title Qualifier
WWE SmackDown Ratings
- March 15, 2024 | 2.340 million
- March 8, 2024 | 2.493 million
- March 1, 2024 | 2.348 million
- February 23, 2024 | 2.272 million
- February 16, 2024 | 2.555 million
WWE SmackDown Ticket Sales
- WWE SmackDown Venue: Fiserv Forum (Milwaukee, Wisc.)
- WWE SmackDown Tickets Distributed: 11,068
- Available Tickets: 235
Why Triple H Hates Tony Khan | PWB
Santos Escobar Def. Rey Mysterio
Rey Mysterio slipped early on, but was all-systems-go for the remainder of a wild match.
Every time WWE comes back from commercial with those wide camera shots, Kevin Dunn trends on Twitter. WWE Twitter has developed a pavlovian response to react to any production upgrade on WWE TV.
The finish came when Dominik Mysterio, wearing a Rey Mysterio mask, interfered. This led to Escobar hitting the 619 and Phantom Driver for the win.
Wade Barrett had the line of the show when he said being a deadbeat dad was a life sentence.
Waller And Theory Def. The O.C.
Corey Graves said The O.C. would be getting back to “tipping elbows.” Not knowing what that meant, Wade Barrett said they should also drink beers, which is another way of saying “tipping elbows.”
Grayson Waller and Theory won as Theory rolled up Luke Gallows while Theory’s feet were on the ropes and Grayson Waller held on to his feet.
Waller and Theory will likely break up either at WrestleMania or the night after.
WWE aired a video vignette of Bron Breakker before going to break as big plans remain in his future.
Iyo Sky Def. Naomi
Bianca Belair continued to try to talk Naomi out of helping Bayley out, but Naomi may have convinced Bianca otherwise by saying Bianca couldn’t fight Damage CTRL either.
Before the match, Sky beat Bayley up all by herself right before her entrance. That was certainly a choice.
Naomi’s ring gear can only be described as Sparky Plugg meets Harlem Heat.
Iyo Sky defeated Naomi with help from Damage CTRL. Bianca Belair made the save, but Belair and Naomi were overpowered by Damage CTRL as Naomi blanketed Bianca. Fans chanted for Bayley. Clearly, they didn’t see Bayley being attacked backstage earlier.
In a positive update, Asuka was moving around just fine on what was thought to be an injured leg.
Jade Cargill officially signed her SmackDown contract and will debut next week. It’s likely she’ll team with Bianca and Naomi to take on Damage CTRL.
Backstage, Kevin Owens and Randy Orton booked a tag team match against Pretty Deadly. Expect a “can they coexist” moment heading into WrestleMania. Before the segment ended, Kevin Owens punched both members of Pretty Deadly and was so proud of it.
With The Rock back in the fold, LA Knight embraced his Stone Cold Steve Austin influence as he trespassed AJ Styles’ home and attacked him. WWE aired police footage of the attack after their broadcasted footage glitched out, leading to the question: Who called the police? The answer? Heel Wendy.
Street Profits Def. AOP
This match seemed like it could go either way, especially because AOP could be the much-needed catchers in a tag team Ladder Match while The Street Profits could be the high-flyers.
After a great nearfall, The Street Profits scored the victory and advanced to the Undisputed Tag Team Championship Ladder Match.
Roman Reigns And Cody Rhodes Come Face-To-Face
Roman Reigns brought up The Shield, only for Cody Rhodes to ask if he remembers the first team who beat The Shield. The last name was Rhodes.
Cody Rhodes dropped a Bullet Club reference amid The Rock throwing up the gun sign every week.
In response to Reigns asking Rhodes if he could trust Seth Rollins, Rhodes asked Reigns if he could trust The Rock.
Rhodes conceded that the next generations of Rhodes and Reigns will grow up wanting to be the next Roman Reigns. Rhodes then said he is not the greatest No. 2, but is The One.
Reigns refused to shake Rhodes’ hand, but when he left the ring, he snapped his fingers and and along came Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso. Rhodes evened the odds with help from Rollins and Jey Uso as a six-man staredown ended the show.