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Welcome to the latest edition of Sportskeeda Wrestling's WWE News Roundup, where we bring you the biggest stories of the day. Today's edition is all about SmackDown.
There are some huge talking points coming out of the episode, including the situation between Tiffany Stratton and Charlotte Flair. Elsewhere, we have an exclusive update on an injured WWE star, while a legend has confirmed he will not be returning to the ring.
So, without further ado, let's get into today's stories.
#1. WWE SmackDown results
Last night's episode of SmackDown was eventful for a bunch of reasons. Here is a rundown of what happened:
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- CM Punk opened the show and celebrated getting his first WrestleMania main event. Paul Heyman confronted him and they set up the main event segment, where Punk would reveal what Heyman's favor is.
- Rey Fenix defeated Nathan Frazer in his WWE debut.
- LA Knight defeated Tama Tonga in a non-title match.
- Charlotte Flair and Tiffany Stratton had a promo battle that ended with multiple personal shots from both stars. Stratton even mentioned Flair's multiple divorces.
- Motor City Machine Guns defeated DIY in a number one contender's match for the WWE Tag Team Championship.
- Naomi defeated B-Fab. Jade Cargill attacked her after the match, leading to Nick Aldis announcing that they would face each other at WrestleMania 41.
- Kevin Owens announced that he requires immediate neck surgery, meaning his match against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 41 has been canceled. Orton came out and RKO'd Nick Aldis after finding out the news.
- Jacob Fatu defeated Braun Strowman in a Last Man Standing Match for a shot at the United States Championship at WrestleMania 41.
- Roman Reigns called out CM Punk to tell him what the favor is before Seth Rollins interrupted him. Punk came out and revealed that Paul Heyman's favor is to be in his corner in the main event of WrestleMania. The Wiseman accepted and turned his back on Roman Reigns. CM Punk then hit Reigns with a GTS.
#2. Ludwig Kaiser responds to Charlotte Flair's claim
Charlotte Flair and Tiffany Stratton's promo battle on SmackDown ended with The Queen getting the last word. She claimed that Stratton's real-life boyfriend, Ludwig Kaiser, was in her DMs.
The German has since responded to the claim. He tagged Charlotte on X/Twitter, posting an old clip of Shawn Michaels confronting Diana Hart-Smith. This can be considered Kaiser's confirmation that Flair's claim isn't true:
#3. Dominik Mysterio provides an update on JD McDonagh
JD McDonagh has been out injured for a couple of months now. He suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung after colliding with the announce table during a World Tag Team Title match against The War Raiders.
Dominik Mysterio recently issued an update on his Judgment Day teammate. Speaking to Sportskeeda Wrestling's Riju Dasgupta during WWE's Netflix launch in India, Dirty Dom confirmed that McDonagh is on the road to recovery:
"We can't speak too much on it, but JD is doing well. That's all we can say." [7:04-7:11]
It remains to be seen if JD McDonagh will return in time for WrestleMania 41. PWInsider has further reported the Irishman will be back by the end of the month.
#4. Rikishi confirms he will never wrestle again
WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi was recently asked if he would return to the ring. He gave a pretty straightforward answer.
Speaking on his podcast, Rikishi Fatu Off The Top, the Attitude Era legend said he will never wrestle again. Rikishi joked that WWE didn't offer him enough money to come back:
"Hell to the motherf***ing no... They couldn't pay me enough money to come back, brother. I'm alright. I'm alright and I'm doing fine. But you damn sure the world wanna know when Rikishi does come back cause all you gonna see just a lot of memes out there with the stink face. You're gonna know when the big bad booty man come back," he said.
It remains to be seen if Rikishi will return to WWE in a different capacity, potentially alongside Jey Uso.
