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Randy Orton and Nick Aldis opened the latest SmackDown after The Viper hit the General Manager with an RKO last week. With the injury to Kevin Owens, Orton was left without an opponent for WrestleMania 41.
Damian Priest and Drew McIntyre were supposed to have a face-to-face encounter, but McIntyre attacked Priest from behind. He revealed he's 100% cleared for their street fight in Las Vegas.
Naomi and Jade Cargill cut dueling promos, with Cargill using the popular face explanation of "you're jealous" as the reason for Naomi's attack. The latest episode was a mixed bag. Here's the best and worst for SmackDown.
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#2. Best - Tiffany Stratton battles an old nemesis from NXT
After a blindside attack on Tiffany Stratton in the parking lot before SmackDown, Charlotte Flair was "sent home for the week" by officials. The Champ was understandably mad after a brazen attack.
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NXT's Roxanne Perez wanted to get booked by Aldis since Ava hasn't booked her for Stand & Deliver. The two argued, with Aldis pitting them against each other. The ladies have battled each other a few times and have good chemistry.
They also understand the other's offense well and how to counter it. That scouting played into several sequences with The Prodigy working on Stratton's arm.
However, it was all for naught as the champ took advantage to hit her finisher. She couldn't celebrate for long as Charlotte Flair randomly appeared to attack Stratton. The Queen nearly got physical with Wade Barrett.
#2. Worst - The dynamics of the women's tag team gauntlet
There were many issues with the tag team gauntlet in determining challengers for the Women's Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania. Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez have been battling Bayley and Lyra Valkyria, who were in the gauntlet.
Once the teams were announced, it was easy to see who would win. Valkyria is a Champion, and Bayley is a Grand Slam Champion. The first two eliminations were rollups; nothing much was done to build up most of the teams.
Natalya and Dupri haven't competed as a team, whereas Stark and Baszler haven't been on TV for a few months. The only good part was the ending sequence between Valkyria and Bayley and the Secret Hervice.
#2. Best/Worst - Standard tag team action in SmackDown's main event
Randy Orton demanded that Nick Aldis give him another match after his clash with Kevin Owens was called off due to Owens' neck injury. Aldis was deservedly upset, but The Viper blamed Aldis for getting hit with an RKO last week.
Why should the GM award a child for lashing out? Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga interrupted Orton's tantrum, but LA Knight made the save.
The segment led to a main event tag team match between Orton, Knight, Solo Sikoa, and Tama Tonga.
The match was nothing special as The Viper and Sikoa fought through the crowd. The Megastar pinned Tonga but was victimized by Jacob Fatu after the win. He hit several moonsaults as SmackDown went off the air.
#1. Best - Fenix vs. Berto
While he may not be the most pushed star on SmackDown, Berto wrestles like he's fighting for a title, regardless of the opponent. He called Fenix out after last week's debut on SmackDown.
This week, he put his money where his mouth was against the former AEW star. The two Luchadors exchanged high-octane moves that popped the crowd at every turn.
Fenix toppled Berto in the end with the Mexican Muscle Buster. The interesting part was that Santos Escobar told Berto to shake Fenix's hand.
He left the ring defiantly, and Escobar shook the victor's hand instead. Andrade tried to cheer Berto up backstage but was told to mind his own business.
#1. Worst - A jumbled mess featuring Chelsea Green and Zelina Vega
Chelsea Green was slated to face Zelina Vega on SmackDown. If you blinked, however, you missed it.
The women fought the majority of the match outside of the ring, with Green complaining to commentary that her Secret Hervice wasn't out to support her.
As she tossed Vega back into the ring, the referee counted to 10, and Vega won via countout. It happened so fast and was confusing. The finish predictably led to another showdown for the title on next week's SmackDown.
#1. Best/Worst - Cody's history lesson
Instead of a match or another promo exchange, Cody Rhodes hit the ring on SmackDown with championship belts from various WWE Champions in history.
Titles from the eras of Bruno Sammartino, the Undertaker, Eddie Guerrero, and John Cena were displayed in the ring during the segment.
Recounting the history was a good choice since Cena promised to leave with the title at WrestleMania. The slight issue was that an in-ring promo segment followed a jumbled match between Green and Vega.
It would have landed better if it happened after the Fenix vs. Berto match. It just felt like two low-key segments back-to-back without much entertaining action.
