Ah, Shinsuke Nakamura, where have you been?
The King of Strong Style wasn’t at WrestleMania and hasn’t wrestled a televised WWE match since … wow, November of last year. That changes tonight on WWE SmackDown from Lincoln, Nebraska, and we speak for many when we say it will be good to see him back in action.
Santos Escobar makes for a nice segue, since he was the last person to face Nakamura on TV. He’s had a chance of heart since last fall, of course, and now fights the good fight as part of the LWO. He’ll go head to head with The Judgment Day’s Damian Priest tonight.
Another fan favorite looking for a big victory in Lincoln is Xavier Woods. Thanks to the latest injury to Kofi Kingston, Woods is the only member of The New Day currently active, which means he’ll have no backup when he takes on LA Knight. But hey, Knight is a solo act too, so that might not be that bad. Yeah!
Also on the slate for this week’s SmackDown is a celebration for the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez. Unfortunately, title celebrations often turn into something a little more contentious and violent in WWE, so one can only imagine who might crash their party. Perhaps two former MMA stars will come looking for them …
And hey, Backlash is only three weeks away, so some of the card for that show should start coming together soon. We’ll see if any matches are made official tonight.
WWE SmackDown results in 60 seconds:
- Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are here to open the show, but are joined by the Bloodline … and Matt Riddle
- Adam Perce gives instructions to the referee as he reveals Riddle and Solo Sikoa will face off in tonight’s main event
- Xavier Woods def. LA Knight by pinfall
- Woods’ victorious trombone solo runs afoul of Gunther, who doesn’t like goofs, but Woods thinks he’s more than ready for an Intercontinental Championship match
- KO seems like maybe he isn’t crazy about the alliance with Riddle, but Matt is definitely focused on Solo in tonight’s main event
- Damian Priest says he knows Santos Escobar can go and isn’t taking him lightly, and while he knows he’ll be asked about Bad Bunny, he says he’ll address that out in the ring
- Priest does exactly that, warning Bad Bunny to just sit and watch Backlash, but he’s surprised by the sudden arrival of the LWO
- Damian Priest def. Santos Escobar by pinfall, and Rey Mysterio arrives to fight with Dominik Mysterio again
- Paul Heyman gives Solo a family-oriented pep talk, but Sikoa tells Heyman to tell the Tribal Chief “I got this”
- The new women’s tag team champions want to celebrate, fighting off a rude interruption by Sonya Deville and Raquel Rodriguez
- Shinsuke Nakamura def. Madcap Moss by pinfall …
- … but it looks like he’s already being targeted by Karrion Kross
- Braun Strowman and Ricochet get blindsided by the Viking Raiders backstage
- Heyman tells Owens and Zayn that The Usos will win the tag team titles back in two weeks
- Solo Sikoa def. Matt Riddle by pinfall
- Sikoa hits Riddle with a uranage on the announce table, then tips it over on him
Please scroll down for more details on every match and major non-match segment.