The March 13th, 2018 edition of WWE SmackDown Live took place at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN.
– Tom Phillips welcomes us to the arena. He’s joined by Corey Graves and Byron Saxton, and they discuss the fallout from Fastlane and the road to WrestleMania 34.
– AJ Styles comes out to the ring first to kick off the show. AJ gets in the ring as fans chant his name. He says he odds were stacked against him at Fastlane, but he stilled pulled though. AJ says he hasn’t forgotten where he came from, and his road to WrestleMania was a tough one. He says his match with Nakamura is a dream match, and then Nakamura comes out to interrupt. Nakamura comes down to the ring and says he respects AJ, but he will knee him in the face and take his WWE Title at WrestleMania. Rusev and Aiden English come out to interrupt next, and we’ve got a match.
– AJ Styles vs. Rusev: Nakamura and English are both at ringside for this one, which is a non-title match. AJ starts working over Rusev’s leg early on. Rusev starts firing up and hits a lariat on AJ. AJ gets up and fires back with a dropkick, then throws Rusev out to the floor and follows up with a suicide dive. Back in the ring, AJ continues the offense until Rusev hits a cheap shot to the eyes. Rusev follows up with a spinebuster for a two count. Rusev hits a backdrop then goes up to the top turnbuckle, but AJ fights away. AJ fires up but Rusev shuts him down with a kick to the head. Rusev goes for another kick, but AJ ducks and hits the Pele kick. AJ hits a backbreaker then looks for a Styles Clash, but can’t execute it. Rusev drops AJ and goes for the Accolade, but AJ reverses it into the Calf Crusher. Aiden English hits the ring and attacks AJ for the disqualification.
Winner via DQ: AJ Styles
– After the match, Rusev and Aiden beat down AJ as Nakamura watches from ringside. Nakamura finally gets up and hits the ring. He drops Aiden first, then Rusev. Nakamura leaves as AJ is still recovering.
– Big E does an interview in the back where he says Kofi and Xavier aren’t here tonight, but they’ll be back. Kofi and Xavier are off selling the beating from the Bludgeon Brothers on Sunday. Jimmy Uso walks in and tells big E he isn’t alone, and the Bludgeon Brothers got Jey out of action too. Jimmy says right now, they need to put their differences aside and deal with the Bludgeon Brothers. Jimmy and Big E walk off together.
– Still to come: Jinder Mahal vs. Bobby Roode
– We see a video package looking at Kid Rock’s Hall of Fame induction announcement.
– We go backstage to AJ and Nakamura. AJ says he doesn’t need Nakamura’s help, but Nakamura disagrees. He says he wants AJ healthy for their match at ‘Mania.
– Big E & Jimmy Uso vs. The Bludgeon Brothers: Big E and Jimmy attack the Bludgeon Brothers before the opening bell at ringside. They brawl all over ringside, before Jimmy and Big E grab steel chairs and roll back in the ring to wait for the Brothers. Rowan and Harper pick up their sledgehammers and get in the ring. The ref gets out of the ring now as the two teams start swinging their weapons. Rowan and Harper knock the steel chairs out of the babyfaces’ hands, and Big E and Uso retreat to ringside. Back in the ring, the opening bell sounds and Rowan and Big E start going at it. Harper tags in and they double team the New Day member. Uso finally gets the tag and he cleans house. Harper shuts the momentum down with a big boot to Uso. Rowan takes Big E out to ringside and whips him into the ring steps. Harper and Rowan double team Uso in the ring for the three count.
Winners: The Bludgeon Brothers
– After the match, Harper and Rowan beat down Big E at ringside.
– We see a recap from Fastlane, showing the confrontations between Kevin Owens, Shane McMahon, and Sami Zayn on Sunday.
– Sami Zayn does an interview in the back where he blames Shane McMahon for Sunday’s problems. He also blames Owens, and says Owens is obsessed with Shane. He trashes Owens some more, and Sami says he played everyone including Owens at Fastlane. Sami says he’s done being guilty by association by being with Owens, and he walks off.
– Still to come: Asuka is in the house.
– Women’s Champion Charlotte comes out to the ring next and gets on the mic. She says she’s excited to be challenged by Asuka, and then she calls her out to the ring. Asuka comes down and Charlotte tells her to be careful what she wishes for. Flair says she welcomes the challenge, and looks forward to ending Asuka’s streak. Asuka says she likes a challenge, but no one is ready for her. Asuka and Flair come nose to nose as the music hits.
– WWE U.S. Champion Randy Orton comes out before Asuka and Charlotte have left. Orton gets on the mic and talks about winning the U.S. Title for the first time in his career. He mentions that he’s the 10th “grand slam” champion under the current title format, and that’s the list that really matters. He says Bobby Roode earned his respect, but the U.S. Title is his now and no one is taking it from him. Bobby Roode comes out to interrupt, and congratulates Orton on the win. Roode says he wants the rematch at WrestleMania 3, and it will be glorious when he recovers his U.S. Title. Jinder Mahal and Sunil Singh are out next. Jinder also congratulates Orton, and tells everyone to forget about the WrestleMania rematch, because Jinder is going to beat Bobby tonight and then take Orton’s Title.
– Bobby Roode vs. Jinder Mahal: The opening bell sounds and they fight into the corner. Roode looks for the Glorious DDT early, but Jinder escapes and regroups at ringside. Back in the ring, Roode drops Jinder then grabs him for a reverse neckbreaker. Roode goes up top and hits a flying clothesline, then looks for the Glorious DDT but Jinder escapes again. Jinder rams Roode into the corner, but Roode fires back with a boot to the face and then a Blockbuster for a 2 count. Jinder hits a big boot for a 2 count of his own. Jinder looks for the Khallas, but Roode escapes and rolls up Jinder for another near-fall. Roode hits a spinebuster for another two count. Singh gets on the apron for the distraction, and Roode throws him into the ring post. The distraction leads to Jinder dropping Roode and hitting the Khallas for the three count.
Winner: Jinder Mahal
– Immediately after the match, Orton runs in and hits the RKO on Jinder.
– Kevin Owens does an interiew in the back where he says he’s tired of Sami Zayn blaming him for everything. He says Sami is a delusional liar who is blaming him for his problems. He says Shane screwed him out of the WWE Title on Sunday, and Shane wasn’t needed at ringside at all. Owens says he has no problem beating him Sami and showing him the truth.
– The broadcast team introduces us to a video package looking at the first ever Fabulous Moolah Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania.
– Naomi vs. Carmella: The opening bell sounds and Carmella takes control of this one early on. Carmella talks trash to Naomi while she’s down and hits a running knee in the corner. She follows up with a boot to the head. Carmella wastes some time, and Naomi comes back with a shot out of the corner. Carmella slaps her across the face, and Naomi fires back with clotheslines and a knee to the face. Naomi goes to springboard off the ropes, but Carmella cuts her off and slams her down, then rolls her up for the three count.
Winner: Carmella
– We see Shane McMahon backstage walking towards the gorilla position.
– There’s a promo video for the Mixed Match Challenge with Rusev and Lana.
– Smackdown Commissioner Shane McMahon comes down to the ring as the announcers show us some shots from his involvement at Fastlane on Sunday. Shane gets on the mic and discusses the various issues with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Shane mentions Owens beating up his dad Vince months ago, and Sami intefering in the Hell In A Cell match. He says he talked to Daniel Bryan today, and Bryan will be back next week. Shane says when Bryan returns, Shane will take an indefinite leave of absence from Smackown. Before he leaves, Shane wants to make one more match, and he books Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn for WrestleMania 34. Owens comes out to interrupt and he complains about the match. Sami comes out next and says he’s glad Shane is leaving. Shane says he just gave him a WrestleMania match but he’s still ungrateful. Owens says they’ll give Shane something to appreciate, and Owens and Zayn start beating down Shane. Shane tries to fight them off, but they overpower him and boot him in the face. Owens hits the Pop Up Powerbomb on Shane next. They bring Shane down to the floor and continue the assault. The put a chair over Shane’s head then throw him into the ring post. They drag Shane up the ramp and drag him through the curtain. They powerbomb Shane onto some production equipment, and a referee calls for paramedics. Owens and Zayn walk off, as paramedics put a mask on Shane and loak him on to the stretcher as SmackDown goes off the air.
