The April 2nd, 2019 edition of WWE SmackDown Live took place at the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, MD, and was the go-home show for WrestleMania this Sunday.
– Kevin Owens comes out to the ring to host “The Kevin Owens Show” to kick off this week’s broadcast. He introduces his guests, Randy Orton and AJ Styles. They sit down in the ring next to Owens around a table. Orton says he doesn’t regret interfering in AJ’s match with Kurt Angle last week, because it saved everyone from watching a washed up Olympian. AJ bashes Orton for having wrestled so long and only having one good move. Orton says the fans think indy wrestlers have it so hard, traveling from high school gym to high school gym, but Orton has been having to perform at WrestleManias in front of thousands of people. AJ says that while he was working in high school gyms, Orton was in WWE – getting suspended for failing drug tests. Orton doesn’t look happy, and he says if AJ was as good as he thinks he is, he would have made it to WWE a long time ago. Orton says now that John Cena has gone to Hollywood, AJ has resumed the role of corporate bitch. Orton drops his mic, and Owens decides now is the time for him to leave. Owens heads up the ramp, and back in the ring AJ and Orton come face to face. They start trading punches and AJ backs Orton into the corner. AJ looks for the Phenomenal Forearm, but Orton catches him in mid-air with an RKO to end the brawl.
– We see Kofi backstage looking over his WrestleMania contract, with Big E and Xavier by his side.
– The Bar, Rusev & Nakamura vs. The Usos, Ricochet & Aleister Black: Cesaro overpowers Ricochet in the opening moments of this one and he drops Ricochet with an uppercut. Sheamus tags in and continues the offense on Ricochet, until Ricochet fires back with a kick and tags in Black. Black hits a springboard moonsault on Sheamus, then some kicks. Jey and Nakamura tag in, and Nakamura hits a series of knees to the body. Jey starts to fight back until Rusev hits a cheap shot from the apron. Rusev tags in and then beats down Jey at ringside, before taking him back in the ring for a two count. Nakamura tags back in and puts the boots to Uso. Jey fires back with an elbow to the face, and both men are down. Sheamus tags in and throws Jey back out to ringside, where Cesaro hits some cheap shots. Nakamura tags in, but Jey shuts him down with a Samoan Drop. Jimmy and Rusev tag in, and Jimmy drops him then knocks Sheamus and Cesaro off the apron. Jimmy superkicks Rusev and pins, but Nakamura breaks it up. Ricochet runs in and drops Nakamura, then Cesaro drops Ricochet. Black kicks Cesaro out of the ring, then Sheamus kicks Black down. Jimmy dodges a shot from Rusev and tags in Jey for the double team superkick for the three count.
Winners: The Usos, Ricochet & Aleister Black
– After the match, Alexa Bliss comes out to the stage with a mic, while the wrestlers are still in the ring. Alexa says she didn’t want to be here, but as the host of WrestleMania, duty calls. Alexa announces that all four teams in the ring right now will be competing at WrestleMania for the Uso’s Tag Team Titles. Sheamus and Cesaro attack The Usos in the ring, and then eveyone starts brawling. Ricochet ends up wiping out everyone at ringside with a suicide dive.
– The Iiconics come out to the ring, and they’ve got microphones. They briefly talk about WrestleMania this Sunday and their match. The broadcast team then shows us replays of the Charlotte/Becky/Ronda brawl on RAW last night.
– The Miz comes out to the ring next and gets on the mic. He talks about how WrestleMania means something different to everyone on the card, and to The Miz, it means retribution. The Miz says he and his family are proud of their reality show that is on directly after SmackDown, and he says even though that’s a cheap plug it’s not. The Miz says he’s more motivated that he’s ever been, and he is giving fans the best version of The Miz ever. He says that he is going to beat Shane all over the arena on Sunday in their Falls Count Anywhere match. Miz calls Shane a son of a bitch, and then Sanity’s entrance music hits.
– The Miz vs. Sanity: This one is a one-on-three handicap match, which we are told was booked by Shane McMahon. Before the opening bell, Shane comes out and makes ring announcer Greg Hamilton introduce him as “the best in the world,” and Shane says he wants to have a closer look at this match. The opening bell sounds, and Miz starts going at it with Eric Young first. Miz knocks Wolfe and Dain off the apron, then Young fires back with a neckbreaker on Miz. The Miz fights back and hits a series of running knee strikes on Young and Dain in opposite corners of the ring. The Miz starts to climb the turnbuckle, but then Shane gets on the mic and distracts him. Greg Hamilton starts to re-introduce Shane as the best, but Shane tells him to calm down and that’s not needed again. Shane just wants to inform Miz that his match against Sanity right now is also a Falls Count Anywhere match, just like their match on Sunday. Sanity then takes advantage of the distraction and knocks Miz out to ringside then puts the boots to him. Dain misses a shot and crashes into the barricade, then Miz throws Young out into the crowd. Wolfe comes over and brawls with Miz in the crowd now. Miz suplexes Wolfe through a table on the floor, but Young breaks up the pin. The Miz brawls with Young behind the stage now. The brawl through the backstage area, and Miz throws Young into a metal door. Dain comes over now and starts beating on Miz. Dain misses a shot and Miz shoves him face-first into an electrical box. Young runs over and brawls with Miz out into the parking lot where the WWE production trucks are. Miz drops Young then hits a running knee to the face on him up against a box. Miz then wheels a production equipment crate into Young’s head for the three count.
Winner: Eric Young
– After the match, we see Shane McMahon leaving the parking lot in the back of an SUV. A police car pulls up with the lights and siren on, and Becky Lynch gets out of the back seat and walks into the arena.
– Corey Graves is in the ring with a mic. We see a replay of Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey getting arrested last night. Graves mentions that all three of them have been released, and he introduces Becky Lynch. Becky comes down to the ring and joins Graves. She takes his mic and leaves the ring, and she hops up on the announce table. She says it’s good to be in Baltimore, and she doesn’t answer to Graves she answers to the fans. Becky says she was determined to do anything it took to get in to this year’s WrestleMania, and look at her now in the main event of WrestleMania. She talks about her journey starting last year at SummerSlam, and now the women will main event WrestleMania for the first time ever. She drops her mic and heads to the back.
– We see several members of the SmackDown roster getting ready for a multi-team mixed-gender match, up next.
– Heavy Machinery, The Hardy Boyz, R-Truth, Carmella, Asuka, Naomi, & Nikki Cross vs. Gallows, Anderson, Zelina Vega, Andrade, Shelton Benjamin, EC3, Lana, Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville: Lacey Evans walks down to interrupt early on in this one, then leaves. Zelina and Nikki start this one off, and Zelina takes control with a choke over the ropes. Nikki fights back with a suplex, then EC3 and Jeff Hardy tag in. Jeff gets the upper hand, then Matt tags in for the double team on EC3. Matt hits the Side Effect for a two count. Otis tags in for the double team on EC3, then Otis hits The Caterpillar elbow drop. Andrade and R-Truth tag in, and Truth hits a series of shots in the corner. Carmella runs in for a 7 second dance break. Anderson runs in and drops Truth, then Zelina throws Carmella out. The aprons clear now and this one turns into a big brawl between the two teams. The ref calls for the bell as this match falls apart.
No contest
– The brawl continues after the bell as they all try throwing each other out of the ring. It’s down to EC3, Jeff Hardy, and Asuka. Jeff hits the Twist of Fate on Ec3, then Asuka kicks him. Jeff throws EC3 outside. Jeff and Asuka hug, then Asuka throws Jeff out of the ring.
– Samoa Joe vs. Mustafa Ali: This is a non-Title match. This one spills out to ringside early on, and then back in the ring Ali starts firing up with kicks on Joe. Ali drops Joe and looks for the 450 splash, but Joe rolls out of the way. Joe immediately follows up with the Coquina Clutch, and Ali goes to sleep. The ref calls for the bell after a short match.
Winner: Samoa Joe
– Michael Cole comes out to the ring to host the contract signing for the WWE Title match at WrestleMania. There’s a table and chairs in the ring, with the contract on the table. WWE Champion Daniel Bryan comes out with Rowan, and Bryan sits at the table. Cole introduces Kofi Kingston next, with The New Day by his side. Kofi sits down across from Bryan, and Bryan signs the contract first. Before Bryan hands the contract to Kofi, Bryan gets on the mic and says he needs to educate the masses first. The crowd chants for Kofi, and Bryan tells the Baltimore fans they’re ignorant and to shut up while he tries to educate them. Bryan tells the fans not to be complacent like Kofi was for 11 years. Bryan reiterates his life lesson not to be complacent, and he talks about Kofi trying to feed off of the fans, when really the fans are feeding off of Kofi. Bryan calls the fans parasites who will discard Kofi after they suck all of the positivity out of him. Kofi stands up and grabs the contract from Bryan. Kofi tells Bryan to shut his mouth while he educates Bryan. He says Bryan doesn’t know a damn thing about Kofi. He says he watched Bryan from day one, and it has all lead to this moment. Kofi says Bryan knows that Kofi is ready to win, and it’s his time. Kofi signs the contract and has a stare-down with Bryan as SmackDown goes off the air.
