The February 13th, 2018 edition of WWE SmackDown Live took place at the RaboBank Arena in Bakersfield, CA.
– This week’s episode of SmackDown opens up with Dolph Ziggler coming out on the stage with no music. As he starts walking to the ring his music starts, and Tom Phillips welcomes us to commentary. Tom Phillips is joined by Byron Saxton and Corey Graves on commentary.
– Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler: Baron Corbin’s music plays but he doesn’t come out. They stop his music and start it again. The camera goes backstage to reveal Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn both beating down Corbin. Corbin starts fighting back, but the deo overpowers him and throws him into some production equipment. Kevin says “one down, one more to go,” and they walk off.
Winner: No contest
– Owens and Zayn start walking towards the ring, and it seems they have their sights set on Dolph Ziggler, who is still standing in the ring. Owens and Zayn split up to surround Ziggler. Zigglers run out of the ring and starts brawling with Sami Zayn in the crowd. Owens runs over and joins Sami in beating down Ziggler. Owens and Zayn throw Ziggler back into the ringside area, where Ziggler tries to fight back but they drop him again. Sami hits a big boot on Ziggler, then walks off with Owens. As Owens and Zayn are heading backstage, Baron Corbin comes back and starts fighting with them on the ramp. They double team Corbin again until referees break it up. Owens and Zayn finally leave as Ziggler and Corbin are being helped to their feet.
– Sarah Logan vs. Charlotte: The Riott Squad, and Becky Lynch & Naomi are all at ringside to watch this one. The opening bell sounds, and Charlotte and Logan wrestle down to the mat and trade holds. Charlotte fights up and hits a big boot that sends Logan outside for a breather. Back in the ring, Sarah drops Charlotte and puts her in a shoulder hold. Sarah reverses a suplex attempt and hits a chop on Charlotte, but Charlotte no-sells it and answers with a series of chops herself. They brawl back and forth until Sarah drops Charlotte and pummels on her with a series of elbows to the head. Sarah pins for a two count, then applies a shoulder lock. Sarah continues to beat on Charlotte and slams her into the turnbuckle. Charlotte comes back with a slam into the corner and a swinging neckbreaker for the three count.
Winner: Charlotte
– After the match, Charlotte, Becky, and Naomi celebrate the win in the ring while the Riott Squad heads to the back.
– Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan meet backstage to discuss what happened with Owens and Zayn earlier tonight. They decide to book two singles matches: Sami vs. Ziggler, and Owens vs. Corbin. If Ziggler or Corbin win, they earn spots in the Fastlane main event. Shane says if either of Bryan’s “boys” Owens or Zayn cheat tonight, they lose their spots at Fastlane.
– We see another WWE Black History Month video.
– Kevin Owens vs. Baron Corbin: If Corbin wins, he’s added to the WWE Title match at Fastlane. The opening bell sounds and Owens starts off strong with strikes on Corbin. Corbin fights back and throttles Owens out to the ringside floor. Sami Zayn is backstage watching. Back in the ring, Owens starts working on Corbin and hits a big boot on him. Corbin fires back with a big right hand that sends Owens back outside for a breather. They brawl around ringside until Owens whips Corbin into the ring post, and Corbin sells the bad ribs from earlier in the night. Back in the ring, Owens takes control and hits a cannonball in the corner for a two count. The fight spills out to ringside again, where Corbin whips Owens into the barrier. Back in the ring, Owens comes back with a senton for a two count. Owens works on keeping Corbin grounded, but Corbin fights his way up and hits the chokeslam backbreaker. They slowly get up to their feet and brawl back and forth. Corbin slides outside and then back in the ring for a clothesline from behind for a two count. Corbin misses a shot in the corner, and Owens goes up top. Corbin cuts him off, but Owens drops Corbin’s neck over the top rope. Owens approaches Corbin on the mat, but Corbin hits the Deep Six out of nowhere. Both men are slow to get up, and Owens hits a superkick. Corbin evades a Pop-Up Powerbomb, and comes back with the End of Days for the three count. Corbin has earned a spot at Fastlane.
Winner: Baron Corbin
– Corbin celebrates in the ring, as Sami Zayn is shown backstage, and Sami is not happy.
– Bobby Roode is out to the ring next, and he says he wants to issue an open challenge for his U.S. Title, and he also takes a shot at Randy Orton for attacking him from behind last week. Roode looks to the back for his open challenge opponent tonight, and it’s Randy Orton. Roode is happy he got who he wanted, and Orton makes his way to the ring. As Orton steps in the ring, Jinder Mahal comes out to interrupt. Jinder says the SmackDown roster doesn’t respect Orton, despite being a 13-time World Champion. Jinder steps on the apron with one of the Singh Brothers. Jinder points out that he beat Orton for the WWE Title, but says he personally does respect Orton. Jinder says the rest of the SmackDown roster thinks Orton is past his prime, and now Orton gets on the mic. Orton says he doesn’t give a damn, as Jinder steps in the ring. Jinder says Bobby Roode has already surpassed Orton, and he thinks Roode wants to be the new Legend Killer. Roode gets on the mic now and says Jinder is the one who nobody respects, and Roode does have respect for Orton. Roode says that everyone is sick and tired of being attacked out of nowhere by Orton. Orton then gives the Singh Brothers an RKO out of onwhere, and Roode and Jinder start brawling. Orton grabs Roode, and Roode drops him with a right hand. Jinder then hits the Khallas on Roode, and then hits on Orton. Jinder yells at the fans and leaves as Roode and Orton recover.
– The New Day is out to the ring next. There’s a table with plates full of pancakes all over it. They declare that Big E is going to attempt to break a pancake eating record tonight, but Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable interrupt. Gable gets on the mic and sarcastically says this is what he envisioned himself doing back when he was training for the Olympics. Shelton tells The New Day to open up their own pancake restaurant, and leave the SmackDown tag division to some more serious competitors. Xavier says that they are serious competitors, and are the longest reigning Tag Champs ever. Gable and Benjamin start throwing The New Day’s pancakes down on the mat one by one, and The New Day gets more mad with each wasted pancake. Big E tells them not to touch their cakes. Gable says he has a news flash for them – nobody likes pancakes. Shelton says they eat waffles, then flips over a plate of pancakes out of Big E’s hands. Woods and Kofi hold back Big E, and a ref gets between the teams.
– Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable vs. Big E & Kofi Kingston: Xavier is at ringside watching and throwing out pancakes to fans. The New Day starts off strong, but Gable and Benjamin are able to take control of the match after a boot to the face. Gable starts working over Kofi’s shoulder, and then hits a spinning heel kick on Kofi for a two count. Gable pounds on Kofi in the corner, then tags in Shelton. Kofi fights back and throws Gable outside. Kofi dodges a shot from Shelton, then goes to tag Big E, but Gable pulls Big E off the apron. Shelton drops Kofi in the ring, then rolls outside and hits a cheap shot on Xavier for good measure. Shelton taunts the fans, and Kofi capitlizes with a flying stomp on Shelton. Big E and Gable get the tags, and Big E hits some belly to belly overhead suplexes. Gable fires back with a suplex of his own, then tags in Shelton. Gable gets knocked outside, then The New Day double teams Shelton for the three count.
Winners: the New Day
– Dolph Ziggler cuts a promo in the back saying he was put on earth to perform in that ring. Ziggler complains about Owens and Sami attacking him from behind and ruining his opportunity. He says they attacked him from behind because they know how good he is. Ziggler says the whole reason he is back right now is to do the one thing he’s never done — headline WrestleMania, and he plans to go in as WWE Champion.
– We see a pre-taped promo from The Usos, but then the screen shatters, and it’s shown that The Bludgeon Brothers have bashed a flatscreen with their sledgehammers.
– Dolph Ziggler vs. Sami Zayn: Owens is shown backstage watching on a monitor. Ziggler is selling a neck injury from the beat down earlier in the night, and the action is slow to start. Zayn leans up against the ropes repeatedly to force a ref break, and then cheap shots Ziggler. Ziggler finally hits a neckbeaker and a splash in the corner, then another neckbreaker. Sami rolls outside for a breather. Back in the ring, Sami backs Ziggler into the corner and repeatedly slaps him upside the head. Sami chokes Ziggler with his boot, then chokes Ziggler across the rope. Ziggler fights back and hits Sami with a shot to the face that sends Zayn rolling outside to regroup. Back in the ring, Sami goes for a suplex, but Ziggler escapes and hits a DDT. Both men are slow to get to their feet now. Ziggler goes for a Fameasser and misses the first attempt, but he connects with the second attempt, and pins Sami for a two count. Ziggler goes up top, but Sami hits the ropes and stops him. Sami climbs up and joins Ziggler on the turnbuckle. They trade punches on the turnbuckle until Zayn grabs Ziggler and hits a t-bone suplex off the very top rope. They slowly get up and start trading strikes until Sami throws Ziggler head-first into the ring post. Sami misses a big boot, and Ziggler hits the Zig Zag for a two count. Ziggler misses a superkick, and Sami throws him into the ring post again. He throws Ziggler into the ring post again, then goes for a Blue Thunder Bomb, but Ziggler fights out. Ziggler rolls up Sami for a two count, then Sami hits a t-bone suplex into the corner. Sami looks for the Heluva Kick, but Ziggler ducks and hits a superkick for the three count. Ziggler has earned a shot at the WWE Title at Fastlane, and the Fastlane main event is now a Fatal 5-way.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
– Kevin Owens is shown backstage watching on a monitor, and he’s pissed off about the match finish. After the match, Ziggler stands up on the announce table and points at the fans as SmackDown goes off the air.
