This week's episode of Friday Night SmackDown was great, perhaps the best episode of the blue brand in the last couple of months. We had some great segments and solid in-ring action, just what is needed to build hype for WrestleMania.RELATED: Predicting The Next 5 Intercontinental Champions (& The Next 5 WWE United States Champions)The Las Vegas crowd enjoyed an excellent match between Intercontinental Champion Gunther and Butch, and also Cody Rhodes battled Ludwig Kaiser in a good match. Kevin Owens hosted Sami Zayn on the KO Show, Rey Mysterio confronted Dominik and much more. Here are a few things fans need to know about this week's WWE SmackDown.
8 Cody Rhodes Defeated Ludwig Kaiser
The opening match of this week's Friday Night SmackDown featured Cody Rhodes facing Ludwig Kaiser. Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa showed up to watch the match, and it seemed to break Cody's concentration. Kaiser dominated most of the match, and Giovanni Vinci also interfered. Nevertheless, "The American Nightmare" fought back and made the comeback to win the match. It was a solid bout that lasted over 15 minutes.
7 Cody Rhodes Will Have A Busy WrestleMania Week
After the victory, Paul Heyman took the microphone to tell Cody Rhodes that next Monday he will have to face Solo Sikoa one-on-one. Heyman said that if Cody survives, then he will go face to face with Roman Reigns next Friday. Cody Rhodes said that, despite being only six days away from the most important match of his career, he was going to beat the undefeated Sikoa, because he's not ready, and he said Roman Reigns isn't ready either.
6 “I Will Never Apologize For Continuing The Greatest Legacy In Sports Entertainment”
Charlotte Flair cut a promo on this week's episode of Friday Night SmackDown. She said wrestling wasn't about fear, it was about respect, and said she respected Sasha Banks, Bayley, Becky Lynch, Nikki Cross, Alexa Bliss, Ronda Rousey, all of them.
Then The Queen talked about nepotism, and said she loves her father and will never apologize for continuing the greatest legacy in sports entertainment. "Diamonds are forever and so is Charlotte Flair."
5 LA Knight Defeated Rey Mysterio
Rey Mysterio and LA Knight had a singles match this week. It was an entertaining match, with nice in-ring action and the fans were invested. In fact, it was perhaps the first time on the main roster that many fans (not most) were rooting for LA Knight. Rey Mysterio was about to hit a 619, but Dominik Mysterio distracted him, and that allowed LA Knight to roll Rey up for the win.
4 Rey Mysterio Hit Dominik And Accepted The WrestleMania Challenge
After the match Dominik Mysterio once again challenged his father Rey to a match at WrestleMania, but Rey said no. Then Dom disrespected his mother and sister (who were in the front row). Then Dom disrespected his mother and sister (who were in the front row), so Rey was furious and finally delivered the blow that the WWE universe and Dom himself had been asking for months. Then Rey accepted the challenge and will face his son at WrestleMania. It is worth mentioning that the performance of Rey's wife was excellent, as she even cried.
3 Shotzi & Natalya Qualified For The WrestleMania Fatal Four-Way
Shotzi and Natalya joined forces to face Lacey Evans and Xia Li for a spot in the women's Fatal Four-Way Tag Team match at WrestleMania. It was a short and forgettable match, Evans and Li dominated Shotzi, but eventually the green-haired woman managed to fight back and tag Natalya, who hit a Sharpshooter on Xia Li for the win. After the match, Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler added that they will also participate in the match, and they didn't even have to qualify.
2 Gunther Defeated Butch
Gunther, Sheamus and Drew McIntyre signed the contract for their Triple Threat match at WrestleMania. Violence is never lacking in contract signing segments, but it wasn't Sheamus or Drew McIntyre, as Butch attacked Gunther, before the two competed in a great singles match.
RELATED: 5 Wrestlers Who Could Defeat GUNTHER For The WWE Intercontinental Championship (& 5 Who Shouldn't)
They showed chemistry and performed good spots, Gunther hit several incredible chops, while Butch fought with intensity and showed his agility, not to mention he almost broke Gunther's fingers. In the end, Gunther was the winner. After the match, McIntyre hit a Claymore Kick on Gunther.
1 WrestleZaynia
The final segment of the episode was the KO Show. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn talked about the likelihood of winning the Undisputed Tag Team Championship together and Owens gave Zayn a new t-shirt. Owens said that Zayn had been WWE's MVP in recent months, and said that WrestleMania felt different this year. KO then gave his friend a shirt that says WrestleZaynia on the chest and KOMania on the back. Sami loved the shirt and hugged Owens, but The Usos arrived to spoil the party.
