WWE SmackDown recap, review: ‘Biggest’ WrestleMania contract signing ends in chaos
By Ryan Satin
FOX Sports WWE Analyst
This week on SmackDown, the contract to WWE’s "biggest WrestleMania match of all time" was signed — then all hell broke loose in the ring.
Welcome back to my "Highs and Lows," this time covering the 2/25/22 edition of SmackDown featuring Reigns and Brock Lesnar on the mic, Ronda Rousey, another appearance from Johnny Knoxville and the in-ring debut of Xia Li.
First, here’s a rundown of the match results:
- New Day defeated Los Lotharios via pinfall
- Xia Li defeated Natalya via pinfall
- Sasha Banks defeated Shotzi via submission
- Drew McIntyre defeated Madcap Moss via pinfall
SMACKDOWN HIGHS
Biggest WrestleMania contract signing of all-time
OK, so it wasn't that, but I did enjoy this week’s in-ring segment involving Reigns and Lesnar — even if the contract signing setup has been done to death.
You can never go wrong with unleashing Brock on a group of local extras dressed as security guards. It’s guaranteed to be entertaining.
Lesnar has made it practically impossible to dislike what he’s doing these days, especially when he’s calling security guards "skid marks" and referring to Paul Heyman as "Mr. Dick." His babyface run continues to be one of my favorite parts of WWE programming.
"The Tribal Chief" killed it in this segment, too. Reigns always comes across as believing in what he says, and that was no different here while talking about how he rules the landscape of modern WWE. With each sentence, you could just feel the power flowing through his veins.
It was true boss behavior.
Johnny Knoxville challenges Zayn to IC title match
One of my favorite things about Sami Zayn right now is that even though he’s playing the most delusional version of his character, he can still snap into serious mode and come across as a legit tough guy when the time calls for it.
That was displayed perfectly in his segment this week with Knoxville.
First, we got the arrogant conspiracy theorist in a bright gold jacket who (of course) threw his own victory celebration after defeating Shinsuke Nakamura last week for the Intercontinental Championship.
Then, once Johnny Knoxville arrived, Sami eventually snapped after feeling disrespected over a title challenge from the "Jackass" star and hit his adversary with two Helluva kicks (one looking more brutal than the other).
When it comes to blurring the lines between reality and fiction with a celebrity guest, this was as good as it gets.
Xia Li's in-ring debut
An effective start for Xia Li as she continues to show promise.
This wasn’t some five-star classic or anything, but it didn’t need to be. The match established Li as an in-ring threat and garnered her a win over a veteran in Natalya (who loses absolutely nothing in defeat at this point in her career).
The inclusion of Superstars watching their match on the backstage monitor was a nice touch as well. The idea of Shayna Baszler (one of the Superstars watching) against Xia Li in the near-future intrigues me very much.
Ronda Rousey’s explanation
This was a simple promo from Rousey, but one that was needed.
Hearing why she wanted to return to WWE after not having the most positive things to say about her first stint helps quiet any fans who questioned her passion.
I also think it’s sweet that she wants to be a badass example to her daughter, in the same way that young Ronda was inspired seeing her mom become the first American woman to win a world championship in Judo.
SMACKDOWN LOWS
Lack of wrestling
In total, there was merely 23 minutes of wrestling on a 2-hour program. The match between Sasha and Shotzi was only 2 minutes and 10 seconds long.
I’m aware this is Sports Entertainment, but I still want to see some action, and this left me wanting a lot more. Not to mention the fact that the SmackDown roster is lacking depth right now, so anything that could be done to build up the undercard as future title challengers would be extremely helpful.
Having a Superstar tap out in two minutes without much of a fight won’t grow them into a valuable entity people put their support behind. Neither will back-and-forth wins between tag teams for weeks on end.
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Ryan Satin is a WWE analyst for FOX Sports. Satin previously appeared on FS1's "WWE Backstage" and founded Pro Wrestling Sheet, where he broke countless news stories as editor-in-chief.
