WWE SMACKDOWN RESULTS: Ripley and Company Clash in Blue Brand Fatal Four Way (March, 25th 2022)
Welcome all to the latest Smackdown report, the second to last before WrestleMania. Speaking of WrestleMania, Ronda Rousey has been one upped on two separate occasions by Smackdown Womens Champion Charlotte Flair as of late, and the Baddest Woman on the Planet looks to rebound this week. Plus, with the now four way womens tag team title match on the horizon, four of the matches combatants, Shayna Baszler, Zelina Vega, Rhea Ripley and Sasha Banks do battle in an all star four way match.
The first womens moment of the night goes to Ronda Rousey, heading to the ring after suffering at the hands of Charlotte for a second week in a row. After a video package showcases Charlotte’s recent savage attacks, Ronda speaks in the ring. Upon seeing all those attacks again, she says at WrestleMania shes not going to take Charlotte’s arm, because Charlotte will be giving her her arm instead. Then Charlotte can call her the new Smackdown Womens Champion, heck she might as well just be Smackdown Champion. Shes not waiting all night for Charlotte to come out, demanding her to leave her heels as well as her excuses backstage and get her barbie ass out to the ring. Charlotte does appear, but not on location, as the reigning champion pops up on the tron. She mocks Ronda for thinking she’d be in Brooklyn tonight, that she’d step foot in such a low rent city before WrestleMania. She doesnt answer when Ronda calls, she is the champion and Ronda is the contender. Ronda responds that she knows exactly who she is. She is Ronda Rousey, someone who broke her first arm at the age of fourteen. She was so proud that she kept count until she lost count. Charlotte jokes how shes shaking in her boots, but also admits that shes run out of ways to hurt Ronda. If she was there, she’d have to throw her off the Brooklyn Bridge to get any kind of satisfaction, but she’ll have to wait until next week. Ronda jokes back how Charlotte thinks shes the meme of WWE, and adds that if Charlotte beats her at WrestleMania, it will be the biggest victory of her career, whereas when she beats Charlotte at her own game, Charlotte will be another name in the lost count of bodies whose arms have been snapped by Ronda. Ronda throws aside the mic and another staredown ensues with the two women to close their moment.
Then later is the one booked womens match of the night, as out comes Sasha Banks, with Naomi at her side, for the upcoming womens fatal four way. She is introduced by Samantha Irvin, who introduces also Rhea Ripley after, accompanied by Liv Morgan. In the ring already are Shayna Baszler, with Natalya in her corner, and one half of the womens tag team champions, Zelina Vega, also joined by her fellow champion Carmella. Once entrances have been culminated, the bell is rung and the four way match gets underway.
Rhea starts advancing towards Zelina, but she quickly bails out of the ring. Rhea makes her way to Shayna instead, and shes about to make it to the ropes but faces a two on one attack from the Aussie as well as from Sasha Banks. With Shayna and Zelina taking their time outs, Sasha and Rhea decide to square off, Sasha tying Rhea in a waistlock to kickstart their battle, only for Rhea to toss her to her own front. Rhea then sends Sasha to the nearby ropes and aims to clothesline her but she misses the shot when Sasha ducks and takes a right hand to the jaw following both womens brief display of athleticism. Sasha floats to the middle rope, upward to the top rope then arm drags Rhea across the ring, Shayna then entering to potentially try an ambush on Sasha but Sasha sees it coming and sends Shayna into the same corner as Rhea. Sasha connects with double knees to Shayna, Rhea also impacted, then bulldogs Rhea in the middle of the ring coming off a wheelbarrow reversal. Sasha covers Rhea afterwards but Rhea fights out of her pin attempt narrowly before a count of two.
Sasha runs the ropes but ends up tripped half way by Zelina, who forces her out of the ring. Zelina plants Sasha’s face angrily against the commentary table, then Naomi tries grabbing Zelina by her hair. Carmella forearms Naomi, with Natalya then taking Naomi to the floor. Carmella hits the ring, but faces a barrage of offense from Liv Morgan, Rhea also fighting off Zelina. Shayna joins in with a beatdown to the back of Zelina and a mass brawl begins in the ring, no disqualifications happening as a result as the four way works under no DQ rules. We then go to a commercial break.
When we return, many of the women have dispersed, leaving Rhea up against Sasha in the ring. Sasha gets caught in Rhea’s submission, then suffers a running knee to the side of the head from Shayna, knocking her right out of Rhea’s hands. Shayna then looks to clobber Rhea with a forearm but her fellow former NXT Womens Champion ducks her attempt and headbutts her to the mat. Rhea scoops Zelina after, only to end up on the end of her headscissor counter. Zelina climbs over and attempts to pin Rhea, but Rhea fights out, and this time at two. Zelina moves to Shayna, trying to pin her, but it ends the same way, trying the same also with Sasha but stunned also when she kicks out at two.
Zelina hits a knee to Shayna in the corner, attempting double knees in another corner to Sasha but missing that one. Zelina limps back over and tries to clothesline Zelina, but Sasha whirls under and transitions into the Bank Statement. Shayna slithers into the ring as this happens and starts twisting the wrist of Zelina, but Sasha unties Zelina from Shayna and captures both in a double bank statement. However, in comes Rhea, who connects with a running dropkick to Sasha, separating her from Zelina and Shayna in the process. Rhea then aims to deliver Riptide to Shayna, but Shayna gets out of the setup and transitions into the kirifuda clutch. However, Sasha is back in again and connects with the backstabber to Shayna, freeing Rhea also. Zelina then flips Sasha away from the ropes and connects with Code Red, not managing to pin her however as Shayna crashes the womens tag team champions pin attempt. Shayna pulls Zelina back to ringside by her already targeted arm then both blast each other with forearms before Rhea sentons onto both off the apron. Zelina makes Rhea pay as she utilises a hurricanrana to send her into the barricade, then returning to the ring after spending a bit of time taunting, stepping over to Sasha only for Sasha to yank her into the Bank Statement. With Shayna taken out, theres no interfering on her part this time and Zelina taps out. Sasha wins the match.
(Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Segment)
(Rhea Ripley w/ Liv Morgan vs Shayna Baszler w/ Natalya vs Zelina Vega w/ Carmella vs Sasha Banks w/ Naomi; Fatal Four Way Match)
(Natalya and Shayna Baszler on Smackdown Fallout)
Thoughts On:
Ronda and Charlotte Segment: Not a fan of this segment to be honest. I get the evasion from Charlotte, but from Ronda coming across passion-less in her promo execution, to Charlotte trying to save it with an overly scripted rebutal, it just wasnt for me. Both women have done much better promos and after whats happened in the past two weeks, it would’ve been best for Ronda to deliver more energy, and anyone whose watched her past promos knows shes capable of it. Its a step down from the heat they’ve been achieving in the past two weeks.
Womens Fatal Four Way: There were some fun sequences on all sides, from Shayna’s targeting of Zelina’s wrist during Sashas Bank Statement to not just damage an additional opponent, but to prevent Zelina from tapping out, to Rhea’s riptide countered by Shayna’s kirifuda, to Sasha’s backstabber amid Shayna’s kirifuda, to the double bank statement to the timing of Zelina’s Code Red and overall athleticism. Im not surprised over who won here, but personally i would’ve given this win to Shayna as Sasha and Naomi have enough momentum as it is, or even to Rhea considering her and Liv had their momentum flattened on RAW. But regardless a fun and watchable encounter that the crowd should’ve been more responsive to.
– Catherine
Cattie's Womens Wrestling 