Ronda Rousey is in complete control in her WrestleMania 38 SmackDown Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair. Rousey got her hands on authority figure Sonya Deville on Friday’s episode of WWE SmackDown, Rousey’s first televised singles match in three years.
Rousey, the former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion and Raw Women’s Champion, returned after a three-year hiatus at the January Royal Rumble. Until Friday, Rousey did not compete in televised one-on-one matches after the “Beat the Clock” challenge against Sarah Logan on the March 25, 2019 episode of WWE Raw. After a successful run alongside Naomi against Flair and Deville at the Elimination Chamber, Rousey entered the WWE ring solo on Friday.
SmackDown also featured two championship fights: Sami Zayn vs. Ricochet for the Intercontinental Crown, and SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos defending their stronghold against The Viking Raiders.
CBS Sports has been with you all night with recaps and highlights from all the action at the FTX Arena in Miami, Florida.
Ronda Rousey victorious Sonya Deville sends a package to Charlotte Flair via submission
Rousey got into a fight with Deville from the start. She hurled the authority figure with all sorts of monkey flips, takedowns, arm setups, and various hand throws. Deville staged a brief flurry of attacks thanks to Flair’s distraction. Once Rosie regained the lead, the game was over. The UFC veteran put together some good punches and corners before landing Deville with Piper’s Pit. The match ended thanks to Rosie’s signature armlet.
Flair, who served as a guest commentator, snubbed Rousey’s handrail, calling the MMA star a one-trick pony. Rosie goaded Flair by luring her into the ring. Rosie slid into a beautiful bouncing swing, bumping into Flair and hooking on his ankle. Flair applied a new move to Rousey before running out of the ring.
The match was pretty straight forward and the finish was never in doubt. Those worried about Rousey’s fitness and ring rust after a three-year absence should be relieved. The former Raw Women’s Champion performed strongly in her first televised singles match in three years. It was a much better barometer for measuring how Rosie vs. Flair would look than their tag team match in the Elimination Chamber. One of Rosie’s arms was tied behind her back at the Elimination Chamber event, greatly limiting the attack she could unleash. The SmackDown Main Event intelligently moved Rosie’s feud against Flair forward. A simple booking but it worked. Grade: B
What else happened on WWE SmackDown
- SmackDown opens with flashy standalone behind-the-scenes promos Paul Heyman, Ronda Rousey, Sonia Deville, The Viking Raiders, The Usos, Ricochet and Sami Zayn.
- Ricochet def. Sami Zane via pinfall become the new WWE Intercontinental Champion. Ricochet had many head-spinning attacks during the match. The finish came with a combination of hurricane pins while Zane was distracted by Jackass Forever star Johnny Knoxville.
- Austin Teori has announced that he will face Pat McAfee at WrestleMania 38.. Vince McMahon offered McAfee a WrestleMania match on his podcast last week.
- Naomi (with Sasha Banks) vs. Carmella (with Queen Zelena) via pin after landing on the moon with cloven legs.
- Happy Corbin and Crazy Moss played cards backstage with friends. The pair looked for Drew McIntyre ahead of McIntyre vs. Corbin at WrestleMania.
- Drew McIntyre vs. Jinder Mahal through pin after hitting him with a claymore. Subsequently, McIntyre took the mic and vowed to defeat Corbin at WWE’s biggest annual event.
- Roman Reigns vowed to beat Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania. During the promo, he was surrounded by Paul Heyman and The Usos. Before their performance, the Usos attacked Rick Bugs and Shinsuke Nakamura at the entrance.
- The Usos (Jimmy Usos & Jay Usos) vs. Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar) via pin to retain the SmackDown Tag Team Championships. The twin brothers hit Eric 1D to end the match.
- Seamus and Ridge Holland ambush Big E and Kofi Kingston before Sheamus’ scheduled match against Big E. Holland and Sheamus drove off on a New Day ATV before destroying it with sledgehammers.