WWE Smackdown 4/17/26 Wrestlemania 42 night 1 review

part 3 of 4 Getting Color Commentary Father Lloyd, Derrick and BT Review WWE Friday Night Smackdown from 4/17/26

Randy Orton appeared for a promo. He said he did not need Pat McAfee; however, he wanted him on his side because Cody Rhodes had done nothing but manipulate him & those around him for the past years. Orton then vowed to win the WWE Title at WrestleMania.

Street Fight: MFT (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, JC Mateo & Talla Tonga) (w/ Tonga Loa) def. Wyatt Sicks (Uncle Howdie, Erick Rowan, Joe Gacy & Dexter Lumis) (w/ Nikki Cross).

Danhausen cursed Maryse.

There was a vignette for Royce Keys. He spoke about wanting to succeed in wrestling in honor of his mother.

Jacob Fatu arrived in a cop car. Fatu said his days as a criminal are behind him & vowed to destroy Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania.

WWE Tag Team Championship Match: Wepa Up (Damian Priest & R-Truth) (c) def. Kofi Kingston & Grayson Waller to retain the titles.

Jade Cargill appeared for a promo, but was immediately interrupted by Rhea Ripley. Ripey said Cargill was actually scared of her. Cargill refuted by saying no one had the guts to step up to Ripley until she arrived. The two went face-to-face after that.

WWE Women’s United States Championship #1 Contenders Match: Tiffany Stratton def. Jordynne Grace.

Giulia & Kiana James watched the match at ringside.

Trick Williams cut a promo alongside a Gingerbread Man. Sami Zayn interrupted, saying he was uphazed by Trick’s antics. Zayn laid out Williams before hitting a Helluva Kick on the Gingerbread Man.

Andre the Giant Battle Royal: Royce Keys def. El Grande Americano, El Original Grande Americano, La Parka, Kit Wilson, Joe Hendry, Johnny Gargano, Shiloh Hill, Talla Tonga, Apollo Crews, Chris Sabin, Nathan Frazer, Ilja Dragunov, Psycho Clown, Matt Cardona, Aleister Black, Axiom, Shinsuke Nakamura, Cruz del Toro, Angel Garza, Berto, Rey Fenix, Joaquin Wilde, Otis & Tozawa.

Cody Rhodes appeared for a promo, but CM Punk interrupted him. Punk told Rhodes he should lock in for WrestleMania against Randy Orton. Rhodes thanked Punk for his friendship, saying Dusty would be proud of him.

Review WWE WRESTLEMANIA 42 controversial Night 1

The Usos (Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso) & LA Knight def. IShowSpeed & The Vision (Logan Paul & Austin Theory).

Paul attacked IShowSpeed after the match. Usos & Knight made the save, allowing Speed to hit a Splash off the top rope to the English broadcast table.

Unsanctioned Match: Jacob Fatu def. Drew McIntyre.

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: Paige & Brie Bella (w/ Nikki Bella) def. Irresistible Forces (Nia Jax & Lash Legend) (c), Allies of Convenience (Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair) & Bayley & Lyra Valkyria to win the titles.

Nikki was not cleared to compete. Paige made her return to WWE to take her spot.

WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Becky Lynch def. AJ Lee (c) to win the title.

GUNTHER def. Seth Rollins.

Bron Breakker laid out Rollins during the match.

The 2026 Hall of Fame Class appeared on the ramp to be honored.

WWE Women’s World Championship: Liv Morgan (w/ Dominik Mysterio, Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez) def. Stephanie Vaquer (c) to win the title.

John Cena announced that 50,800 people were in attendance. After that, Bianca Belair made her unexpected return. Belair announced she was pregnant.

Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) (w/ Jelly Roll) def. Randy Orton (w/ Pat McAfee) to retain the title.

Orton hit Rhodes with the title after the match. Orton then blasted Rhodes with the Punt.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.