WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights From Feb. 16
The Rock and Roman Reigns returned to WWE SmackDown Friday night for an explosive broadcast that advanced the Road to WrestleMania 40.
The Great One and Undisputed WWE Universal Champion addressed the events of the WrestleMania Kickoff press conference, as well as Triple H's thinly veiled words a week ago, and continued to set the stage for what fans can expect come April 6 and 7 in Philadelphia.
What did they have to say and how was it received by the WWE faithful?
Find out with this recap of the latest blue brand episode, which also determined the latest entries into the Men's and Women's Elimination Chamber matches.
Match Card
1 of 8Announced in advance for the February 16 show were:
- The return of The Rock and Roman Reigns
- Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Kevin Owens vs. Dominik Mysterio
- Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: The Miz vs. Logan Paul
- Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Zelina Vega vs. Tiffany Stratton
- Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Alba Fyre vs. Naomi
Elimination Chamber Qualifier: Kevin Owens vs. "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio
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Kevin Owens joined Drew McIntyre, LA Knight, Randy Orton, and Bobby Lashley in the Men's Elimination Chamber Match on February 24 by way of his victory over The Judgment Day's Dominik Mysterio.
Owens overcame an inadvertent distraction from an unexpected R-Truth at ringside and rolled late. Mysterio, reeling, ordered Truth to fetch him a chair, attempting to manipulate him by promising him a spot in The Judgment Day.
Wise to the heel's game, Truth teased going along with the orders, only to sit down in the chair. Mysterio turned right into a pop-up powerbomb as Owens cashed his ticket to Perth.
A solid wrestling match, enhanced by a red-hot crowd in Salt Lake City, Utah, and logical progression in the Truth-Judgment Day story made this a great start to what should be a seriously newsworthy show.
Result
Owens defeated Mysterio to advance to the Elimination Chamber
Grade
B
Top Moments and Takeaways
- The chorus of boos from the fans repeatedly drowned out Mysterio, whose heat was off the charts.
- Owens countered Mysterio's attempt at the Three Amigos with one of his own, prompting Corey Graves to say, "Three friendly Canadians." Good stuff.
- Truth proving to be smarter than he is given credit for and avoiding Mysterio's attempted manipulation was a nice change in pace for the comedic character.
- Backstage, a tense back-and-forth involving Drew McIntyre and LA Knight gave way to a pull-apart by referees.
Elimination Chamber Qualifier: Zelina Vega vs. Tiffany Stratton
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Will Elimination Chamber be Tiffy Time?
It remains to be seen but that may very well be the case after Tiffany Stratton defeated Zelina Vega to advance to the premium live event next Saturday.
The match was solid but was overshadowed by the presence of Legado del Fantasma in the front row and the arrival of LWO to counter them. As the fight between Vega and Stratton spilled to the arena floor, Elektra Lopez talked trash with the former, leading to the one and only Queen of the Ring in WWE history pulling her over the guardrail and beating up on her.
The distraction allowed Stratton to put her down with a spinebuster and add the Prettiest Moonsault Ever for the win.
There was some solid action here, and Stratton continues to impress on the main roster, and even better, it intensified the ongoing rivalry between the two factions.
Another quality segment.
Result
Stratton defeated Vega to advance to the Elimination Chamber
Grade
B
Top Moments and Takeaways
- Vega is really good and should have something more consistent to do at this point in her career. She shows up and out whenever she gets the chance.
- The inevitable match between Vega and Lopez is going to be fire, as long as they aren't forced to rush through things.
The Authors of Pain Return to the Squared Circle
4 of 8Akam and Rezar, known collectively as The Authors of Pain, returned to the ring and made short work of their opponents from NXT, Javier Bernal and Beau Morris.
It was a short, sweet reintroduction to one of the most dominant tag teams of the modern era as the creative team continues to heat The Final Testament up.
Result
AOP defeated Morris and Bernal
Grade
C+
Top Moments and Takeaways
- Before the match, Iyo Sky sent a message to Bayley ahead of their showdown at WrestleMania 40.
- Backstage, Logan Paul cut a promo in which he vowed to beat Miz, win the Elimination Chamber and challenge Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship. And, more importantly, get his WrestleMania win back against The Visionary. The fact that is a viable story, with threads dating back a year ago, is part of what makes this creative regime so great. Everything matters and nothing is forgotten.
Elimination Chamber Qualifier: The Miz vs. Logan Paul
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WWE United States Champion Logan Paul completed a star-studded field in the Men's Elimination Chamber Match, defeating The Miz to earn his way to the contest.
Paul overcame a knee injury that was focused on throughout the match by his opponent to earn the victory but did not do it all by himself.
Late in the match, his buddy, Jeff, introduced a pair of brass knuckles. Miz tossed them away but the distraction allowed Paul to recover and drive his Hollywood A-Lister opponent into the mat for the win.
The match was better than it may have been on paper but that should not surprise anyone who paid attention to Paul and Miz's first match at SummerSlam two years ago. They have chemistry and, even with the tables turned and the roles reversed, that was on display here.
Paul winning was the right call and completes one of the more star-studded fields in recent Elimination Chamber history.
Result
Paul defeated The Miz to advance to the Elimination Chamber
Grade
B+
Top Moments and Takeaways
- This was Paul's first free television match to date.
- Paul dropped Miz and immediately remembered to sell his injured leg. Those are the little things that make him better beyond his years in the industry. He was born to do this.
- Backstage, a celebratory Tiffany Stratton talked trash on her Elimination Chamber opponents Bianca Belair and Liv Morgan before Jade Cargill took exception to her interrupting business with SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis.
Elimination Chamber Qualifier: Naomi vs. Alba Fyre
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Naomi is glowing to Elimination Chamber.
The former SmackDown Women's and Tag Team champion defeated Alba Fyre in a hotly contested match Friday night, tapping her out and moving one step closer to challenging either Rhea Ripley or Nia Jax for the Women's World Championship at WrestleMania.
Naomi looked outstanding, crisp between the ropes, and more confident than she did in her prior run with the company. Perhaps that can be attributed to evolving and growing her skill set during her run with TNA, but she was on point here.
It would have been nice to see Fyre and partner Isla Dawn be built in some form or fashion so that fans had a reason to invest in the idea that it was any woman's match to win but even then, this was a successful return of Naomi, based both on the outcome and the quality of her performance.
Result
Naomi defeated Fyre to advance to the Elimination Chamber
Grade
B
Top Moments and Takeaways
- Naomi entered the arena to new theme music that was very similar to that of her TNA theme. Good. It bridges the gap between the Naomi we knew and the woman, and competitor, she is today.
- If you did not check out any of Naomi's work in TNA, under her real name Trinity, do so now. She is an entirely different wrestler at this point in her career than when she left the company back in 2022.
The Bloodline Comes to SmackDown
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Sunglasses on. $500 vest draped over his massive pecs.
Heel Rock was in the house Friday night and he wasted little time letting the world know that this is not the People's Champ they had grown to love.
This was a vindictive Rock, an entitled megastar who watched his plans to headline WrestleMania against Roman Reigns, his family spotlighted in the biggest match in company history, go up in flames because of the WWE Universe and their unbreakable bond with Cody Rhodes.
In between one-liners and insults, Rock vowed to make sure Rhodes lost to Reigns for the second consecutive year, then took his place in The Bloodline alongside The Tribal Chief, Solo Sikoa, and Jimmy Uso, all while Paul Heyman watched on approvingly.
It may appear that there was no new wrinkle or development here but Reigns was adamant early in the promo that everything said by him and Rock had meaning and was information that fans had to digest and understand.
Expect something here, particularly his vow to see to a Rhodes loss, come back into play shortly. Perhaps "anything" eludes to the power he yields as a member of the Board of Directors with TKO.
Grade
A
Top Moments and Takeaways
- "Tonight, we can say The Rock is a member of The Bloodline."
- "FINALLY...your life has meaning," Rock said, fully embracing heeldom.
- Rock said he is going to do everything in his power to make sure Rhodes walks out of Philly a loser.
- Rock, apparently, cannot stick a single pointer finger in the air, as evidenced by the large "L" he raised to the sky.
Overall Grade: A
8 of 8WWE is absolutely cooking right now.
We have the most interesting, engaging storyline in years with the newest Bloodline wrinkles and the involvement of The Rock, and one of the most recognizable young celebrities in the world (US champ Logan Paul) is popping up on free television and wrestling matches beyond his years.
The Elimination Chamber qualifiers all delivered something unique and different, some even serving as the latest chapter in other ongoing stories.
There were intriguing developments, numerous story threads at play, and an exclamation point of a segment from the fully turned Rock at the bottom of the show.
This was a great broadcast, another in a line of them by a company that is full steam ahead as WrestleMania 40 draws near.
Who knows if the show lives up to last year's instant classic but the intrigue, interest, and quality of storytelling is about as high as it has ever been.
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