WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights from March 22

Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of WWE SmackDown on March 22.

We are just two weeks away from WrestleMania 40, so WWE is devoting most of its resources and TV time to building up the pay-per-view.

Here is a look at the lineup WWE advertised heading into Friday's show:

• Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes come face to face
• Rey Mysterio vs. Santos Escobar
• Authors of Pain vs. Street Profits
• Austin Theory and Grayson Waller vs. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson

Let's take a look at everything that happened on Friday's episode of SmackDown.

Rey Mysterio vs. Santos Escobar

WWE

Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar.

Wade Barrett announced that the LWO and Legado Del Fantasma were banned from ringside to make the first match between Mysterio and Escobar a fair fight.

Mysterio took control early but you could see a little bit of ring rust he had yet to shake off after his recent return. The majority of what he did looked great but a few small missteps made it clear he was still not quite back to 100%.

Despite both men being lauded luchadors, this match still had the standard WWE pace. There were a lot of moments between moves that were designed to tell a story but also ended up slowing down the tempo.

Even at only half capacity, we all know Mysterio can put on a more exciting match than this, so it's possible they were holding back because WWE has something bigger planned for them at WrestleMania.

This was still a fun opener for this week's SmackDown that picked up quite a bit in the second half even if it did leave a little to be desired. Dominik Mysterio showed up to cost his dad the match and hand the leader of LDF a victory.

Result: Escobar defeated Mysterio

Grade: B

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Notable Moments and Observations

• The brief video package WWE played between entrances did a good job summarizing their feud in less than a minute. 
• Mysterio and Escobar did a good job recovering after Mysterio lost his footing and they had to fill time before he could climb back to the top rope for a hurricanrana. 
• Barrett pretending not to know if Dom was actually Rey because he was wearing a mask shouldn't have been as funny as it was. 

Grayson Waller and Austin Theory vs. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows

WWE

Grayson Waller, Austin Theory, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows.

Theory and Waller battled Anderson and Gallows for a spot on the WrestleMania 40 card in the Tag Team Championship match.

The OC used quick tags and double-team offense to keep Theory away from Waller until he was able to dive for a tag. The Australian Superstar didn't fare much better and Anderson ended up taking out both men with a dive over the top rope.

Gallows and Anderson looked like the had the match firmly in hand, but Theory and Waller were able to steal a victory to advance in the tournament.

Anderson shined brightest out of the four competitors in the ring but everyone did a decent job.

Result: Theory and Waller defeated The OC

Grade: C+

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Notable Moments and Observations

• Anderson and Gallows could be used so much more effectively. They can help in NXT but they are more useful putting others over on the main roster if WWE isn't going to have them with AJ Styles anymore. 
• Mia Yim needs more to do. She is too good to be relegated to a supporting role. Her arm drag to Waller looked good. 
• It's kind of funny how Gallows played the fake Kane and still does an uppercut the same way Kane did. 
• Gallows went from selling a leg injury like he had been hit by a car to walking normally within 30 seconds. 

Naomi vs. Iyo Sky

Before she came to the ring, Naomi had conversations backstage with both Bayley and Bianca Belair, who do not get along at all.

Iyo Sky was late for her entrance because she was too busy backstage beating up Bayley. The rest of Damage CTRL came out with Sky but did not accompany her all the way to the ring.

Naomi had a slight size and power advantage but not enough to allow her to dominate the women's champion.

This match had a steady pace and showed a lot of chemistry between two women who didn't have a lot of experience working together. As Naomi was gearing up to win, Damage CTRL ran down to provide a distraction so Sky could hit the Over the Moonsault for the pin.

As Naomi tried to fight off the rest of the stable, Belair came down to help. Unfortunately, it was too little too late and Damage CTRL ended the segment standing tall.

Result: Sky defeated Naomi

Grade: B+

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Notable Moments and Observations

• Naomi's hair and gear looked amazing. 
• Asuka and Kairi Sane were dancing their butts off during Sky's entrance. 
• The bulldog Naomi tried to hit did not go as planned but they still ended up making it work for the most part. 
• Sky hit a meteora in the corner that looked great. She did not slow down one bit on her way to the corner. 
• WWE used a weird camera angle for Naomi's superplex. 

Street Profits vs. Authors of Pain

WWE

The Street Profits and Authors of Pain.

B-Fab and Bobby Lashley accompanied Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins to the ring for their match against Akam and Rezar, who were accompanied by Paul Ellering, Scarlett and Karrion Kross.

AOP has been back with WWE for a bit but has mostly been serving as backup for Kross, so it was nice to see them put back into the hunt for the tag titles as part of this stable vs. stable storyline.

Akam and Rezar had a significant physical advantage over the Profits and used it to overpower Ford and Dawkins whenever they could.

Ford ended up pulling off an upset with a quick inside cradle to score the pin. One-sided fights are rarely entertaining, but this one ended up being solid. It's great to see the tag team division on SmackDown with something to fight for again.

Result: The Street Profits defeated AOP

Grade: B-

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Notable Moments and Observations

• Kevin Owens punched out both members of Pretty Deadly at the same time in a backstage segment before this match. It was hilarious. 
• AOP catching Ford as he flew over the top rope before they powerbombed him into Dawkins was an awesome spot. 
• Dawkins hitting Akam with the Silencer was a good spot 

The Final Word

The final 25 minutes of this week's show were devoted to the standoff between Rhodes and Reigns, who both promised to show up alone. After 10 minutes of entrances and a commercial break, we got 15 minutes of them trading barbs.

None of what we heard was new information, but Rhodes did a good job planting seeds of doubt in Reigns' head. Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa eventually showed up in the crowd, but so did Jey Uso and Seth Rollins. The show ended with all six men staring each other down.

Friday's show didn't have anything incredibly memorable or spectacular take place, but it also didn't have any bad or weak segments. Everything ranged from down the middle to slightly above average.

Mysterio and Escobar could have easily stolen the show but chose to work a slower pace that didn't lend itself well to their lunch style. They did a good job, but we all know they can do much better and likely will in their next encounter.

All four matches were decent, but none of them stood out above the others in any significant way.

WrestleMania 40 already has 10 matches in place and will likely add a few more over the next two weeks. The Road to WrestleMania is the year's busiest period for the entire wrestling industry.

Grade: B-