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WWE SmackDown Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reactions, Highlights From Feb. 13
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of WWE SmackDown on February 13.
Here's a look at what WWE advertised for this week's show:
Let's take a look at everything that happened on this week's show.
It's Tiffy Time Again
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After the usual shots of people walking backstage, Tiffany Stratton made her way to the ring for a promo to kick off the show.
She spoke about losing the WWE title but being on the path to winning it back thanks to qualifying for the Elimination Chamber. Jax and Legend came out to talk some trash and threatened Tiffy, but Ripley and Sky came out before they had a chance.
This led right into the women's tag title match, so Stratton made a quiet exit once Rhiyo was in the ring.
Stratton has a good following, but even as a babyface, certain things she says just seem more suited for a heel. She was such a good antagonist in NXT and it would be great to see her get to play that role on the main roster.
Her promo was short and everything that followed was cookie cutter stuff, but getting right into the first match without a long talking segment to start the show was a nice change of pace.
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
Rhiyo vs. Lash Legend and Nia Jax
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Last time in action: Rhiyo defeated Giulia and Kiana James (SD, Feb. 6), Legend and Jax lost to Giulia and James (SD, Jan. 23)
Sky and Jax started the match for their teams. The Genius of the Sky used her speed to neutralize Jax's power advantage before bringing in Ripley for a double-team spot.
Once the heels had Sky cornered, they took control and tried to keep her grounded. Sky was giving up a lot of size to both competitors, so she felt like an even bigger underdog.
It's hard to say exactly what it was, but it felt like this match was missing something that would have made it more exciting. The champions never felt like they were in danger of losing their titles.
The ref ended up calling for the bell when everyone was fighting at ringside. Sadly, the most exciting part of all of this happened once it was over. The brawl afterwards between all four women was more entertaining than the entirety of the match.
Result: No Contest
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
Carmelo Hayes, Ilja Dragunov, Matt Cardona, Apollo Crews and Shinsuke Nakamura vs. MFTs
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Carmelo Hayes was shown telling Matt Cardona and Apollo Crews that the open challenge was closed this week. After the break, he made his way to the ring.
He announced that he would be in an Elimination Chamber qualifier next week because he is aiming for the main event of WrestleMania. He then called out Ilja Dragunov to get his title shot.
Before the match could start, Solo Sikoa and the MFTs came out. They ended up attacking Hayes and Dragunov. Cardona, Crews and Shinsuke Nakamura came out to help even the odds. Nick Aldis came out and turned it into a 10-man tag match.
We returned to see the match already taking place. What followed was exactly what you would expect in this kind of match. Each competitor took turns in the ring, so it never felt like anyone spent too much time as the legal man.
While the match was relatively predictable in how it played out, it was also kind of fun. They sprinkled some great spots into the match, and seeing Hayes and Dragunov on the same side was entertaining.
Tama Tonga was able to secure the win for his team by pinning Melo, which could put him in line for a title shot. The Wyatt Sicks appeared in the crowd after the match, but there was no altercation.
Result: MFTs won
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
Alexa Bliss vs. Giulia vs. Zelina Vega
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Charlotte Flair accompanied Bliss to the ring for a triple threat EC qualifying match against Vega and Giulia, who had Kiana James in her corner.
These are three talented competitors, so they didn't waste any time kicking things into high gear. It didn't feel like any of them were a lock to win either, so that helped make the outcome a little more unpredictable.
James and Flair didn't have much of an impact on most of the match, and it ended with a pretty clean finish when Bliss hit Vega with Sister Abigail for the win.
Considering there are no DQs in this kind of match, it was shocking WWE resisted writing more interference into this.
Result: Bliss defeated Giulia and Vega
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
Rey Fenix vs. Trick Williams
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Last time in action: Fenix and Williams lost the Rumble (Royal Rumble)
After getting a quick pep talk from Zayn backstage, Fenix took on Williams in the next matchup. Trick Willy gave a quick promo before Fenix came out.
Williams had the upper hand at first, but the high-flyer eventually found a way to counter him and get in some offense, including a springboard dropkick that got him a two-count.
They fought through a break into the next segment. Fenix was in control when we returned, but one backhand from Williams put him on the mat.
These two worked well together to put on a decent match. There wasn't some big feud behind this, so it was nice to get a bout that felt like it was just two guys trying to prove who was better without some deeper conflict behind it.
The second half was a lot more exciting than the first. Fenix put up a good fight, but Williams took him down with the Trick Shot for the win.
Result: Williams defeated Fenix
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
Jade Cargill vs. Jordynne Grace
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Last time in action: Cargill and Grace defeated Judgment Day (SD, Feb. 6)
The WWE Women's Championship was on the line this week when Cargill finally defended the belt against Grace. Before the match could get going, Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez and Dominik Mysterio came out to watch from ringside.
The crowd chanted for Dirty Dom as the match began with Cargill pushing Grace to the corner. Both women have a lot of power, but Jade had the height advantage, so she had a bit more leverage during certain moves.
Cargill still has some things she needs to work on, but Grace did a good job masking some of her shortcomings. This wasn't pretty, but it had some highlights. Grace looked especially good during some of her feats of strength.
Judgment Day didn't end up having much of an impact on this match, and Cargill scored a clean win with her Jaded finisher.
Result: Cargill defeated Grace
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
Sami Zayn vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Jacob Fatu
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Last time in action: Zayn lost to McIntyre (Royal Rumble), Rhodes and Fatu lost the Rumble (Royal Rumble)
This week's main event saw Zayn, Rhodes and Fatu fight for one of the open spots in the Elimination Chamber. All three men shared their thoughts on this bout during the show leading up to it.
Fatu and Rhodes also had a personal rivalry, so they tried to take out Zayn early so they could fight, but The Underdog from the Underground hit both men with a huge dive as the show cut to a break.
They had more than 20 minutes for this match, so they had no problem making this fun while still taking the time to sell the bigger spots. They usually had one person sitting out while the other two fought and would take turns, but they also had moments when all three men were fighting.
As it looked like Fatu was going to win, Drew McIntyre came out of nowhere to hit a Claymore and take him out. He also hit Rhodes with one and then put Zayn on top of him, but The American Nightmare kicked out.
Right after Zayn took out McIntyre with a Helluva Kick, Rhodes hit the Cross Rhodes to get the win.
Result: Rhodes defeated Zayn and Fatu
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
The Final Word
8 of 8Friday's SmackDown did some legwork building up the Elimination Chamber PPV while also featuring two title matches, but as a whole, it was a pretty average episode.
A few of the matches failed to stand out, and the ones that did only stood out because there was so little competition for the best match of the night.
Rhodes, Fatu and Zayn had the most memorable performance, but Williams and Fenix put on a fun show, too.
Had one of the titles that was on the line changed hands, this would have been a newsworthy episode, but Cargill and Rhiyo retained their belts.
The lineup for Elimination Chamber is shaping up to have some heavy hitters, so hopefully both Chamber bouts live up to expectations.
Grade: C-plus
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