WWE SmackDown results, grades: Roman Reigns screws Jimmy Uso against Cesaro, new champions crowned

Roman Reigns was at odds with Jimmy Uso on SmackDown as WWE continued one of its best current storylines days before WrestleMania Backlash.

The Universal Champion faces Cesaro with the gold on the line this weekend, and he had his hands full between his challenger and family drama.

The show kicked off with Jey Uso claiming his brother Jimmy disrespected the Tribal Chief and needs to be taught a lesson.

Roman came out and addressed Cesaro first in a nice touch, praising him as a talent but insisting the Head of the Table transcends being a wrestler.

In the end, Jimmy interrupted him and urged Jey to jump onto the right team, and suggested their cousin may not be able to get the job done against the Swiss Superman.

Reigns insisted he is the Head of the Table and laid down exactly what that means, before urging Jimmy to try and beat Cesaro for himself.

He made the challenge, which was quickly accepted as he promised to go onto Backlash and capture the world title.

The veteran delivered a fine backstage promo during the night to hype up both the main event and his huge championship match.

Eventually, it was time for action, with Jimmy and Cesaro working well together to deliver a great contest.

Eventually, Roman came out and attacked his rival to cause a disqualification, which upset Jimmy as they argued while the Swiss star attacked Jey in the ring.

Roman made the save as he urged his cousin to help, but Cesaro fought back and attacked Jey too, before superkicking Jimmy off the apron.

Reigns left, having to watch on as his soon-to-be challenger laid out Jey with multiple Neutralizers.

Natalya and Tamina win Women’s Tag Team Championships, Apollo Crews presents Commander Azeez with medal

The first match of the night was a re-run from WrestleMania as Natalya and Tamina defeated Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax to win the Women’s Tag Team Titles.

However long this storyline and championship reign has dragged – at times, that’s a big understatement – this was closer to their clash at the show of shows, with a nice energy and the absolute right result.

Tamina finally holds gold after a decade with the company, and her tag team partner’s very real emotion was clear to see.

Apollo Crews came out with Commander Azeez to hold a special medal of honour ceremony for the latter after his actions in recent weeks.

However, Big E soon interrupted the Intercontinental Champion on the titan tron and revealed he wasn’t done with him yet.

Sami Zayn came out and insisted he is at odds with Crews too because he holds his title, which in turn brought out Kevin Owens and sparked a huge brawl.
In the end, Big E stood tall and we later found out all four men will face off for the gold next week.

Elsewhere, Rey Mysterio took on Dolph Ziggler in a amtch originally scheduled for last week’s show, two nights before he teams with his son Dominik to face the Dirty Dawgs.

The masked legend won the great bout with an inside cradle, but the SmackDown Tag Team Champions would have some strong words for Dominik as they promised to retain the gold.

Days before defending his own title, Bianca Belair came to the ring and claimed Bayley was bitter after getting overshadowed at WrestleMania.

The Role Model (who really deserved much better last month) insisted she sees herself in the EST of WWE after her ponytail days, and warned the story doesn’t end well.

This was a decent enough promo segment which added a bit of fire to a title match in need of a spark – although there is no doubt at all that both stars will deliver between the ropes on Sunday.

We also saw Shinsuke Nakamura battle King Corbin in a losing effort with the latter managing to steal the win.

After the bell, the King of Strong Style rocked his opponent with a Kinshasa and stole his King of the Ring crown while standing tall.

Aleister Black continues to build up to his return too with another unnerving tale, and he will be a fine addition to the SmackDown roster after so long away from the ring.

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