LAS VEGAS — WWE has taken over Sin City and laid out a buffet-style weekend, but before we get to the main course, the appetizer was served Friday night to raise the excitement.
SmackDown took place Friday, the final show before WrestleMania 41, offering stars competing in the spectacle one last chance to make a statement before the wrestling world turns its attention to Allegiant Stadium on Saturday, April 19 and Sunday, April 20.
Headlining SmackDown was John Cena, who appeared in front of the crowd ahead of his Undisputed WWE Championship match against Cody Rhodes. There were matches as well, including the annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. A WWE Tag Team Championship match was also held.
USA TODAY Sports has the highlights and results from the final SmackDown before WrestleMania:
Cody Rhodes and John Cena face off
The two stars in the main event of WrestleMania 41 made their grand entrances to a raucous response from the crowd. Cena spoke about his WrestleMania history and how his farewell tour is unprecedented, mostly because every wrestler is a loser. He said he doesn’t need WWE and he’s taking everything away from it at WrestleMania.
Cena admitted when he won at Elimination Chamber, he didn’t think he could beat Rhodes. But when Rhodes denied The Rock, it made it easy for him because the champion chose the fans over winning.
‘Sunday, in order to beat me, you’re going to have to choose. Do you do what they think is right, or do you win?’ Cena told Rhodes.
The crowd booed Rhodes as he tried to speak and Cena tried to use it to support his point, but Rhodes didn’t hold back. He said Cena is overrated, went scorched Earth on his character and delivered the one sentence that has haunted Cena his entire career.
‘It is 2025 and you still can’t wrestle,’ Rhodes said.
Cena then tried to go for the Attitude Adjustment, but Rhodes countered it and delivered a Cross Rhodes to him. He stood over Cena and hoisted the Undisputed WWE Championship in the air, ready for Sunday night.
Rey Mysterio, Rey Fenix and Dragon Lee vs. American Made
The high-flying luchadors had their hands full early on with American Made getting the upper hand early. The group neutralized any big moves the trio tried pulling off early, allowing their collective power and technical abilities to gain control. Lee got dealt most of the attacks, but he was able to get a tag in to Fenix to get his side going.
Fenix one-by-one dealt with the Creed Brothers and Chad Gable, allowing Lee time to rest. The two were able to get in sync and get the job done for the victory. However, not all was good as Mysterio had to be assisted out of the ring with a lower body injury.
Analysis: The biggest story now is if Mysterio will be good to go for WrestleMania. During the match, medical staff attended to him, appearing to hold his right knee. It’s unknown how serious the injury is, but it would be a devastating blow for the WWE Hall of Famer to suffer a significant injury just one day before his match with El Grande Americano.
LA Knight vs. Solo Sikoa
Trying to get rid of any possible help Jacob Fatu could have at WrestleMania, LA Knight tried to get the action going before Sikoa made it down the ramp. It didn’t work and Sikoa dragged him into the ring with an early advantage.
Sikoa dominated for a lengthy time period, using his sheer strength to punish the United States Champion. LA Knight would try to get a shot in, but it was swiftly met with counter attacks from Sikoa. It took consistent shots and a clothesline from LA Knight to finally get on offense, but Fatu emerged to put a quick stop to that and end the match in disqualification.
‘The Samoan Werewolf’ attacked his WrestleMania opponent before Braun Strowman came to help. Wrestlers were separated and SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis emerged to declare a tag team match take place. LA Knight and Sikoa started things but Fatu quickly got in to inflict more damage.
Tag team chaos ensued, but it was LA Knight and Strowman that emerged victorious. LA Knight got the pin on Sikoa after escaping a Samoan spike and executing a BFT.
Analysis: LA Knight gets some needed momentum ahead of WrestleMania with the tall task of trying to beat Fatu. The numbers game likely won’t work in his favor, but Strowman proved he could have some backup should it be needed.
Chelsea Green vs. Zelina Vega
Clearly frustrated with the cards handed to her, Green went for a quick knockout shot to take out Vega. It wasn’t effective, but it didn’t stop her from trying to dominate the match. The Women’s United States Champion even took the action out of the ring and used the barricade to her advantage.
Once they got back in the ring, it didn’t work out all too well for Green. She got taken up the turnbuckle and Vega threw her down in stunning fashion to pin the champion.
Analysis: There may be trouble in the Women’s United States Championship administration with Green taking the loss in the non-title match. Vega gets a major win and it could lead to a future title match.
Randy Orton speaks, seeks WrestleMania opponent
Seeking an opponent for WrestleMania 41 after Kevin Owens’ injury, Orton said he will show up Sunday at Allegiant Stadium with his full gear on, ready for match against whoever steps up. He said WrestleMania means so much to him, and he wants to give the crowd a memorable performance.
WWE Tag Team Championship match: The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) (c) vs. Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley)
The action started before the bell as the challengers snuck in with a shot on the champions. The match started and the Street Profits gained early control as Dawkins and Ford teed off. Shelley got some shots in before Ford retook control.
Sabin finally got in to help his partner and gain a rhythm. By the time MCMG tried to do some duo action, Ford was able to get Dawkins. By then, it was a complete back-and-forth battle with each team showing off the chemistry that puts them at the top of the division.
However, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa came out to interrupt the match. It resulted in a disqualification, but #DIY ran off with titles.
Afterward, SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis declared all three teams will compete in a TLC match on next week’s SmackDown for the title.
Analysis: It’s starting to get really frustrating with the men’s tag team division on SmackDown. It’s been great to have some title-worthy teams, but what has made it tough are the several interruptions in championship matches, making it hard to get an actual title-holder. It’s a disappointing end to what was a good match, and it’s likely the reason why this match didn’t make it on the WrestleMania card.
Next week’s TLC match allows there to finally be a true champion, and it should be a thriller.
Rhea Ripley, Iyo Sky and Bianca Belair face off
Ahead of the triple threat match on Sunday, Ripley said this year’s WrestleMania is the most important one of her career, given she lost the Women’s World Championship so soon before WrestleMania. After she proclaimed she’d win, Sky and Belair came out to give their two cents.
Belair said the same thing, but was interrupted by Naomi. She said Belair forgot about her once it was revealed she attacked Jade Cargill, and Belair said she wasn’t going to deal with the situation at this time. Cargill then stormed her way down to the ring. Naomi got out and pulled off a sneak attack on Cargill. It resulted in an inadvertent hit on Ripley. She and Belair then fought and Naomi and Cargill did the same. It escalated out of the ring and after watching the chaos unfold, Sky went on the top turnbuckle and took out everyone.
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
In 2025, Melo may not miss.
The early shenanigans started when R-Truth stole Carlito’s apple and not only took a bite out of it, but eliminated him in the process. However, Truth was eliminated soon afterward by Carmelo Hayes.
With a crowded ring, the eliminations were happening quickly as one-by-one some of the less-popular stars got thrown over the top rope. Santos Escobar tried to make a quick partnership with the newly-signed Rey Fenix, but it backfired with Escobar getting eliminated. Notably, all of American Made got eliminated in quick succession.
The size of the match dwindled after The Miz sacrificed himself for Hayes, leaving Hayes, Andrade, Fenix and Shinsuke Nakamura as the final four. Nakamura and Andrade went to battle and Nakamura was taken out. Fenix nearly pulled off the win, but Andrade and Hayes saved themselves. Fenix looked to be gaining momentum again, but El Grande Americano came out and eliminated him.
Andrade and Hayes were the last two, the perfect final given the incredible matches they’ve had in the past year. They each landed some quality shots on each other before they both laid in the middle of the ring. They got to their feet and Andrade tried some tricks to get Hayes out. However, Hayes caught Andrade on the ropes and threw him over to take the victory.
Analysis: What a victory for someone desperately in need of a signature moment. Hayes has done some great work since his call-up to the main roster in 2024, but the opportunities have felt extremely limited. It felt like a young, talented and charismatic star was getting pushed toward the back of the locker room and Hayes’ potential would be wasted. Instead, Hayes emerges victorious and it should help him carry major momentum into the rest of 2025, possibly with some matches on premium live events and title shots.
Seth Rollins kicks off SmackDown
Part of night one’s main event, Rollins quickly went to talking about how CM Punk is wrong for WWE. He sat in the ring just like him, and threw shots about how he first went to a different company for his wrestling comeback because of the money. He added after Punk ‘burned that bridge,’ he came to WWE for the check. He also mentioned Roman Reigns doesn’t care about WWE.
With a long rivalry with Punk and Reigns, Rollins said the heat started because of Paul Heyman. Rollins explained how Heyman and several people pushed Reigns to be the face of the company, but he kept working hard at his craft. Rollins said all of his work paid off when he was ‘the shield’ to make sure Reigns lost the Undisputed WWE Championship to Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40.
Rollins said he will ‘lay it all on the line’ during WrestleMania 41 night one, to make sure the company ‘moves in the ‘right direction.’ He then took a page out of Heyman’s playbook in his preview for Saturday.
‘That’s not a prediction. That’s a spoiler,’ he saiid.
What time is WWE SmackDown?
SmackDown is on Friday, April 18 at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT).
Where is WWE SmackDown?
SmackDown will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Watch Smackdown on Fubo (free trial for new subscribers)
How to watch WWE SmackDown
Date: Friday, April 18
Location: T-Mobile Arena
Time: 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT)
TV: USA Network
Stream: Fubo (free trial)
WWE SmackDown match card, scheduled events April 18
Schedule not in order
John Cena, Cody Rhodes face-off
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
LA Knight vs. Solo Sikoa
WWE Tag Team Championship match: The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) (c) vs. Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley).
When is WrestleMania 41?
Who is Randy Orton facing at WrestleMania 41?
Will ‘The Viper’ be at WrestleMania 41?
Thirteen matches have been determined for WWE’s big event, but there’s one notable omission from the card: Randy Orton. The decorated WWE star was scheduled to end a months long feud with Kevin Owens at WrestleMania, but plans went sideways when Owens announced he had a severe neck injury and needed surgery, resulting in the match being canceled.
Not only did the unfortunate news call off a much anticipated match, it was a big blow for Orton’s WrestleMania plans. Now with the event just days away, Orton is still without a match. Could something happen quickly to ensure he gets one, or will he be scrapped from the show?
– Read more about Randy Orton here.
WrestleMania 41 stage revealed
Nothing gets WWE fans more ready for WrestleMania than seeing the stage finally be revealed. This year’s set pays homage to Las Vegas hotels and the city’s iconic strip.
– Read more about the WrestleMania 41 stage here.