WWE Friday Night WrestleMania SmackDown on USA Network | April 18th, 2025 | Show Recap:
- robbyplaha
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
The April 18th | Edition of WWE Friday Night WrestleMania SmackDown | Match Results:
The Opening Match: Carmelo Hayes defeated Akira Tozawa and Andrade and Angel and Austin Theory and Berto and Brutus Creed and Carlito and Chad Gable and Cruz Del Toro and Dragon Lee and Elton Prince and Grayson Waller and Joaquin Wilde and Julius Creed and Karrion Kross and Kit Wilson and Ludwig Kaiser and Otis and Pete Dunne and R-Truth and Rey Fenix and Santos Escobar and Shinsuke Nakamura and The Miz and Tyler Bate | (15:28)
The André The Giant Battle Royal Eliminations:
R-Truth Eliminates Carltio.
The Miz Eliminates R-Truth.
Rey Fenix Eliminates Berto.
Rey Fenix Eliminates Angel.
Grayson Waller & Austin Theory Eliminates Elton Prince & Kit Wilson.
Ludwig Kaiser Eliminates Tyler Bates.
Rey Fenix Eliminates Santos Escobar.
Brutus Creed & Julius Creed Eliminates Akira Tozawa.
Otis Eliminates Brutus Creed & Julius Creed.
Otis Eliminates Himself.
Andrade Eliminates Grayson Waller & Austin Theory.
Rey Fenix Eliminates Chad Gable.
Shinsuke Nakamura Eliminates Joaquin Wilde.
Kasrrion Kross Eliminates Cruz Del Toro.
Dragon Lee Eliminates Karrion Kross.
Shinsuke Nakamura Eliminates Dragon Lee.
Pete Dunne Eliminates Ludwig Kaiser.
Pete Dunne Eliminates The Miz.
Carmelo Hayes Eliminates Pete Dunne.
Andrade Eliminates Shinsuke Nakamura.
El Grande Americano Eliminates Rey Fenix.
Carmelo Hayes Eliminates Andrade.
2nd Match: The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) (c) defeated The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) | DQ | (08:34)
3rd Match: Zelina Vega defeated Chelsea Green in a Singles Match | Pin-Fall | (03:33)
4th Match: LA Knight defeated Solo Sikoa in a Singles Match | No Contest | (03:37)
5th Match: Braun Strowman & LA Knight defeated Jacob Fatu & Solo Sikoa in a Tag Team Match | Pin-Fall | (07:25)
The Main Event Match: LWO (Dragon Lee & Rey Mysterio) & Rey Fenix vs. American Made (Brutus Creed, Chad Gable & Julius Creed) (with Ivy Nile) in a Six-Man Tag Team Match | Pin-Fall | (09:43)
Thoughts on the April 18th Edition of WWE Friday Night WrestleMania SmackDown Episode:
Thoughts: This was honestly a solid episode of SmackDown. In previous years, the SmackDown before WrestleMania was very much unbearable to watch, but this episode was very solid. The few highlights from this show were Seth Rollins' cutthroat promo, Carmelo Hayes getting one of his first big moments on the Main Roster & John Cena and Cody Rhodes had their final parting words, which end in chaos. Very solid episode of SmackDown.
The April 18th | Edition of WWE Friday Night WrestleMania SmackDown | Match Ratings:
The Opening Match: The André The Giant Battle Royale Match | Match Rating: ****.25 | This was one of the better Andre the Giant Battle Rumbles. This was very entertaining to start the show, we saw Rey Fenix get his entrance before the match. There was a lot of good talent in this match, and I feel like some eliminations started some new storylines. Karrion Kross had a huge pop when eliminated, as the fans were displeased that he was eliminated. I thought Rey Fenix being in the last three was smart, and I see he kinda got inserted into the El Grande Americano vortex as he eliminated him as he dragged him out to the outside. Andrade and Carmelo Hayes were the last two, and what a sequence of back-and-forth moves by these two. I didn't know who would win, but Carmelo Hayes got the upper hand and won. The push for Carmelo Hayes has finally started, and I hope Andrade has a heel turn on the horizon to freshen him up and have a new streak for himself. A very fun Battle Royal Match, and I'm happy with the winner.
2nd Match: The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) (c) vs. The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) in a Tag Team Match for the WWE Tag Team Championships | Match Rating: N/A | This match was starting to heat up before DIY came out and attacked both teams involved in this match. I wish they could of just had a Triple Threat Match at WrestleMania because what's the point if this match ended on a DQ then proceeded to be slated for next week SmackDown the Triple Threat TLC Match for the WWE Tag Team Championships which the crowd even boo'd because they wanted the match on the tomorrow night show. This was a huge letdown very much upset that the Street Profits, Motor City Machine Guns & DIY were not at WrestleMania, as they needed the match at WrestleMania.
3rd Match: Chelsea Green vs. Zelina Vega in a Singles Match | Match Rating: N/A | Same as last week, Zelina Vega gets another victory over Chelsea Green as she’s 2-0 against her in Singles Action. Now, Zelina Vega has more of a case to be next in line to be gifted an opportunity for the WWE Women’s United States Championship.
4th Match: LA Knight vs. Solo Sikoa in a Singles Match | Match Rating: N/A | This match was very much average before the DQ. I thought LA Knight being stuck in the Bloodline Vortex for this long is ridiculous, but I have a feeling it ends tomorrow if he retains his WWE United States Championship against Jacob Fatu.
5th Match: Braun Strowman & LA Knight vs. Jacob Fatu & Solo Sikoa in a Tag Team Match | Match Rating: **.75 | This was an okay tag team match. Braun Strowman and LA Knight got the win and afterward brawled with Jacob Fatu and Solo Sikoa. I'm kinda getting tired of LA Knight and Strowman being in this Bloodline Vortex, hoping after WrestleMania they can have something fresh and good for themselves and kinda separate themselves from The Bloodline Vortex.
The Main Event Match: LWO (Dragon Lee & Rey Mysterio) & Rey Fenix vs. American Made (Brutus Creed, Chad Gable & Julius Creed) (with Ivy Nile) in a Six-Man Tag Team Match | Match Rating: **** | A very fun Six-Man Tag Team Match. I pray Rey Mysterio is okay, as he was attended to with a lower leg injury. But I'm really happy that Dragon Lee and Rey Fenix were in the Main Event Match, and they did double duty, same with the members of American Made. LWO and Rey Fenix got the win, which helps them even further as it builds momentum for tomorrow. If Rey Mysterio is able to compete, he has all the momentum against El Grande Americano, who's aligned with American Made. But if Rey Mysterio isn't able to compete tomorrow, I can see Dragon Lee take over and get his first WrestleMania Singles Match, which would be a huge spot for him.
The April 18th | WWE Friday Night WrestleMania SmackDown | Match of the Night: The André The Giant Battle Royale Match | Match Rating: ****.25
The April 18th | Edition of WWE Friday Night WrestleMania SmackDown | Episode Grade: 7.50/10 (B) | This was a very solid go-home show before WrestleMania. I enjoyed some of the matches on the show. But what was my main highlight was Seth Rollins' Promo & the final parting words between Cody Rhodes and John Cena.
Next Week WWE Friday Night SmackDown | April 25th Edition | Announced Matches & Segments:
The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) (c) vs. The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) vs. DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) in a Triple Threat TLC Match for the WWE Tag Team Championships.
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