WWE SmackDown advertised the return of the Firefly Fun House, Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair face-to-face, Rey Mysterio vs. Karrion Kross and a six man tag team match pitting IMPERIUM against Braun Strowman, Ricochet and Madcap Moss.
Last week’s broadcast of SmackDown from Montreal drew 2.383 million viewers.
WWE SmackDown Results | February 24, 2023
- IMPERIUM def. Braun Strowman, Ricochet and Madcap Moss
- Kofi Kingston def. LA Knight
- Shayna Baszler def. Natalya
- Karrion Kross def. Rey Mysterio
WWE SmackDown Ratings
- February 17, 2023 | 2.383 million
- February 10, 2023 | 2.438 million
- February 3, 2023 | 2.384 million
- January 27, 2023 | 2.544 million
- January 20, 2023 | 2.257 million
- WWE SmackDown Venue: Ford Center (Evansville, In.)
- WWE SmackDown Tickets Distributed: 8,370
- Available Tickets: 51
WWE SmackDown Winners and Grades
IMPERIUM def. Ricochet, Braun Strowman and Madcap Moss
Ricochet went back to his black jeans gear to match Braun Strowman. He looks more like Strowman’s mini-me with every passing week.
GUNTHER was described as “serene excellence,” which just sounds like a nice way of saying “boring AF.”
Drew McIntyre watched from the stage. It was a perfect microcosm for his place on the WWE roster this WrestleMania season, where he’s currently on the outside looking in.
IMPERIUM vs. Ricochet, Strowman and Moss Grade: B
Kofi Kingston def. LA Knight
LA Knight said he doesn’t care about WrestleMania, only to go on to say he wants to go to WrestleMania.
Making LA Knight a wrestler instead of a manager was one of the more underappreciated changes of the Triple H Era.
LA Knight is slowly starting to get over, and I was actually surprised he didn’t win this match.
Kofi Kingston vs. LA Knight Grade: B
Charlotte Flair Faces off with Dominik Mysterio
Dominik Mysterio continues to be a fantastic heel as he cut a chauvinistic promo on Charlotte Flair in place of Rhea Ripley.
Charlotte Flair made veiled references to Ric Flair and Andrade El Idolo, both of whom received loud pops.
This was a promo between Dominik Mysterio and Charlotte Flair because WWE is going to have to work overtime to make Ripley the heel in this feud. There were still some chants of “Mami.”
Charlotte Flair and Dominik Mysterio Grade: A-
Shayna Baszler def. Natalya
It’s really staggering how much less of a star Ronda Rousey seems compared to recent years, and WWE shares a lot of the blame.
Tegan Nox offered to corner Natalya, but was helpless to even the odds against Ronda Rousey. To her credit, she did run off Rousey and Baszler by herself.
Rousey referred to Nox as “Skittles,” based on her rainbow-colored hair.
Shayna Baszler vs. Natalya Grade: B-
Firefly Fun House
Bray Wyatt’s Firefly Fun House was a buffet of random, creepy segments and the theme was “can you keep a secret”? Based on all the random images and quick video cuts, I think the secret is that Bray Wyatt does ayahuasca.
WWE has been red hot so far, but if they’re able to make this Bray Wyatt vs. Bobby Lashley feud work, it’ll be damn impressive.
Firefly Fun House Grade: C
Karrion Kross def. Rey Mysterio
Rey Mysterio’s top-rope hurricanrana on Karrion Kross was a thing of beauty.
Michael Cole’s unfiltered hatred for Dominik Mysterio only makes Mysterio come off as more of a heel.
Mysterio continues to refrain from getting physical with his son, but when he does, it’ll be the biggest pop of 2023 to date.
Karrion Kross vs. Rey Mysterio Grade: B
Sami Zayn Faces off with Jimmy Uso
Hoodie Sami Zayn is a vibe and everything, but why does he have to keep coming through the crowd? Sami got fired from the Bloodline, not WWE.
Jey Uso was watching ominously from the rafters and did not pick a side. In six months, he’ll be painting his face like The Crow.
This was another fantastic, emotional segment between Jimmy Uso and Sami Zayn, where both had great points about the decisions they made.
SmackDown Main Event Segment Grade: A
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