SmackDown Results: Roman Reigns attacked; No.1 Contender crowned
WWE Throwback SmackDown kicked off with some snippets of the first episode of the blue brand before Roman Reigns and his crew walked up to the ring. They mocked Daniel Bryan and Reigns welcomed back a returning Jimmy uso
Cesaro interrupted them and defended Daniel Bryan before saying that he would take care of Roman himself if he didn't have a match with Seth Rollins.
Rollins, and later Reigns ambushed Cesaro during the promo and a group of officials had to separate them.
WWE Hall of Famer and former GM Teddy Long was back and made an announcement stating that if Cesaro can beat Seth tonight heβll face Roman for the Universal Title at WrestleMania Backlash.
Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins on SmackDown
The Usos were present at ringside as the match began and Cesaro was still dealing with the aftereffects of the early attack, giving Seth Rollins an early two-count with a slingblade.
Cesaroβs Neutralizer was blocked twice on SmackDown. Thanks to Jey Uso, Seth was able to hit the superplex-falcon arrow combination for a two-count. Cesaro put Seth in a deep Sharpshooter but The Messiah scratched and clawed to get to the ropes.
After an uppercut to the back of the neck, a kick to the same spot left the Swiss Superman in bad shape. Cesaro bounced off the turnbuckle following a buckle bomb and responded with a clothesline that almost took Sethβs head off.
As the action spilled to the outside, Seth was furious about The Usosβ interference. This lead to a superkick from Jimmy to The Messiah. Cesaro quickly capitalized on this by taking out The Usos and putting Rollins away with the Neutralizer on SmackDown.
Result: Cesaro def. Seth Rollins
Grade: A
Seth Rollins was backstage on SmackDown and yelled at Roman Reigns about Jimmy costing him the match. Roman said he understood where Seth was coming from but needed Rollins to understand his side as well. Seth walked off after telling him to handle Jimmy or he will.
Teddy Long was still backstage on SmackDown and added Sami Zayn to a ten-man tag match tonight.
In Reigns' personal lounge, Jimmy Uso wasn't used to the way Roman was calling the shots and said that he wasn't going to be bossed around.