WWE Friday Night Smackdown preview and schedule: March 3, 2023

Roman
Reigns
–
Cody
Rhodes
face-off

As
if
Sami
Zayn
turning
his
back
on
The
Bloodline
wasn’t
a
big
blow
for
the
top
faction,
Jey
Uso
has
also
stopped
seeing
eye
to
eye
with
his
family
members
for
the
past
several
weeks.

In
a
message
delivered
by
Special
Council
Paul
Heyman,
Jey’s
brother
Jimmy
Uso
was
instructed
to
take
care
of
the
problem.
But
since
Jimmy’s
been
unable
to
solve
the
issue,
it’s
time
for
Roman
Reigns
to
step
in.

But
that’s
not
all
for
the
Undisputed
WWE
Universal
Champion
when
he
shows
up
on
Smackdown
as
his
WrestleMania
challenger
wants
to
intensify
his
headache.

Following
his
victory
on
Raw
over
Alpha
Academy
member
Chad
Gable,
Cody
Rhodes
made
it
clear
that
he
was
happy
that
Reigns
was
booked
for
SmackDown
on
Friday
because
he
would
be
there,
too.

Cody
won
the
Men’s
Royal
Rumble
match
in
January
to
punch
his
ticket
to
WrestleMania
and
thereby
receive
the
title
shot
at
Reigns.
Now,
for
the
first
time
on
WWE
TV,
he
will
stand
face-to-face
with
the
champion
inside
the
squared
circle.

That
being
said,
the
much-anticipated
segment
is
expected
to
add
fireworks
to
the
ongoing
championship
storyline
for
the
Show
of
Shows.
Also,
there’s
doubt
whether
The
Head
of
the
Table
will
be
able
to
keep
his
Island
of
Relevancy
intact.

Liv
Morgan
vs.
Rhea
Ripley

More
than
a
month
ago,
Rhea
Ripley
pulled
off
her
career-best
performance
by
outlasting
29
other
women
from
the
number-one
spot
to
win
the
2023
Women’s
Royal
Rumble
match.

Two
nights
after,
Judgment
Day’s
Mami
officially
declared
her
intention
to
go
after
the
SmackDown
Women’s
Championship
held
by
Charlotte
Flair
to
set
up
a
WrestleMania
showdown.
To
build
up
the
match,
she’s
also
making
appearances
on
Friday
nights.

One
such
appearance
is
reserved,
this
week
where
Rhea
Ripley
will
not
only
be
present
on
the
show
but
will
also
compete
in
a
singles
contest
against
her
former
tag
team
partner
and
a
former
Smackdown
Women’s
Champion,
Liv
Morgan.

Interestingly,
Morgan
was
the
number-two
seed
of
the
Rumble
match
who
was
eliminated
by
Ripley
as
the
29th
and
last
elimination.
The
Miracle
Kid
does
acknowledge
The
Nightmare’s
greatness
but
tonight
she
is
out
to
prove
that
the
latter
isn’t
unbeatable.

Ronda
Rousey
in
tag
team
action

Six
nights
after
the
2023
Royal
Rumble,
Ronda
Rousey
stormed
her
way
back
into
Smackdown
and
turned
her
focus
on
Natalya
who
was
after
Ronda’s
best
buddy,
Shayna
Baszler.

On
the
February
17
episode
of
the
blue
brand,
The
B.O.A.T.
teamed
up
with
Shotzi
but
failed
to
get
retribution
on
Ronda
Rousey
and
Shayna
Baszler
in
an
explosive
tag
team
matchup
in
front
of
a
raucous
Montreal
crowd.

Then
last
week,
Natalya
again
failed
to
win
a
singles
match
against
Baszler
after
which
a
post-match
beatdown
was
supposed
to
go
down.
Thankfully,
Tegan
Nox
saved
the
day
for
Nattie
and
the
altercation
also
set
up
a
match.

Ronda
Rousey
and
Shayna
Baszler
vs.
Tegan
Nox
and
Natalya
is
the
lineup
where
the
latter
will
still
be
out
for
redemption.
However,
the
unsuccessful
tag
shouldn’t
be
removed
from
her
as
her
adversaries
are
women’s
tag
title
picture-bound.