WWE Smackdown at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, WI

Review & Photos by Greg Hamil – April 8, 2022

WWE Smackdown was televised from the state-of-the-art Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, WI on April 8, 2022. The near capacity crowd was treated to a lot of great action and a few surprises.

Ronda Rousey Interview – The show kicks off with Kayla Braxton standing in the ring for an interview. Ronda Rousey’s music hits causing a loud response from the crowd. Kayla talks to Rousey about her upcoming match against Charlotte Flair at Wrestlemania Backlash. As Rousey talks about Flair tapping out at Wrestlemania; Flair appears on the video screen laughing at Rousey. She reminds Rousey how many times she has been the WWE Womens Champion and how long her current reign has been. She tells Rousey that she has no intention of letting the title go any time soon. The show cuts to commercial as the two women stare each other down.

Xavier Woods vs Butch – The first match of the evening pitted Xavier Woods (accompanied by Kofi Kingston) against Butch (accompanied by Sheamus and Ridge Holland). Woods dominated the match early on with a series of hits in the corner, and throwing Butch into the turnbuckles multiple times. As we come to commercial, Butch turns the tides and dominates Woods through the break. As we come back from the break, Butch tries to impress Sheamus by setting Woods up for the “10 Beats of the Bodhran”, but Woods fights out of it mid-way through. After a series of high-flying moves, Woods rolls Butch up for the pin. Holland tries to console Butch, but he has none of it and starts pushing Holland away. Just as it appears things are going to get out of hand, Sheamus steps in and breaks them up.

Gunther vs Local Wrestler- The next match featured the debut of Gunther (accompanied by Ludwig Kaiser) on the Blue Brand. He took on a local wrestler and dominated the short match from beginning to end.

Baron Corbin/Madcap Moss Segment – The next segment of the show was Baron Corbin’s “Happy Talk”. His guest this week was his own sidekick, Madcap Moss. Despite the name of the segment, Corbin did not look happy at all as they crowd cheered his friend. As they settle in, Corbin makes it clear that he is not happy with Madcap’s jokes of late and demands that he tell him a joke that is funny. Madcap tells two jokes, but the punchlines are at Corbin’s expense. Corbin has finally had enough and attacks Madcap from behind with the microphone. Corbin brutalizes Madcap for a while, before he finally turns the tables on Corbin. As the fight moves back in the ring, Madcap knocks Corbin over the top rope and onto the floor. Corbin backs up the ramp as Madcap throws the set furniture at him as the segment ends.

Drew McIntyre vs Sami Zayn – In typical Zayn fashion, the match got off to a slow start due to his constant jumping in and out of the ring. McIntyre finally has enough and chases him down and throws him back in the ring. From there it is almost all McIntyre as he throws Zayn around like a ragdoll. As he sets Zayn up for the Claymore Kick, Zayn jumps out of the ring, hurdles the barricade and runs up the stairs where he stands in the tunnel and looks at McIntyre in fear.

Sasha Banks (accompanied by Naomi) vs Liv Morgan – This was a great match from beginning to end. There was a lot of back and forth and high-flying action from both. As the match progressed, Banks hits Morgan with the double knees off the top rope and attempts a pin, but Morgan kicks out at the last minute. Banks then puts Morgan in the Bank Statement, but Morgan makes it to the bottom rope and breaks the hold. As a shocked and frustrated Banks pleads with the referee, Morgan roles her up in a small package and gets the pin. This leaves a shocked Banks and Naomi looking on as Morgan backs up the ramp waving and blowing kisses at them.

Bloodline Segment – Back from commercial, the music hits for Roman Reigns and the crowd jumps to its feet with its biggest reaction of the night. Accompanying Reigns to the ring are the USOS and Paul Heyman. In the ring all three raise their titles in the air as fireworks explode above the ring. Reigns takes the microphone and states, “Milwaukee…….Acknowledge Me” which draws a mix of cheers and boos from the crowd. As the segment progresses, Reigns announces the next task for the Bloodline, which is for the USOS to grab all the tag team gold and unify the tag team titles so that the Bloodline holds all titles. Shinsuke Nakamura’s music hits and the Kings of Strong Style makes his way to the ring. As he tries to talk, Reigns covers the microphone and interrupts. He hugs Nakamura and as he lets him go, the USOS hit him with a double kick. Nakamura lays in the ring and glares at the Bloodline as they leave the arena. This ends the show!

Dark Match – Charlotte Flair vs Ronda Rousey for the Women’s Title – After the show is off the air, there is one more match just for the crowd in the Fiserv Forum. Both women dominate each other for a time before Charlotte is able to put Rousey in a Figure Eight, but Rousey is able to make it to the bottom rope to break the hold. Rousey goes on a tear and ends up putting Flair in an ankle lock. Flair also makes it to the bottom rope to break the hold. She jumps out of the ring, grabs her title and exits the arena as the referee counts to ten giving Rousey the win via count out. This ends the night as the crowd leaves satisfied with a fantastic show!