Winners, News And Notes On September 16, 2022

WWE SmackDown advertised the return of Logan Paul, who is heavily rumored to face Roman Reigns at the upcoming Crown Jewel premium live event in Saudi Arabia. SmackDown also advertised Bayley vs. Raquel Rodriguez, Sami Zayn vs. Ricochet and a Fatal 4-Way tag team match between Hit Row, The New Day, The Brawling Brutes and Imperium.

SmackDown’s viewership was up big with a monster number of 2.367 million last week.

WWE SmackDown Results

• Ricochet def. Sami Zayn
• Bayley def. Raquel Rodriguez
• Solo Sikoa def. Madcap Moss | NXT North American Championship
• Brawling Brutes win No. 1 Contender Fatal 4-Way

WWE SmackDown Ratings

• September 9, 2022 | 2.367 million
• September 2, 2022 | 2.077 million
• August 26, 2022 | 1.990 million
• August 19, 2022 | 2.084 million
• August 12, 2022 | 1.927 million

• WWE SmackDown Venue: Honda Center (Anaheim, Calif.)
• WWE SmackDown Tickets Distributed: 7,706
• Available Tickets: 258

WWE SmackDown Winners and Match Card

Logan Paul Opens SmackDown

Logan Paul’s return also brought about the return of Paul Heyman, who was accompanied by The Bloodline—all carrying gold—except poor Sami Zayn.

Logan Paul vs. Roman Reigns has zero chance of having any type of suspense as to whom can win, but at least it’s an outside-the-box opponent amid Reigns’ marathon reign.

Fans always forget how much they like Logan Paul when he wrestles, because he was once again booed in this segment, especially when he punched Zayn.

Ricochet def. Sami Zayn

After losing to Carmelo Hayes at Worlds Collide, Ricochet’s push resumed on SmackDown with a win over Sami Zayn. At some point, the Bloodline needs to really put pressure on Zayn to win a championship, and he should respond by winning the dormant 24/7 Championship.

Braun Strowman Destroys Maximum Male Models

Alpha Academy actually got a significant amount of offense in on Braun Strowman before he sat up like The Undertaker.

WWE seems to be building up Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman for sometime within the next seven months, but first, it’s building up Braun Strowman vs. Otis.

Bayley def. Raquel Rodriguez

The good news coming out of Raquel Rodriguez’s loss is that she didn’t have to smile through this whole match.

Bayley scored the rare pinfall victory over Raquel Rodriguez.

Shotzi turned babyface by coming to the aid of Raquel Rodriguez. Sadly, there was no tank.

Backstage, Ronda Rousey and Liv Morgan engaged in a war of words where Liv did most of the talking.

Solo Sikoa def. Madcap Moss

Solo Sikoa continues to take a liking to Sami Zayn as he insisted Zayn accompany him to the ring.

There wasn’t much heat for this match outside of the Pavlovian “Uso” chants.

After this match, Michael Cole confirmed a press conference in Las Vegas where both Logan Paul and Roman Reigns are present. No word yet on if either will go on an unsolicited tirade in front of Triple H.

Brawling Brutes Win No. 1 Contender Fatal 4-Way

Top Dolla once again teased diving to the outside only to be cut off by Ridge Holland.

Ridge Holland used an insane-looking modified butterfly suplex. It’s interesting WWE is still willing to trust Holland with these exotic suplexes despite his history.

Poor Sheamus failed to get the crowd to clap along as he helplessly pounded on the mat by himself. He later succeeded with help from Ridge Holland.

Top Dolla marched around the ring with three grown men in tow. Not to be outdone, Ridge Holland hit an Alabama Slam. This deserved the loudest of “this is awesome” chants, but a tepid crowd in Anaheim only gave them a faint one.