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WWE SmackDown Results (April 17): The Go-Home Show to WrestleMania 42

The final episode of WWE SmackDown before WrestleMania 42 is upon us.
Matt Black|
Stratton vs Grace
Stratton vs Grace | WWE

The road to WrestleMania 42 concludes as WWE SmackDown arrives in Las Vegas, less than 24 hours away from the Showcase of the Immortals.

Tonight's episode of Friday Night SmackDown will feature a big contender's match, as it has been announced that Tiffany Stratton will go one-on-one with Jordynne Grace to determine the number one contender for Giulia's Women's United States Championship.

The last time Stratton competed against the champion on SmackDown, a timely distraction from Kiana James cost Stratton the victory. However, the former WWE Women's Champion has recently teased that she will be accepting help from Chelsea Green in her pursuit of Giulia's championship. What role will the Green play in tonight's contender's match? Tune in to find out.

Tiffany Stratton WWE
Tiffany Stratton | WWE

The night one main event for WrestleMania 42 will prominently be on display tonight as WWE Champion Cody Rhodes will be in the house to address his challenger, Randy Orton, and Pat McAfee. Rhodes invaded McAfee's ThunderDome earlier this week to retrieve the title that was stolen from him last week.

How will WWE set the stage for the match between The American Nightmare and The Viper? Will tonight be the last time we ever see Pat McAfee on SmackDown? If Cody Rhodes retains the WWE Championship on Saturday, that certainly seems to be the case.

In what has become a WrestleMania SmackDown tradition, the 12th annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal will take place tonight ahead of the Showcase of the Immortals this weekend. Last year, the match was won by Carmelo Hayes. With stars from both brands set to compete tonight, there's no telling who will walk away with the trophy later on tonight.

A match seven months in the making will also take place tonight as the final battle between The Wyatt Sicks and The MFTs will take place in an eight-man street fight. Can Tama Tonga and Solo Sikoa get on the same page? Or will The Wyatt Sicks get revenge for having their lantern stolen for months? We'll find out soon enough.

Two teams that will compete against each other this weekend at WrestleMania will also go head-to-head tonight as Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss will take on Bayley and Lyra Valkyria.

Which team will score the victory and build momentum into this weekend? Only time will tell.

Scroll down for quick results of tonight's episode of WWE SmackDown.

WWE SmackDown results:

This week's episode of SmackDown kicks off with a video package putting over the history of WrestleMania.

Backstage, Randy Orton and Pat McAfee arrive at the arena. They are greeted by Nick Aldis, who hands Pat McAfee some kind of contract. McAfee does a whole diatribe about needing to read the contract before signing, and then immediately signs it anyway as Randy Orton makes his way out to the ring alone.

Randy Orton says he doesn't need Pat McAfee, but the truth is, he wants him. Orton says McAfee is the only straight shooter in the company who doesn't tell him what he wants to hear, but tells him what he needs to hear. Orton talks about Cody Rhodes winning the WWE Title back from Drew McIntyre, which draws massive boos from the crowd. Rhodes is once again entering enemy territory tomorrow.

Orton says he's upset that Rhodes had the nerve to give him permission to be himself, as if he needed his blessing to do so. Orton says all Rhodes ever does is take, and states multiple examples of having his back and getting taken out in response. Randy says he's going to fix his legacy at WrestleMania and take his 15th World Championship with an RKO.

Randy Orton returns backstage and he and McAfee leave the arena the same way they arrived. Now we back to ringside for the first match of the evening.

Eight-Man Tag Team Street Fight: The MFTs defeated The Wyatt Sicks. This rivalry has gone on far too long; hopefully, this is the last time we see these two teams face off for a very long time. For what it was, the street fight itself was entertaining but probably overstayed its welcome. The finish of the match saw Tama Tonga set to hit Uncle Howdy with the Cutthroat, but Solo Sikoa interjects and hits him with the Samoan Spike to score the pinfall victory for his team.

Damian Priest and R-Truth are backstage. Truth is back to confusing Asuka and Danhausen. They will be defending their titles tonight against Kofi Kingston and Grayson Waller from Raw for some reason.

A video package airs, showing that Danhausen recently cursed Maryse in Las Vegas, much to the chagrin of The Miz and Kit Wilson. Joe Tessitore says the full video will be available later this evening.
Another video package airs, delving into Royce Keys' history. It certainly seems they are setting him up to win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal tonight.

A police car enters the arena, and Jacob Fatu gets out of the backseat. Fatu cuts a promo standing on top of the cop car, noting that Drew McIntyre is trying to double down on the idea that he's still a criminal. Fatu says he doesn't live that life anymore and says that Drew putting him in cuffs last week didn't bother him at all. Jacob says no one will be able to stop him from beating McIntyre's ass in their Unsanctioned match tomorrow.

Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair are backstage. Bliss stresses the importance of winning tonight to build momentum going into WrestleMania and notes that, no matter what happens, they will still be friends after this weekend. Charlotte Flair agrees, but puts over how great it would be to leave Las Vegas with gold again.

Damian Priest and R-Truth defeated Kofi Kingston and Grayson Waller to retain the WWE Tag Team Titles. This match saw Kingston and Waller pretty much dominate Truth for most of the match, until a miscommunication between them led Truth to finally make the hot tag to Priest, turning the tide of the contest. The finish saw Priest and Truth hit Grayson with a double team move to score the pinfall victory.

Jade Cargill makes her way to the ring with B-Fab and Michin to speak to the WWE Universe. Before Cargill can speak, she's immediately interrupted by Rhea Ripley, who says as much as she wants to knock Cargill out right now she doesn't want to give her an excuse to not compete this weekend at WrestleMania. Ripley says Cargill is scared and she can't wait to embarrass her this weekend.

B-Fab says the only one who should be embarrassed is Ripley, who keeps coming for Cargill and failing. Ripley says Cargill has done nothing but hide since she won her Chamber match and dares to say something to her alone. Cargill sends B-Fab and Michin away and tells Ripley she's everything she wishes she could be. Ripley says she doesn't want to be anything like her, and she's been fighting against people like her all her life. Both women threaten to end the match quickly on Sunday.

The MFTs are backstage. Solo Sikoa says The Wyatt Sicks are finished because they beat them as a team. Tama Tonga is less than thrilled. Sikoa tells Talla Tonga to go win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and he's going to talk to Aldis about The MFTs getting the tag titles back.

#1 Contender's match for the WWE Women's United States Championship: Tiffany Stratton defeated Jordynne Grace. Giulia and Kiana James sit at ringside to observe this matchup. This was a very fun back-and-forth matchup. The finish of the match saw Tiffany Stratton hit Jordynne Grace with the Prettiest Moonsault Ever to score the pinfall victory.

Trick Williams makes his way to the ring to speak to the WWE Universe. Williams says he has something to get off his chest tonight and states that Sami Zayn crossed the line last week when he attacked Lil Yachty. Williams says he isn't waiting til Sunday and calls Zayn out to the ring right now, Zayn's music hits but instead of Zayn, a Gingerbread Man makes his way to the ring.

After several jokes, Zayn finally comes out and buries Williams for not taking his first WrestleMania more seriously. Zayn says even with walking into WrestleMania with a title he isn't having a good time. The crowd chants that they want Melo and Zayn says he doesn't know what he did wrong and he doesn't care. Zayn says he continues to do it for his ride or die fans. The crowd tells Zayn to "shut the f--k up." This crowd very much hates Sami Zayn.

Zayn says he no longer looks at Williams as the future of the business; he now sees him as a little punk rookie who doesn't have a plan. Williams accuses Zayn of crashing out. Things eventually get physical, and Zayn takes down Williams and hits the Gingerbread Man with a Helluva Kick, giving Williams enough time to drop Zayn and pose with the title.

Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair vs. Bayley and Lyra Valkyria. This match barely got started before Nia Jax and Lash Legend got involved and laid out both teams. The match ends in a no contest.

A video package airs, hyping this weekend's match between Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar.

Royce Keys wins The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. This match included Royce Keys, Joe Hendry, Matt Cardona, Kit Wilson, La Parka, Apollo Crews, Ilja Dragunov, Psycho Clown, Otis, El Grande Americano, Aleister Black, Nathan Frazer, Axiom, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Talla Tonga, Johnny Gargano, Akira Tozawa, Angel, Berto, Shinsuke Nakamura, the Real El Grande Americano, Rey Fenix, and more.

The finish of the match saw Royce Keys hit Talla Tonga with a spinebuster before clotheslining him over the top rope to eliminate him.

A video package airs, hyping the World Heavyweight Championship match between CM Punk and Roman Reigns this weekend.

WWE Champion Cody Rhodes makes his way to the ring to speak to the WWE Universe. Cody Rhodes runs down everyone who has stuck their nose in his business during WrestleMania season for the past three years. The crowd chants, "Go home, Pat!" Rhodes puts over his match against Randy Orton this weekend. Rhodes says Orton talks about him taking things, but he's never taken responsibility for anything in his life.

Rhodes is interrupted by World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk in a suit. Rhodes asks if they shake hands and hug right now, if Punk is gonna kick him in the balls and turn on him too. Punk says a lot of people deserve to be kicked in the balls, but he's not one of them. Punk says he's out there to make sure Rhodes doesn't mention the tourist that doesn't deserve to be there this weekend. Rhodes and Punk joke about them wearing suits for the Hall of Fame later this evening.

CM Punk puts over the fact that they are both champions going into WrestleMania 42 this weekend. Punk tells Rhodes to just focus on Orton because he's dangerous all on his own. Punk says he knows that win, lose, or draw, both of them will still be there on Monday. Punk says he's proud of Rhodes and tells him to get things done tomorrow and have some fun.

Rhodes says he knows who Punk is up against this weekend, and puts over everything Punk has done in his career. Rhodes declares Punk is the best he's ever been and thanks him for everything he's taught him. Cody says his dad would be extremely proud of him, and he loves him. Punk and Rhodes hop in the crowd to celebrate with the people as WWE SmackDown goes off the air.

WWE SmackDown quick results:

  • Eight-Man Tag Team Street Fight: The MFTs defeated The Wyatt Sicks
  • Damian Priest and R-Truth defeated Kofi Kingston and Grayson Waller to retain the WWE Tag Team Titles
  • #1 Contender's match for the WWE Women's United States Championship: Tiffany Stratton defeated Jordynne Grace
  • Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair vs. Bayley and Lyra Valkyria ended in a no contest
  • Royce Keys won the 12th annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal featuring stars from Raw and SmackDown
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Published | Modified
Matt Black
MATT BLACK

Matt Black got involved in the wrestling media industry over two decades ago, covering WWE video games released by Acclaim, THQ, and 2K. He has been covering professional wrestling for multiple digital outlets since 2019. He is the former Senior Editor of WrestleZone and has extensive knowledge of the entire wrestling industry. In his spare time, Matt enjoys cheering for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Los Angeles Lakers. He's also a diehard comic book movie fan and doesn't pick sides when it comes to the endless debates of Marvel versus DC.

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