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Every episode of WWE SmackDown and Monday Night Raw should be held in Puerto Rico. The San Juan crowd brought loads of energy to a show highlighted by hometown hero Bad Bunny and the LWO ahead of Backlash.
The ongoing discourse between LWO and Judgement Day was front and center on Friday night. WWE fans got a taste of Saturday’s SmackDown women’s championship match as Rhea Ripley and Zelina Vega duked it out in mixed tag action.
The chaos between the two parties set the stage for Bad Bunny’s grand arrival. The global music superstar blew the roof off the arena and blasted Dominik Mysterio with a kendo stick for good measure.
SmackDown also sampled what the show will look like after Backlash. Last week’s brand split has yet to be fully implemented, but draft picks Bianca Belair and the O.C. were among those featured on Friday night.
Bad Bunny is LWO official
The LWO — consisting of Rey Mysterio, Zelina Vega, Santos Escobar, Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro — opened SmackDown in front of a rowdy Puerto Rican crowd.
A good chunk of their opening statements were spoken in Spanish. Mysterio proclaimed that Vega, a superstar of Puerto Rican descent, would vanquish Rhea Ripley at Backlash to become SmackDown women’s champion.
Queue Judgement Day. The group drew a loud, mixed reaction from the red-hot audience in San Juan as they made their entrance.
Dominik Mysterio snatched an LWO t-shirt from a planted fan front row, tore the shirt in half, stepped on it and kicked it away. Dominik Mysterio and Ripley challenged Rey Mysterio and Vega to a mixed-tag team match in Friday’s main event.
The LWO representatives accepted the challenge. Dominik Myserio sucker punched his dad before bolting from the ring.
Rey Mysterio and Zelina Vega def. Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley via pinfall after Rey Mysterio rolled up Dominik Mysterio. Ripley and Vega opened the match by giving the crowd a taste of their SmackDown women’s title match.
Vega utilized her mobility to out-maneuver the beastly champion. Rey Mysterio served a lay-up to Vega in the form of a 619 on Dominik Mysterio, but Ripley intercepted the play and swatted Vega with a big boot. Ripley took over for the remainder of the match until Vega tagged out. Rey Mysterio blitzed his son while Vega laid out the SmackDown women’s champion ringside.
Dominik Mysterio took advantage following a distraction by Finn Balor, but Rey Mysterio outsmarted his son and rolled him up during a Three Amigos trio of suplexes.
Post-match, Judgement Day attacked Rey Mysterio. Bad Bunny, wielding a kendo stick and flanked by the remaining members of LWO, received a raucous response from his fellow Puerto Ricans as his music hit.
Dominik Mysterio ate a few kendo shots while Damian Priest got out of dodge. SmackDown concluded with Bad Bunny donning an LWO shirt and standing proud with the rest of the group.
What else happened on WWE SmackDown?
- The O.C. (Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows) def. Viking Raider (Erik and Ivar) via pinfall after hitting the Magic Killer on Ivar.
- Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez rescued Bianca Belair from a beatdown at the hands of Damage CTRL.
- Solo Sikoa warns The Usos that they better do their part against Matt Riddle, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at Backlash.
- Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) def. Imperium (Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci) via pinfall after Ford hit a frog splash on Vinci.
- Cody Rhodes cut a promo on Brock Lesnar and confessed he was afraid but willing to bring the fight at Backlash.
- Shinsuke Nakamura def. Karrion Kross via pinfall after hitting the Kinshasa.