WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from March 11

Tag team action dominated the headlines Friday night on WWE SmackDown as the brand continued its march on the Road to WrestleMania.

Big E and Kofi Kingston of New Day squared off with Sheamus and Ridge Holland, while Naomi and Sasha Banks sought to send a message to Women's Tag Team champions Queen Zelina and Carmella ahead of their title clash on the grand stage.

Who left the Fox presentation with momentum on their side? Find out now with this recap of the March 11 broadcast. 

• Big E and Kofi Kingston vs. Sheamus and Ridge Holland
• Non-Title Match: Naomi and Sasha Banks vs. Women's Tag Team Champions Carmella and Zelina Vega

WWE champion Brock Lesnar kicked off SmackDown following a recap of the beatdown that left him lying and bloodied inside Madison Square Garden.

This was an intense, angry, furious Lesnar. There was no laughing, no pandering to the audience. The Beast, out for blood, was pissed and demanded Reigns come to the ring. The angry, screaming, snarling Lesnar was on-point, putting over the rage that existed within him after his disastrous night in New York City.

Paul Heyman arrived and revealed Reigns was not there. He had the look of a mastermind painting his face. Lesnar asked who will protect his former advocate before taking off after him, sprinting after his speeding car and destroying security guards along the way in a great visual of a sprinting beast stalking after his prey.

Grade

A

Top Moments

• "Roman Reigns! You done changed the rules, boy. You done changed the game!" was a great declaration from Lesnar to The Tribal Chief that the tone of this feud had changed. No more fun and games, no more pomp and circumstance. Lesnar is ready to kick ass.
• The "oh damn" look on Heyman's face when he realized the gravity of his admission that Reigns was not in the arena was on-par with the excellent character work we typically see out of the special counsel and reminded fans that Lesnar's vendetta is not only with the Universal champion, but also the man he once called his friend.

Pete Dunne made his main roster debut alongside Ridge Holland and Sheamus, the former NXT North American and UK champion renamed "Butch" in the latest stupid idea from creative. The Celtic Warrior and his former rugby-playing partner squared off with New Day's Big E and Kofi Kingston.

A typical, energetic tag team match between three former world champions and a solid young prospect came to a scary end late when Big E missed his trademark spear to the floor and Holland followed with an overhead suplex. Big E landed on his head and went still. 

Back inside, Sheamus delivered an ugly Brogue Kick to Kingston, who was perched on the ropes, for the win. A beatdown by Butch followed, but the visible concern for Big E and the fact that the production team did not pan back to the ringside area overshadowed it.

Grade

C+

Top Moments

• The debut of Dunne as Butch was most notable here. The guy was out there wearing a belt and suspenders. Worse was the idea that we were supposed to pretend that the same guy has been an accomplished wrestler under a whole other name and even wrestled at the 2019 Survivor Series pay-per-view.
• That overhead suplex to Big E was cringeworthy. One can only hope the former WWE champion is OK.

After Johnny Knoxville responded to Sami Zayn blowing up his phone by flying the former Intercontinental champion's number over Los Angeles on a plane, the conspiracy-minded heel ranted about the obscene number of calls and texts he had received over the day in a fun, inoffensive continuation of a feud that has been both of those things.

Back in the arena, Drew McIntyre made his way to the ring for a six-man tag team match. His partners, The Viking Raiders, caught a pre-match beatdown that prevented them from competing as history proved to repeat itself. Repetition and rematches, anyone?

McIntyre took down Jinder Mahal, Shanky and Madcap Moss, but before he could unleash on Happy Corbin, the Scottish Warrior found himself on the receiving end of a beatdown of his own. He hulked up, though, fended off the heels and stared down his WrestleMania opponent to close out a segment that ripped every heel but Corbin of their credibility.

Grade

C

Memorable Moments

• The Zayn promo was fantastic. A guy who entered WWE as an underdog from the underground, he has developed into one of the best heels of the last decade and a guy the company trusts to have these high-profile matches and moments with celebrities. That makes him invaluable.
• Corbin talking trash to McIntyre as he was restrained by the heels really should have been the end of that segment and helped build heat for the heels. Instead, McIntyre looks insurmountable entering a WrestleMania match no one expects him to lose.

Ronda Rousey cut a promo insisting she is more than a one-move wonder, citing the ankle lock passed on to her by mentor Kurt Angle in a promo that showed she is still rediscovering her confidence on the microphone.

Charlotte Flair interrupted, brushed off the ankle lock and her tapout from last week and vowed to be the one to tap Rousey out at WrestleMania, speaking with the authority of a performer who knows how to sell a match to an audience.

Rousey put an exclamation point on the promo, promising Flair will either tap out or she will take The Queen's arm home with her.

Grade

C+

Top Moments

• Rousey recalling her partnership with Angle in her first match at WrestleMania 34 was great stuff and adds to her totally logical implementation of the ankle lock to her arsenal.
• Flair retreating from the ring like a coward, but still talking trash to Rousey and the fans, proclaiming, "still the SmackDown women's champion" was great heel work and puts over the fact that she is very much intimidated by her opponent for her title defense. 

Despite advertising Naomi and Sasha Banks vs. Carmella and Queen Zelina earlier in the day, it was Natalya and Shayna Baszler whom the babyface tandem squared off with in tag team action Friday night.

The Queens of Harts and Spades, respectively, worked Naomi over early, but a tag to Banks sparked a comeback. The Boss thwarted attempted interference from the aforementioned Zelina and Carmella and pinned Natalya following a Codebreaker to wrap up a nondescript match.

Grade

C

Top Moments

• Natalya and Baszler did not get an entrance, indicating just how much management thinks of them at this particular moment. Still, it would not be a surprise to see the team still end up in the WrestleMania match for Carmella and Zelina's Women's Tag Team Championship.
• The crowd reaction for Banks and Naomi upon their entrance and throughout the match makes it clear they are undeniably the most over tag team in the women's division and probably should leave Dallas with the titles.

The Usos set out to make clear their WrestleMania plans, but Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boogs interrupted in a moment that should not have been all that surprising to anyone who paid attention to last week's show. Boogs, with his knee wrapped up, suckered Jey Uso into a match with a title opportunity at WrestleMania on the line.

In a nice little angle, Boogs revealed it to be an act and proceeded to pick up the win in a sprint of a match with the Boogs Cruise. Jimmy Uso rocked Boogs with a cheap superkick to restore heat that the most dominant tag team in WWE and two-thirds of The Bloodline did not actually lose in defeat.

Grade

C

Top Moments

• The Boogs fakeout was a nice touch and proved that there is more to the former amateur wrestler than just a guitar.
• Speaking of which, Boogs' strength and what he is able to do between the ropes is awe-inspiring. The dude is a star beyond the one-note character he has been given to this point.

A red-hot angle unfolded prior to the Intercontinental Championship rematch between Ricochet and Sami Zayn as Austin Theory insulted Pat McAfree at ringside, only to catch a beatdown from the color commentator. 

The surprising intensity of the angle, and the emotions painting both men's faces, single-handedly elevated their feud and should set up one of the hidden gems of this year's WrestleMania card.

Ricochet and Zayn followed up all of that with a fantastic main event match, as one would expect given the talent involved. Zayn desperately attempted to shake off the mind games played by Johnny Knoxville and did so for a large portion of the match, showing intensity and aggression while chasing his fourth IC title reign.

The resilient champion fought through it all, delivered the Recoil and added the 630 splash to retain the title and continue what has been a long-deserved push as a prominent babyface in WWE.

Grade

A

Top Moments

• Ricochet slapping the mat out of frustration after a Zayn clothesline cut off his attempt at a comeback was a nice touch and reflected the emotion and urgency of the match.
• Cole calling the rest of the main event alone while revealing that McAfee had been escorted out of the arena after getting physical with a Superstar added to the realism of the angle.
• The show went off the air with Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair brawling backstage, with The Queen's penchant for vehicular assault still prevalent after all these years. The introduction of a new submission by Flair ups the ante for the main event of WrestleMania Saturday.