Hello and welcome to WWE Smackdown Results 2023 Draft Edition!
Tonight isn’t just Night One of the 2023 draft, but we will also have some fun matches as Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens will defend the tag titles against the Usos.
With so much going on, let’s get to the action!
2023 Draft Round 1
Triple H came out to get the night started and welcome us to Friday Night Smackdown and the 2023 WWE Draft and the new rosters will go into effect on May 8 after Backlash.
THE GAME IS HERE! 🔥@TripleH is kicking off the #WWEDraft RIGHT NOW on #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/fNOK3OKIfR
— WWE (@WWE) April 29, 2023
He then announced the first four picks after getting the crowd fired up.
First up was Paul Heyman, Solo Sikoa, and Roman Reigns were drafted together to Smackdown. This means the new championship will be exclusive to Raw.
The second pick was Cody Rhodes to Raw.
Smackdown picked Bianca Belair third overall despite being Raw Women’s Champion.
Raw then selected Becky Lynch to close the first round.
He then introduced the Usos and they offered congratulations to Roman Reigns for being the top draft pick again.
Jey promised they’ll bring the gold back to the Bloodline, and he and Jimmy went on how he hasn’t called them back but Jimmy once again promised to dedicate their win to Reigns and that’s when Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn came out.
Zayn said he’s not going to try to talk to them about anything, then asked if they find it’s strange that Reigns has ignored them since they lost and how the Usos weren’t drafted with the Bloodline.
After a back and forth, they headed to the back for the first match to begin.
Butch w/Sheamus and Ridge Holland vs. LA Knight
MASSIVE SUPERPLEX from @RealLAKnight to @PeteDunneYxB! 🫢
These men want to show the WWE Universe that they're a TOP #WWEDraft pick! #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/hhcXTC7pHc
— WWE (@WWE) April 29, 2023
After a fast start by Knight, Butch dropped him with a shoulder and went to work on Knight’s left hand fingers with some joint manipulation and a stomp.
After hitting clubbing blows, Butch went for Knight’s left arm and Knight hung him up in the ropes to break the hold and suplexed Butch on the apron.
Butch fought Knight off the top rope with some joint manipulation, but Knight leaped back up to hit a superplex for a near pinfall.
After Butch hit the ringspot head first, Knight spiked him to get the win.
Backstage, the Usos talked themselves up for tonight to be the night, and Heyman told them their draft night is tonight for if they win they’re on the Island of Relevancy and if they lose they’re failures.
While talking them up, Heyman made a point to tell Solo Sikoa tonight is the night and Solo started wrapping his thumb.
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