Solo Sikoa returned to SmackDown by attacking Cody Rhodes during Friday night’s broadcast.
Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso stood tall after brawling with Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga at the beginning of the show, and the two teams clashed in the main event.
Rhodes scored the win but didn’t have much chance to celebrate.
After Rhodes pinned Tonga, a hooded individual attacked the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.
The attacker nailed Rhodes with a Samoan Spike and revealed himself as Solo. The Samoan Street Champion stood tall over The American Nightmare to close out the show.
NO WAY!! 🤯
Solo Sikoa is back and he just attacked @CodyRhodes!! 😱#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/elWsloeZ57
— WWE (@WWE) February 8, 2025
Charlotte Flair, the winner of the 2025 women’s Royal Rumble match, confronted Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton on Friday’s episode of WWE SmackDown.
During their promo battle, Stratton declared that she was tired of being compared to Flair.
In response, Flair pointed out how Stratton, much like Rhea Ripley, was pleading to face her at WrestleMania 41.
Flair said she might consider offering Tiffany a WrestleMania 41 match if the latter begged on her hands and knees.
Nia Jax interrupted the two and challenged Stratton for the Women’s Championship during the February 14 episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown.
Flair expressed interest in the match and said she’d return on Valentine’s Day.
😳😳😳@tiffstrattonwwe wants to face @MsCharlotteWWE at #WrestleMania… 👀#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/H4z4opgSwC
— WWE (@WWE) February 8, 2025
Looks like Nia Jax and @tiffstrattonwwe have peaked @MsCharlotteWWE‘s interest! #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/i8rBpir7J0
— WWE (@WWE) February 8, 2025
Arianna Grace is back.
Grace returned to the ring at a WWE NXT live event on February 7 after being sidelined since the July 9th episode of NXT, where she lost to Karmen Petrovic.
In August, Grace was seen wearing a sling. In the past few months, she has continued to appear as the intermediary between NXT and TNA Wrestling, making several crossovers to TNA programming.
Fans in attendance reported that Grace issued an open challenge that was answered by Adriana Rizzo.
#NXTLakeland @AriannaGraceWWE declares an open challenge. @AdrianaRizzoWWE answers the call! pic.twitter.com/vKMctu2rQu
— Jeff Reid (@JeffReidUP) February 8, 2025
Thea Hail also returned to the ring during the NXT live event in Lakeland, Florida on February 7.
Hail faced Jacey Jayne in a losing effort. This marked Hail’s first match since August 2024.
Hail has not wrestled on television since losing to Roxanne Perez in an NXT Women’s Title match at NXT: The Great American Bash in July 2024.
Throughout 2024, Hail was featured on television as part of Chase U, which disbanded in November 2024 when Ridge Holland defeated Andre Chase.
#NXTLakeland @jacyjaynewwe calls out @Steph_Vaquer, but instead, @avawwe_ gives her @theahail_wwe! pic.twitter.com/0dlodlK5Wi
— Jeff Reid (@JeffReidUP) February 8, 2025
The Street Profits (Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins) returned at WWE Royal Rumble 2025, attacking WWE Tag Team Champions #DIY (Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano) and the Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) during their title match.
In a vignette that aired during the February 7th episode of WWE SmackDown, The Street Profits explained their actions.
Ford and Dawkins warned both #DIY and Motor City Machine Guns, warning both teams of their impending wrath.
THEY WANT THE SMOKE!
The Street Profits are fed up with #DIY and MCMG 😤#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/CE9V77ESLD
— WWE (@WWE) February 8, 2025
WWE has announced several matches for next week’s episode of WWE SmackDown, including a Women’s Championship match and two Elimination Chamber qualifying matches.
You can check out the updated lineup for next week’s edition of WWE SmackDown below:
* WWE Women’s Championship Match: Tiffany Stratton vs. Nia Jax
* Men’s Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Jacob Fatu vs. Braun Strowman vs. Damian Priest
* Women’s Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Chelsea Green vs. Naomi
You can check out the updated lineup for the 2025 WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event below:
* Women’s Elimination Chamber Match: Liv Morgan vs. Bianca Belair vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Three More TBD
* Men’s Elimination Chamber Match: CM Punk vs. John Cena vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Three More TBD
And finally, WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler was in attendance at Friday night’s WWE SmackDown TV tapings in Memphis, TN. The WWE Hall of Famer was shown sitting in the audience during the show, as you can see below:
Jerry The King Lawler is at #SmackDown. I’m really happy to see him here! pic.twitter.com/c0KxK3Wrf1
— WWE Rumours and Updates (@WWEUpdates1504) February 8, 2025