WWE SmackDown Results 2/28 - Cody Rhodes, Trish Stratus & Tiffany Stratton Appear, US Title #1 Contenders Tournament

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s live coverage for "WWE SmackDown" on February 28, 2025, coming to you live from the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada!

Shinsuke Nakamura will find out who his next challenger for the United States Championship is tonight, as Solo Sikoa collides with Andrade, Carmelo Hayes goes one-on-one with Braun Strowman, and Santos Escobar squares off with LA Knight in a trio of qualifiers. The winners will go on to face one another in a Triple Threat Match, with the victor earning themselves the right to challenge Nakamura at an undisclosed future date. Knight has made his intentions of recapturing the United States Championship crystal clear over the course of the last few weeks, while Nakamura helped Hayes and The Miz score a win over Knight and R-Truth last week. Meanwhile, Sikoa and Strowman have had a plethora of issues with one another, and Andrade and Escobar have faced each other a handful of times over the last year in singles and tag team matches.

The Rock made his return to WWE during last week's edition of "SmackDown", calling Cody Rhodes down to the ring. After voicing the respect that he has for the Undisputed WWE Champion and reminiscing on their shared camaraderie, The Rock told "The American Nightmare" that he wanted him to be his champion so that he could take him to new heights, and would stop at nothing until that happened including wanting his sold. As Rhodes continues pondering the response he will give to The Rock tomorrow night at WWE Elimination Chamber, he has something on his mind to share tonight.

Additionally, Trish Stratus and WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton will be making an appearance of their own as they prepare to take on Nia Jax and Candice LeRae in tag team action at Elimination Chamber.

We are live! Wade Barrett and Joe Tessitore greet audiences at home before throwing it to a video of the conversation between Cody Rhodes and The Rock last Friday.

We then head backstage and see Rhodes being escorted by two individuals to his own locker room courtesy of The Rock. 

Back at ringside, Trish Stratus makes her way out.

Stratus thanks Lillian Garcia for her introduction and jokingly questions what year it is, then voices her excitement for wrestling at Elimination Chamber tomorrow. She says she loves the generational impact that wrestling has on people, then says she's excited to see her children watch her wrestle for the first time live. She then introduces Stratton, and she makes her way down to the ring.

Stratus asks Toronto what time it is, then says that it's both Trishy Time and Tiffy Time. The pair then throw their Toronto Maple Leafs jersey into the crowd. Chelsea Green's music hits, and she makes her way down to the ring alongside Piper Niven. She says she deserves air time as the Women's United States Champion, then says the minute she left Canada, everything became better when she won the United States Championship and represented the people of the USA. Stratton then challenges Green to a match as Green protests, but Nick Aldis sends a referee to the ring to make the match official.

The bell rings and the two lock up. They take turns locking one another in submission holds, but Stratton lands a back elbow on Green and follows it up with a dropkick. Niven pulls Green out of the ring, but Stratus clocks Niven and Stratton delivers a Swanton Bomb to level both Niven and Green. Nia Jax and Candice LeRae appear out of nowhere and attack Stratus, causing the disqualification when they pull Stratton out of the ring.

Winner: N/A (disqualification due to outside interference)

After the match, Jax and LeRae continue to beat down Stratton. Jax sets up for the An-Nia-Lator on Stratton, but Stratus takes down LeRae and goes after Jax. Stratton and Stratus double team on Jax, and Jax and LeRae retreat up the ramp.

Andrade then makes his way out to the ring. Jacob Fatu follows, with Solo Sikoa having offered him his place in the upcoming match in a backstage segment.

The bell rings and the two lock up. Fatu charges at Andrade in the corner, but Andrade moves out of the way and Fatu is sent crashing into the corner. Andrade flies over the top rope to level Fatu on the outside, then ascends to the top rope and delivers a moonsault to level Fatu on the outside. Fatu sends Andrade's face bouncing off the announce desk, then dumps him back in the ring and fires off right hands on him.

Andrade connects with his signature moonsault on Fatu and pins him, but Fatu kicks out. Andrade looks to roll up Fatu, but Fatu counters into a senton. He follows it up with a pair of Hip Attacks and an elevated flatliner, then delivers a moonsault off the ropes for the win.

Winner: Jacob Fatu, 

Los Garza then make their way down to the ring. The Street Profits follow, but #DIY blindsides them from behind. The Street Profits gain the upper hand on them, but Pretty Deadly runs down and takes them out. The Motor City Machine Guns follow suit, and all five teams begin brawling with one another as security and officals attempt to separate them all. 

Drew McIntyre appears at ringside, and says John Cena either dies the hero or lives long enough to see himself become the hypocrite. He stands up on the announce desk as he continues to rag on Cena, and ponders what 2011 Cena would say about modern day Cena. He says Cena could politically end a career in an instant, then promises to bury Cena. He says he was screwed throughout 2024, but Damian Priest's music cuts him off and he makes his way out. He says all McIntyre does is complain, but McIntyre responds by saying he's telling the truth. Priest says R-Truth makes more sense than McIntyre, and Priest reminds McIntyre that he cashed in on him at WrestleMania 40 because he was distracted with his weird obsession with CM Punk. He says he'll take pride in pinning McIntyre in the 2025 Men's Elimination Chamber tomorrow.

Seth Rollins' music hits, and he makes his way out. He says McIntyre and Priest were having so much fun, so he thought he'd come join the party. He says he remembers that if it weren't for Punk or McIntyre, he would've beaten Priest for the World Heavyweight Championship. He says McIntyre, Priest, and everyone else in the Men's Elimination Chamber doesn't stand a chance.

Punk's music hits, and he makes his way out. He says it's great to be alive on a Friday in Toronto, then questions where he should begin. He asks Rollins if he feels as good as he looks, then says he looks like something he cooked in the over and he'll cook him again in the Men's Elimination Chamber. He says while he has no issues with Priest, he will be collateral damage, then says he's obsessed with WrestleMania 41 as Rollins and McIntyre are obsessed with him.

Priest squares up with McIntyre as Rollins continues taking jabs at Punk. John Cena's music hits, but Logan Paul appears instead and mocks the crowd for thinking it was Cena coming to the ring rather than him. Paul says Rollins is dressed like he lost a bet, then says McIntyre can't win like the Toronto Maple Leafs and calls Priest irrelevant since he knows nothing about him. Paul then looks to take a jab at Punk, but Punk chases him to the back.

Santos Escobar then makes his way down to the ring. LA Knight is already waiting inside.

The bell rings and the two lock up. Knight and Escobar trade shots in the corner, but Escobar levels Knight with a shoulder tackle. Knight turns Escobar inside out with a knee to his midsection, then fires off stomps on him and looks to fly off the top. Escobar moves out of the way and lands a dropkick on Knight, then sends his head bouncing off the announce desk. Knight returns the favor and repeatedly sends Escobar's head bouncing off the announce desk, then catapults him into the bottom rope.

Escobar lands an elbow drop on Knight, and the two trade strikes with one another. Knight pins Escobar, but Escobar kicks out and Knight sends him crashing into the mat with a bodyslam. He follows it up with an elbow drop and fires off stomps on Escobar in the corner, but Escobar trips Knight and sends him crashing into the bottom turnbuckle face first. Escobar sits Knight on the top rope and joins him up there, then lands a hurricanrana on him off the top rope and goes for a pin. Knight kicks out.

Escobar delivers an enzuigiri to Knight from the apron and ascends to the top, then looks to fly. Knight catches Escobar with a BFT for the win.

Winner: LA Knight

Sami Zayn then makes his way down to the ring.

Zayn says to say him and Owens have been through a lot is an understatement. He says he feels like Owens has been doing a lot of running and hiding as he shoots videos from his car, but tells him he knows he's in Toronto and calls him down to the ring so they can both say their final pieces out of respect for all they've been through.

Owens appears in the empty Rogers Centre, then says he wouldn't want to show up to the Scotiabank Arena for the sake of Zayn's neck. He says him and Zayn have had plenty of fights, and tomorrow is the biggest match they've ever had against each other. He says while some people believe Zayn when he says that Owens is the bad guy, he isn't. He tells Zayn he deserves everything that will happen to him tomorrow night, and when Zayn is stuck in a wheelchair afterwards and can't provide financially for his family, he won't help them as he watches them suffer for something that was his fault.

Zayn says it's not tough to admit that he's nervous, but he is. He clarifies that he's not nervous about himself, but rather what he'll do to Owens as his parents, wife, and children watch. He says he's nervous that Owens' family won't forgive him, but he's still prepared to end things between them and end Owens. Owens responds by telling Zayn he'll see him tomorrow.

Braun Strowman then makes his way out to the ring. Carmelo Hayes follows.

The bell rings and Strowman whips Hayes into the corner. Strowman runs over Hayes with a shoulder tackle on the outside, then dumps Hayes back inside the ring. Tama Tonga runs down to the ring and hops up on the apron, allowing Solo Sikoa to sneak up behind Strowman. He hits him with the chair, but Strowman stays standing and grabs the chair. He hits Sikoa with it and tosses Tama over the announce desk. Hayes then pulls an Eddie Guerrero and hits the chair on the canvas while the referee has his back turned. He pretends that Strowman hit him with the chair, and believing him, the referee declares him as the winner of the match.

Winner: Carmelo Hayes (via disqualification)

After the match, an enraged Strowman powerbombs Tama Tonga.

Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, and Roxanne Perez then make their way down to the ring. Bayley, Naomi, and Bianca Belair follow.

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