WWE Smackdown results: Daniel Bryan enters the Intercontinental Championship picture as pre-WrestleMania tensions reach boiling point
No fewer than 10 Superstars signalled their intentions to take Bad News Barritt's title in the Andre the Giant Battle Royal at Wrestlemania
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Your support makes all the difference.Dolph Ziggler kicked off the show wearing Bad News Barrett's Intercontinental Championship. Ziggler told the fans that when he won this title last year, it turned his career around and he's eager to win it back in the Ladder Match at WrestleMania.
Barrett's music then hit for the actual champion to demand his title back. Barrett said if Ziggler doesn't hand it back, he's going to storm in the ring and take it. As Barrett entered the ring, Luke Harper attacked Ziggler from behind before Barrett joined in on a two on one beat down. Dean Ambrose then ran down to the ring to save Ziggler as the duo then cleared the ring. R-Truth sneaked into the ring to steal the IC title while all the other competitors fought each other.
Cesaro and Tyson Kidd took on the Los Matadores in a non-title match as the Tag Team Champions looked to continue their momentum heading into WrestleMania. The champions won the match within just a few minutes with a clever double team. Cesaro started the swing while Kidd joined in with a drop kick wrap up with a pin. Natalya celebrated the win by giving her husband Kidd a kiss to put their tension rumours to rest.
Kane took on Ryback in an attempt to send a message following his announcement of entering the Andre the Giant Battle Royal at WrestleMania. Big Show watched on from ringside as he also entered himself in the Battle Royal. Big Show climbed the apron in an attempt to help Kane but he ended up distracting the "Big Red Monster" for Ryback to take advantage and hit a Meat Hook Clothesline for the win.
Kane was irate and ordered Ryback to stay in the ring and take on his partner Big Show next. Show dominated most of the match with a series of body slams as he taunted Kane who remained at ringside. Kane then climbed on the apron to provide a distraction and this time the craftiness was successful as Big Show landed a KO Punch on Ryback for the victory.
AJ Lee made her return to Smackdown after a break away from the company to take on Brie Bella. Nikki Bella and Paige watched on from ringside to support their respective partners as AJ saved Paige from an attack by the Bellas on Raw. AJ hit a spinning heel kick on Brie before landing a dropkick to force her out of the ring where Paige and Nikki stared each other down. AJ managed to lock in the Black Widow on Brie as Paige knocked Nikki down to prevent her from interfering. Brie finally tapped out as the "Frenemies" celebrated together in the ring.
The Miz and Mizdow partnered up despite their differences to take on New Day in a tag-team match. Miz refused to tag Mizdow in despite calls from the crowd and suffering at the hands of the opposition. Mizdow finally was able to tag himself in and change the momentum of the match but this infuriated Miz who tagged himself back in and sent Mizdow away. Big E then picked up Miz to land the Big Ending while Kofi Kingston jumped off the ropes to complete a double team for the win. Mizdow looked chuffed at ringside to see Miz fail without his help as tensions between the two now reach an all time high.
Rusev marched down the ramp to lock arms with Jack Swagger as the "Big Russian" looked to shift the focus away from his potential match up with John Cena later this month. Swagger locked in the Patriot Lock but Rusev managed to grab onto the ropes and turn the tables with a striking side kick. Swagger was then forced to tap out to The Accolade for the US Champion to win by submission. The Russian flag then lowered from the rafters while Lana joined her client to celebrate in front of the Washington DC crowd.
The main event of the night saw Ambrose and Ziggler partner up to take on Barrett and Harper while R-Truth joined the commentators to analyse his competition. Ambrose and Barrett battled outside of the ring while Harper went for the Discus Clothesline on Ziggler in the ring.
"The Show Off" managed to dodge the hit and hit a Superkick and Zig Zag combination to seal the victory. Barrett was livid after the match and hit a Bull Hammer on Ambrose and Ziggler.
The champion then went to retake his title from Truth but he managed to avoid all attacks and run up the ramp. Daniel Bryan's music then hit as the former WWE Champion took his turn to hold the IC title. It looked like Bryan was going to finish the show as the man with the gold in his hands but Stardust attacked him from behind to officially enter himself into the championship fold.
Results
Cesaro and Tyson Kidd defeated Los Matadores
Ryback defeated Kane
Big Show defeated Ryback
AJ Lee defeated Brie Bella
The Miz and Damien Mizdow defeated Big E and Kofi Kingston
Rusev defeated Jack Swagger
Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler defeated Bad News Barrett and Luke Harper
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