SmackDown recap and reactions (February 24, 2023): The saga continues

Jimmy Uso spent the majority Friday Night SmackDown This week he agonizes over his brother J and how things have changed, first at the Royal Rumble and then again in Montreal at the Judicial Department. Paul Heyman dropped a message from Roman Reigns that Jimmy needs to deal with it before next week, or he’ll deal with it himself.

He cut into an excited declaration speaking of being there for his brother, always, no matter what, just as he needs Jey to be there for him right now.

But Gee was not there.

Instead, Sami Zayn appeared.

He tells Jimmy how hurt it all was, that it felt like they were brothers too, and when Jimmy took him in without hesitation. Royal Rumble It really hurt him. Jimmy looked conflicted but quickly made his place clear.

“You are so selfish!”

It was Sami who got the chair, Sami who picked, and Sami who tore everything apart. Things were going fine without him and then he came along and everything changed.

Of course, Zayn made the same appeal to Jimmy that he made to Jay. Then J appears in the arena, walking through the crowd, and Jimmy uses the distraction to launch an attack on Sami.

Zayn got the best of the ensuing confrontation and – in part because Jimmy was eyeing the G – put a helluva kick on him. Ji simply stood in the crowd and watched all this happen. Sammy was pulled over by Solo Sequa, but what we ended up with here were more questions.

J is hesitant.

It’s an impossible situation for me to be in, having to choose between two people he loves, but clearly a decision has to be made and he’s running out of time to do it. Soon, that choice will be made for him.

This story isn’t over by a long shot yet, and I’m still on the edge of my seat the whole time.

For the first time since the match became official, SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair and her rival in the WrestleMania 39, Royal Rumble winner Rhea Ripley, Head to Head. At least that was the plan.

And then lonesome Dominic Mysterio hit the scene for a back-and-forth.

It was incredible.

Dom sets up his verbal sparring with Flair, allowing Charlotte to get some sweet takes on the thicker Latin heat they have in the house — the accent, of course — and Dom to bring their parents to her. Both of them had to make the most of this shadow. Placing the two opposite each other in this way worked wonders to showcase how well Charlotte was doing herself.

Ripley only comes across the scene when Charlotte is about to put the shoes on for Dom. They stared for a while before he pulled her away. I like the idea – keeping them a bit more distant, and making us want to see them confront each other more and more as we move forward.

Dom really helped make this work here.

The Firefly Fun House is back and it doesn’t look like we’re used to:

I don’t know what the hell to think of any of that.

At the very least, it already looks like Wyatt vs. Bobby Lashley looks like they’re playing out WrestleMania 39.