Four Matches Set For Final WWE SmackDown Before WrestleMania
There are four huge matches plus a huge talk show segment on the final episode of WWE SmackDown one night before WrestleMania 40.
The 40th edition of WrestleMania will take place in one week on Saturday, April 6th, and Sunday, April 7th at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field. For the WWE fans, the action begins one night earlier on the final Smackdown before WrestleMania.
During the March 29th edition of Smackdown in Uncasville, CT, WWE announced four huge matches for Smackdown on April 5th along with a special edition of the Kevin Owens Show talk show.
On the Kevin Owens talk show, KO will be hosting his friend Randy Orton, who also will be his WrestleMania 40 opponent because both men are challenging Logan Paul for the US Title at WrestleMania in Philly.
The four matches are:
* Raw’s Jey Uso will face his younger brother Solo Sikoa. At WrestleMania 40, Jey is against his twin brother Jimmy Uso, so it should be an emotional weekend for Jey and his family.
* The LWO’s Zelina Vega will have a match with Legado Del Fantasma’s Elektra Lopez after the two women got into a fight during a Smackdown segment. The two stables have been at odds for months and Rey Mysterio is set to team up with Dragon Lee against Santos Escobar & Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania.
* In tag team action, New Catch Republic (Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate) will be against A-Town Down Under (Grayson Waller & Austin Theory). Both teams qualified for the Six-Pack Ladder Match for the WWE Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania 40.
* It was also announced that the Andre The Giant Battle Royal featuring the men’s roster will take place on Smackdown.
How Many Years Has WWE Been Doing The Andre The Giant Battle Royal?
The 2024 edition of the Andre The Giant Battle Royal, which is named after the legendary WWE Hall of Famer who was known for winning battle royals, will be the 10th time that WWE does that match.
At WrestleMania 30 in 2014, Cesaro was the first winner and it has existed every year since, except in 2020 when WrestleMania 36 took place just weeks after the COVID-19 shut down the world. For the past three years starting with Jey Uso’s win in 2021, WWE has made it a Smackdown match instead of a WrestleMania match.
Some of the notable Andre Battle Royal winners include Braun Strowman, Bobby Lashley and Matt Hardy.