WWE SmackDown results, grades: Sami Zayn tears up over emotional homecoming

Emotions ran high on WWE SmackDown as Sami Zayn enjoyed an incredible homecoming on the eve of a massive night at Elimination Chamber.

The Master Strategist turned on Roman Reigns and The Bloodline at the Royal Rumble and now finds himself heading into an Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match tonight (February 18) in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Fans have been rallying behind Sami for weeks, but that all hit another level on Friday at the end of a show designed to hype up his fascinating rise to the top with video packages to show his recent journey and Ariel Helwani in the crowd getting the reaction from the Montreal faithful.

The crowd erupted when the star’s former Worlds Apart music hit, leading to an all time great minutes-long ovation with chants of ‘Ole’, F-bombs directed at Roman Reigns and ‘you deserve it’.

Thankfully, Sami was given plenty of time to just stand and soak up the atmosphere, helping create a truly special moment which, while reminiscent of Daniel Bryan’s rise up the ranks, stands tall as its own beast.

Once the former Honorary Uce finally spoke, he did so in French and English and rallied the troops, hailing Elimination Chamber as a once in a lifetime moment and warning Reigns that he’s facing Sami and the city of Montreal this weekend.

It’s unclear whether WWE will actually run with the idea of Sami dethroning Roman this close to WrestleMania, and while the Tribal Chief’s stranglehold on the world championships deserves to end on that stage, it’s almost set up too perfectly for Zayn.

Regardless, he’s a made man right now – and fans are enjoying every minute of it.

GUNTHER beats Madcap Moss, Bray Wyatt challenges Bobby Lashley or Brock Lesnar and more

The show kicked off with Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler teaming up against Natalya and Shotzi in a winning effort.

This was entertaining and used the Baddest Woman on the Planet in a sensible way as Baszler was able to carry the action while the UFC legend had bursts of dominance.

It worked out well, with Rousey making Shotzi submit to an armbar as the duo look to take over the tag team ranks.

Hit Row came out to perform a rap as they insulted Montreal to load boos from the crowd, but the lights cut out and came back on with the arena under a blue hue.

Bray Wyatt and Uncle Howdy were both on the ring apron, and laid out the trio to the fans’ approval.

In an unexpected twist, Wyatt got a microphone and laid down a challenge to face the winner of Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley’s match at Elimination Chamber.

Drew McIntyre and Sheamus clashed with The Viking Raiders in a brilliant, hard hitting battle where Ivar and Erik matched their main event opponents every step of the way.

In the end, the former world champions proved too much for their opponents, with a Claymore from McIntyre securing the win.

Before they meet inside the Elimination Chamber, the sinister and rejuvenated Asuka made a rare SmackDown appearance to face off with Liv Morgan.

Although there was some distractions with the other four Chamber competitors – Raquel Rodriguez, Carmella, Nikki Cross and Natalya – at ringside, this was still a great bout between two talented stars, with Asuka picking up the win.

Everything descended into chaos after the bell as the six stars erupted into a brawl, but Liv and Asuaka stood tall.

In the final match of the night, GUNTHER retained the Intercontinental Championship over Madcap Moss in a fun match, albeit one without much drama as it never really felt like Moss was a threat to the Ring General.

Elsewhere on the show, Karrion Kross continued to target Rey Mysterio backstage, referencing his meaningful mask swap with Santos Escobar and trying to play mind games about his fractured relationship with his son Dominik.

WWE SmackDown airs Friday nights at 1am on BT Sport 1.

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

MORE : Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s daughter Ava Raine gets new WWE name

MORE : New Japan star Fred Rosser, AKA Darren Young in WWE, was ‘fearful of being outed’ as gay during Nexus run

Follow Metro on Snapchat

You can follow our new Snapchat show Pop Cultur’d, the go-to place for all things pop culture.

Keep up with the latest Showbiz exclusives by following Metro Showbiz on Snapchat.

And football fans can indulge in all the transfer gossip and more on Metro Football on Snapchat.