SUMMARY
- WWE has officially kicked off WrestleMania 40 weekend through the April 5 edition of SmackDown.
- On the special edition of the weekly show, the Triple H-led promotion organized Andre the Giant Battle Royal.
WWE has officially kicked off WrestleMania 40 weekend through the April 5 edition of Friday Night SmackDown. Starting high-profile in-ring action, the show hosted Andre the Giant Battle Royal, but it ended up becoming a forgettable match for Akira Tozawa due to a nasty bump.
Akira was among the final three participants of the encounter, and he was then eliminated by the eventual winner, Bronson Reed. While throwing Tozawa out of the ring, Reed threw him on Otis, who was standing on the ringside after being thrown out of the battle royal.
Akira Tozawa took a really hard landing…#SmackDown #WrestleMania pic.twitter.com/WuyFJRmr9l
— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthew_CFB) April 6, 2024
Despite being in a decent position, he wasn’t able to catch Akira Tozawa, and that’s how the star ended up taking a bump after Otis’ botch. As the WWE Universe witnessed the moment on live TV, everyone was left scared as they started asking questions about Akira’s well-being across social platforms.
WWE fans react to the Akira Tozawa botch
As soon as the Akira botch happened, it grabbed the attention of the fans, and they started dating their responses to the spot. Sharing best wishes for the WWE star, an audience member commented, “Nasty botch, I hope Akira Tozawa is okay.” (Via: X)
Pointing out how the botch actually took place, someone from the professional wrestling community wrote, “Otis forgot to catch Akira Tozawa and that didn’t look pretty.” “That drop looked horrible,” a member of the company’s fanbase said while sharing how nasty it looked.
What happened in the final moments of Andre the Giant Battle Royal?
Akira Tozawa’s botch has surely grabbed a lot of limelight from the WWE Universe, but even after that moment, the match continued. As Tozawa was eliminated from the ring, Bronson Reed and Ivar were the final two performers in Andre the Giant Battle Royal on SmackDown.
Even though both competitors were equally deserving of being the winners, Reed ended up winning the prestigious match before WrestleMania XL. In the final moments of the high-profile encounter, Bronson avoided Ivar’s doomsault move and then eliminated him to win the match.
nobody is pushing Bronson Reed but Triple H#SmackDown
— Degenerate George (@DGen_Media) April 6, 2024
pic.twitter.com/fVj2YhVIKm
With this victory, this heavyweight star has probably started going up the charts in the Triple H-led promotion, and the company has potential plans to push him going forward. It remains to be seen what’s next for the Australian pro wrestler after the 2024 edition of The Showcase of the Immortals in Philadelphia.