Friday's SmackDown was taped in New Orleans earlier this week because those involved in Saturday's Elimination Chamber premium live event needed to be in Saudi with plenty of time to get settled and rested before a big show. That didn't stop WWE from using many of the big names that will be featured during Saturday's event, including Roman Reigns, Goldberg, Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair, and others.WWE also featured a big Intercontinental Championship match between Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura. It had nothing to do with The Elimination Chamber event, but that didn't make it any less of a big deal.Here are your winners and losers for SmackDown, February 19, 2022:

Winner: Rousey Contract Signing

In the show opening, WWE had Adam Pearce bring out all the competitors taking part in a tag match between Charlotte Flair, Sonya Deville, Naomi and Ronda Rousey. These four women were going to sign a contract to make their match official, but a stipulation was added. Arguing that her injury gave the babyfaces an unfair advantage, it was worked into the contract that Rousey was going to have to wrestle with one hand tied behind her back. She didn't seem phased and told Deville that with no hands, she'd still tapdance all over her face. When Charlotte stood up to get in Rousey's face, The Baddest Woman on the Planet put the champ's head into the table.

Jim's Notes:

This segment worked mainly because it got done what it needed to in the shortest amount of time possible. Too often these contract signing segments become a mess. While this one caught a lot of attention for a lousy and hard-to-sell spot between Rousey and Flair, WWE did a good job of editing the taped segment to make it work.

Winner/Loser: Ricochet Wins, Ridge Holland Peeves Off Sheamus

In a match that elevates Ricochet up the card in WWE, The One and Only went head-to-head with Sheamus and actually pulled out a clean victory. In what was strength and power versus speed and acrobatics, as Sheamus set up for the Brogue Kick, Ricochet caught him coming in and delivered the Recoil for what has to be considered an upset victory. After the match, Sheamus mildly took his frustrations out on Ridge Holland as he pushed his protégé down. The tease here is that there might be friction between the two now.

Jim's Notes:

This was a solid match. Both of these men can go and they did a good job with the time they had. The takeaway outside of Ricochet picking up a clean win is that WWE seems to be playing with the idea of a Sheamus and Ridge Holland split. One, this isn't good news for Holland who will likely not go over on his mentor. Two, this seems a little early to pull the trigger on this storyline. These two haven't spent much time together, at least not enough for this to be considered a worth rivalry that means something if the two wrestle at WrestleMania.

Winner: Sami Zayn Wins IC Title

Zayn squared off with Nakamura in a lengthy match saw the tide turn in Zayn's favor when he threw The King of Strong Style into the stairs and Nakamura injured his knee. Shinsuke battled through as best he could, even mounting a bit of a comeback. Ultimately, Zayn caught a kick by Nakamura and while holding the champion's leg, kicked the injured knee and pinned a crippled Nakamura to win the championship.

Jim's Notes:

There is good news and bad news anytime Zayn and Nakamura step in the ring together. The good news is that they're always destined to have a good match. The bad news is that it will likely never be as good as their classic from NXT. Still, this was a solid match between two of WWE's better in-ring workers. This didn't measure up to the first bout, but part of that was because WWE went with the injury angle to protect Nakamura. He did lose cleanly, but it was because of an injury.

The Intercontinental Championship is better served around Zayn's waist. He'll make more of holding the gold than Nakamura did. The downside here is rumors he'll face Jonny Knoxville at WrestleMania. This would all be for nothing is the Jackass Forever star won the belt.

Related: AEW Rampage Slam Dunk Winners And Losers: Adam Cole Wins, Jay White Stakes A Claim

Loser: Goldberg and Roman Reigns Face-To-Face

Reigns closed the show alongside Paul Heyman in a final segment to sell Saturday's Elimination Chamber match between Reigns and Goldberg. It was advertised as a face-to-face so it was clear Goldberg would be coming out to the ring, but the champion and his Special Counsel got a few words in first. When Goldberg did finally arrive, he walked in the ring, dropped the mic and stepped up on the champion. He didn't say much, but when Goldberg did talk all he said was, "I was wrong. You're not next." He added, "When it comes to the Universal Championship... I'M NEXT!"

This was not a good segment. Heyman spent most of the segment before Goldberg arrived pumping Reigns' tires while riling up the live audience. And, when Goldberg came out, he said so little and the two men did so little, it hardly had time to build up the animosity prior to their match on Saturday. As far as match-builders go, this didn't cut it. It was ok, but ok isn't enough with how little time Goldberg has actually spent in the spotlight as the challenger.

SmackDown Match Results:

* Ricochet hit a Recoil for the upset victory over Sheamus. Following the match, a distraught Sheamus blamed Ridge Holland for the loss.

* Jimmy Uso ran into the ring during a singles match between Ivar and Jey Uso, causing Jey to get disqualified. Erik made the save and The Viking Raiders stood in the ring as the Usos fled ahead of their SmackDown Tag Team title match on Saturday.

* Sami Zayn kicked Nakamura's injured leg out from underneath him and it was enough to get a three count and win the IC Title. Zayn bragged about winning backstage.