As always, some live WWE action took place inside the squared circle before things got started on television on Friday night.
Prior to the start of the WrestleMania XL “go-home” episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown on FOX, a dark match and a bout taped for the new weekly WWE Speed on X series took place for the live crowd in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In the lone pre-show dark match, “Tiffy-Time” got things started, as former WWE NXT Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton defeated Michin in the opening bout inside the Wells Fargo Center in Philly.
The second and final pre-SmackDown bout saw JD McDonagh of The Judgment Day defeat Axiom of WWE NXT in a match taped for an upcoming episode of WWE Speed on X.
McDonagh would go on to work double-duty on Friday, as he also took part in the annual Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, which was the opening match on the WrestleMania XL “go-home” episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown.
McDonagh was eliminated by Akira Tozawa of Alpha Academy, before “Big” Bronson Reed would go on to win the entire match.
