– A video recap of Saturday Night’s Main Event opened the
show.
– Bianca Belair and Naomi were shown walking backstage.
Ditto for Nia Jax, Candice LeRae, Motor City Machine Guns
and #DIY. Solo Sikoa’s Bloodline then made their entrance.
The Bloodline segment
I really like the Drew McIntyre wrinkle here. Between him
and Kevin Owens, the modern day Paul Levesque heel is one
that actually appears to be smarter than everyone around
them and is simply sick and tired of being sick and tired.
Who can’t relate to that? As such, it’s hard not to at least
empathize with people like McIntyre and Owens, which isn’t
historically what a heel should be … but hell: Welcome to
the Triple H Era. Anyway, a strong verbal exchange to open
the show. Sikoa has improved so much on the mic between when
he started leading his version of the Bloodline and the
current day.
Sikoa stood in the ring and told SmackDown to acknowledge
him. Everyone booed and chanted “OTC!” Sikoa said Roman
Reigns sat on his boat and challenged Sikoa to a Tribal
Combat match and the crowd gave Sikoa the “What?” treatment.
Sikoa stopped and said instead of saying “What?” they need
to acknowledge him. The crowd went back to booing and
chanting “OTC!” Sikoa proceeded to accept Reigns’s challenge
for the Jan. 6 Raw on Netflix. Sikoa said he will walk out
as the Tribal Chief and the Head Of The Table. Sikoa looked
into the camera and told Reigns that after Jan. 6, Roman
could hop back on his boat and head back to the island of
irrelevancy.
Drew McIntyre’s music hit and McIntyre slowly walked out of
the entranceway. McIntyre took his time getting into the
ring. McIntyre grabbed a microphone and stared at Sikoa.
Sikoa said he was really happy when McIntyre kicked Jimmy in
the face last week. Sikoa then said Drew better have a damn
good reason for why he’s interrupting him. McIntyre said he
wanted to beat Sikoa within an inch of his life. McIntyre
wondered if Sikoa ever wondered when Drew would come for
him. McIntyre noted how Sikoa cost McIntyre the world title
at Clash At The Castle and caused his family pain and
misery.
However, McIntyre said that Sikoa was the only one in his
family who had the balls to stand up to Roman Reigns.
McIntyre wondered what he should do. McIntyre told Sikoa
needs to take Roman Reigns out for good. After Sikoa does
that, McIntyre said he and Sikoa could finish their
business. Jimmy Uso appeared with a crutch and attacked
McIntyre out of nowhere. Those two fought into the crowd and
LA Knight’s music hit. Apollo Crews, Andrade and Knight ran
to the ring and attacked Sikoa, Fatu and Tonga. The show
then went to a commercial break.
The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga & Jacob Fatu) defeated
LA Knight, Andrade & Apollo Crews [16:39 of TV time]
Goodness, gracious. A SNME video package and all Bloodline
business took up the first 35 minutes of the episode. And I
don’t even think we saw the full match as there was some
questionable editing that popped up here. I wonder how this
played with the (presumably) tired live crowd last week. Now
for the real question: Is it time to wonder who LA Knight
pissed off yet? The guy somehow gets over, stays over for at
least a couple years, finally gets a title run, loses that
title a few months later, and is now … teaming with Andrade
and Apollo Crews to lose to Solo Sikoa’s Bloodline? That a
bit suspect. Anyway, the match here kind of dragged (even
with the editing), but it got the job done in terms of
getting Sikoa a win before heading into his showdown with
Reigns in a couple weeks on Raw. Fatu felt less dominant
here, which was a tiny bit disappointing. Maybe an off
night? Maybe a conscious booking decision? Here’s hoping for
a bounce back soon.
The match was joined in progress and Crews was working over
Tonga, complete with a press slam. Knight tagged in and hit
a swinging beck-breaker on Tonga. Andrade tagged in and
chopped Tonga. Crews then tagged back in and the two hit
back elbows on Tonga for a two-count. Andrade tagged back in
and kicked Tonga, but Tonga fought back a little until
Andrade took Tonga down and Fatu ended up on the outside
with Tonga. Crews tagged in and the two landed dual splashes
on Fatu and Tonga. Knight went to the top rope and taunted
Sikoa, who stayed away from the scene.
Back inside the ring, Crews attempted to keep the upper
hand, but Tonga tagged in Fatu and Tafu took Crews out with
a leaping elbow. The show then went to a commercial break.
The show returned and Sikoa had control over Crews. Fatu
tagged in and bodyslammed Crews. Fatu went for a running
splash, but Crews got his knees up and and tagged in
Andrade, who came in and took out Fatu. Andrade hit a
Meteora on Fatu for a two-count. Andrade went to the top and
landed the miss-then-not-miss a moonsault spot for a two-
count.
Sikoa tagged in and Fatu fired up, lifting Andrade for a
scary-looking spot as Sikoa helped Andrade over the top
rope. At some point, Fatu tagged back in, but the program
showed a replay of the scary spot, so nobody saw it. In any
case, Fatu hit a pop-up Samoan Drop on Andrade inside the
ring as the show went to another commercial break. The
program returned and Fatu kept his dominance up over Andrade
until Fatu went for a hip attack in a corner and Andrade
moved. Ultimately, Andrade got the hot tag to Knight, who
ran in and stomped on Tonga.
Knight clotheslined Fatu and hit a running knee on Tonga.
Sikoa got involved, but Knight hit a neck-breaker on him.
Crews tagged in and landed a splash from the top rope for a
two-count on Tonga. Out of nowhere, Nakamura showed up and
took Knight out while Crews worked a Crossface on Tonga.
Sikoa broke that up and things broke down. Sikoa officially
tagged in after dragging Tonga to their corner. Sikoa hit a
hip attack, Spinning Solo and a Samoan Spike on Crews to get
the win.
**********
– MCMG were interviewed backstage by Byron Saxton. Alex
Shelley said he had one thought – payback. Chris Sabin
chimed in and noted how Gargano showed them who he truly is.
Shelley said he was going to make sure Gargano knows he made
the biggest mistake of his life. Sabin looked like he was
going to accompany Shelley to the ring, but Shelley told
Sabin to hang back for the match.
– A video package chronicling Chelsea Green’s win on SNME
aired. After that, Green was interviewed by Saxton after
SNME on Saturday night. Green said she always knew she’d win
and she’s worked her entire life to be an overnight success.
Green said it was “red, white and green.” Saxton talked
about the historical significance of the win. Green said she
is in the history books, where she belongs. Green brought up
being released be WWE and being passed up by WWE in the
past. Green said she was going to go to Disney World to
celebrate.
– Graves threw to a video package chronicling the Kevin
Owens/Cody Rhodes developments from SNME.
– Owens was shown in a dark place somewhere in a building.
He said what happened after SNME was not his fault. Owens
said there were a lot of people to blame for it and he was
screwed out of winning the championship. Owens said what
happened to him was a tragedy and travesty. Owens said he
should be standing there the Undisputed WWE Champion, but
he’s not. Instead, he took Cody’s belt and he’s not going to
give it back until he gets what he wants. Owens said he
hasn’t snapped yet and it can all get a lot worse. Owens
said nobody wants him to snap. Owens said what happens next
is on WWE officials including Nick Aldis and Triple H.
– Gargano and Ciampa were talking backstage. Ciampa said it
surprised him that Shelley is dumb because MCMG can’t win
the tag titles back in a singles match. Gargano said Shelley
wants his revenge and Ciampa needs to stay in the back for
his match against Shelley. Ciampa told Gargano to “go get
him” and said he wouldn’t move a muscle.
The Grayson Waller Effect with Braun Strowman
Close your eyes. Picture this segment. Whatever you see or
whatever you think you’d see – that’s exactly what it was.
Waller welcomed everyone in and Theory made his presence
known as well. Waller said his guest is the first transfer
to Friday nights on SmackDown: Braun Strowman, who walked
out dressed as Santa Claus. Stowman threw gifts into the
crowd on his way to the ring. Once in the ring, Strowman
faked going to give Waller a gift, but instead, he didn’t.
Waller said Strowman helped “all the poor people in
Hartford,” and Strowman responded in anger before sitting
down.
Waller talked about how he invested a lot of money into his
new talkshow set. Waller said he was surprised Strowman
would come on the show, but the more he thought about it,
the more it made sense because he realized how much he’d
want to be around A-Town Down Under. Strowman appeared
agitated. Waller offered up the ultimate alliance – Strowman
and A-Town Down. Strowman slammed his hand on the GWE desk
and Carmelo Hayes’s music hit. Melo walked out with a
microphone.
Melo said everyone knows his match against Strowman last
week wasn’t fair. Melo said nobody can humble greatness and
told Strowman he wanted to run it back “right here, right
now.” Strowman said he’s show Melo what The Braun Effect is.
Strowman threw some fake palm trees at Melo and a referee
walked to the ring for a presumed match between Strowman and
Melo – after a commercial break.
**********
Carmelo Hayes defeated Braun Strowman via count out [3:32]
Eh. I can’t say I’m a fan. Melo just can’t help but find
himself in series of matches against people. At the very
least, this will be a best of three with Strowman, but who
knows – maybe they’ll get to best of seven and LA Knight
will be the special guest referee for that seventh match.
Back to this match. Strowman just came back. He was
obviously protected here because a fluke count out loss is
almost meaningless, but the whole thing just felt
unnecessary and boring (in terms of booking, at least). Bah
humbug.
Hayes started the match by kicking Strowman’s leg. Braun no-
sold it. Hayes punched Strowman, but that just seemed to
make Strowman angry. Hayes slid to the outside and Strowman
chased Hayes around the ring. When the two got back into the
ring, Melo cut Strowman off, but Strowman shoved Hayes off.
Strowman threw Melo back into the ring, but Melo kicked
Strowman’s leg again. Melo then jumped into an attempted
chokeslam, but Melo countered by planting Strowman. Strowman
got up and ran at Hayes, but Hayes pulled the top rope down
and Strowman went to the outside.
Hayes ran around the ring, but Strowman took Melo down once
Melo ran into Strowman. Melo leapt at Strowman, but Strowman
caught Melo. Strowman threw Melo back into the ring, but
nobody noticed the count was at nine. So, with Melo back in
the ring, Strowman was on the outside as the referee counted
to 10. So, Hayes got the win via count out. Hayes then ran
through the crowd and Strowman chased Hayes.
**********
– Nia Jax and Candice LeRae were talking backstage and
Tiffany Stratton walked into the frame. LeRae told Stratton
to stay away from ringside during their tag match later.
Stratton walked away looking dejected.
– Melo was shown walking backstage and ran into Legado Del
Fantasma. Strowman showed up and asked Santos Escobar where
Melo was. Angel pointed Strowman in a direction and Strowman
ran into Pretty Deadly. Hayes then attacked Strowman with a
chair and took Strowman out, but Strowman got up and kept
walking with his mad face on.
Johnny Gargano defeated Alex Shelley [10:03 of TV time]
As I write this, we are about 20 minutes from this episode
of SmackDown concluding and this has to be the most
uninspired WWE television show of 2024, tape delay or not.
My goodness. This match was weirdly uninteresting. Two very
good wrestlers combining for a cold-as-ice bout that never
clicked into any gear – not just the often-referenced “next
gear,” but any gear at all. The whole thing was
disappointing at best. The #DIY/MCMG thing just isn’t
working and someone somewhere needs to figure out how to get
both teams in a different direction.
Shelley backed Gargano into a corner and pounded on him
until Gargano worked his way out and chopped Shelley.
Gargano ran towards Shelley, but Shelley moved and gained
control. It didn’t last for long because Gargano came right
back and stomped on Shelley. The pace, early on at least,
was slower than expected. With Gargano on the apron, Shelley
hit a neck-breaker and then kicked Gargano in the head.
Shelley followed that up with a running knee outside the
ring. The show then went to a commercial break.
Back from the break, Gargano had control back inside the
ring. Gargano went for a slingshot spear, but Shelley got
his leg up and kicked Gargano. The two then traded chops.
Shelley went for an arm bar, but Gargano countered into a
roll-up for a two-count. Shelley planted Gargano and went
back to work on Gargano’s arm. Shelley then chopped Gargano
repeatedly. Gargano came back and kicked Shelley twice
before running Shelley’s head into the second turnbuckle for
a two-count.
Gargano went for a Gargano Escape, but Shelley got to his
feet and before long, planted Gargano face-first into the
second turnbuckle. Shelley went to the top, but Ciampa
showed up and distracted Shelley. Sabin walked out and
chased Ciampa away. In the meantime, Shelley hit a cross-
body from the top, but Gargano rolled through and held
Shelley’s tights to get the win.
**********
– Saxton interviewed Belair and Naomi guerrilla position.
Naomi said she has Belair’s back forever and she said she
knows how important the tag belts are to Belair and Cargill
and she’d do everything in her power to make sure they win.
Naomi then made her entrance for the main event.
Naomi & Bianca Belair defeated Nia Jax & Candice LeRae to
retain the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship [11:05]
I don’t know what was up with Jax appearing to be busted all
types of open near the end of the match because right before
the show ended, we saw Jax again and there was barely any
blood to be found, but that looked nasty for a second.
Either way, this was a pedestrian main event on a less-than-
pedestrian SmackDown. I don’t mind taped shows, but this
felt so much like everyone was mailing it in on the basis of
the holidays that these two hours were a hard watch. I guess
this means Naomi is officially a world tag team champion
now, so it should be interesting to see what happens when
Cargill rejoins the conversation. For now, this was a
completely missable episode of SmackDown. Driving around to
look at Christmas lights never felt more appealing.
Belair and LeRae began the match and Belair threw LeRae
across the ring. Belair then lifted LeRae, but LeRae got out
of it and tagged in Jax. Belair worked a headlock and then
kicked Jax. Naomi tagged in and Naomi landed the split
splash on Jax while Belair hit her moonsault on Jax. That
was good enough for a two-count. Jax almost instantly got up
and took Naomi out. From there, the show went to a
commercial break.
The show returned and Belair had control until Jax tagged in
and hit a Samoan Drop on Belair for a two-count. Jax went to
work on Belair’s back. Belair ran at Jax, but Jax moved and
Belair hit the ring post. Jax worked on Belair’s neck, but
Belair fought out of it, but Jax kept Belair cut off from
Naomi. LeRae tagged in and hit a missile dropkick on Belair
before following that up with a Senton off Jax’s back. All
of that earned LeRae a two-count.
Jax tagged back in and grabbed Belair’s braid. Belair
somehow wiggled away from Jax and LeRae after there was some
miscommunication amongst the heels and Naomi received the
hot tag. Naomi hit an X-Factor on Jax for a two-count. Jax
ran at Naomi, but Naomi moved and Jax hit the ring post.
Naomi tried a split-legged moonsault, but Jax moved and set
up for her finisher, but Naomi got up and hit a powerbomb on
Jax, whose head was super busted open. Belair landed a 360
splash on Jax, but only got a two-count.
Stratton appeared and walked down to ringside. LeRae hit a
Tornado DDT on Belair, but Naomi saved a pin attempt. Jax
jawed at the referee, so the ref didn’t see the tag between
Naomi and Belair. Jax grabbed the MITB briefcase from
Stratton, but the ref stopped Jax from using it. Back in the
ring, Naomi hit the split-legged moonsault on LeRae to get
the win. After the match, Belair officially handed Naomi her
tag title and the babyfaces posed in the middle of the ring.
They then posed on the second rope with their belts as the
show went off the air.
