– Michael Cole welcomed everyone into the show as footage of
Phoenix aired. Cole then threw to last week’s developments
regarding Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens. Afterwards, Cody made
his entrance inside the arena. He was dressed in a suit.
The Cody Rhodes promo
This was pretty good. Cody continues to show good fire in
his program with Owens and I get a kick out of both Owens
and McIntyre never really being wrong in their logic for why
they have issues with the babyfaces. That said, it felt like
McIntyre’s words here were dripping in foreshadowing and I
think that extends beyond the attack Owens showed up to
execute, so it should be compelling to see how things play
out between Drew and Cody over the coming weeks. Speaking of
weeks, with four of them left until the Royal Rumble, I
wonder how they’re going to stretch out Owens and Cody
beyond simple pull-aparts each week. In some ways, it’s
already a bit stale, considering how much those two worked
with each other in 2024. It’d be nice if they found a way to
freshen things up going into their ladder match.
Cody took in a bunch of cheers and then shouted “Phoenix”
before saying they all want to talk about the same thing. He
said WWE is on the cusp of changing everything and it starts
tonight by SmackDown going three hours. Cody referenced Raw
going to Netflix and said his excitement was tempered
because he cannot be involved because he is not cleared to
wrestle because of Kevin Owens. Cody noted that management
was concerned about him even being there at all, but at the
Royal Rumble, he will compete with Owens in a ladder match.
Drew McIntyre’s music then hit and McIntyre walked out
through the main entrance.
McIntyre took his time stepping into the ring, but he got
there. McIntyre stepped towards Cody and … hugged Cody. Cody
looked confused. McIntyre said he wasn’t there to hurt Cody;
he was there to help Cody. McIntyre said Cody is about to
screw up his entire life’s work and Drew is looking out for
him. McIntyre said right now is the best generation of
wrestlers WWE has ever had and Cody is the quarterback of it
all. McIntyre noted how he knows what it’s like to want to
compete, but management won’t let that happen. McIntyre said
he can see that Cody needs a friend and Cody interrupted
McIntyre.
Cody asked Drew if he wanted to help him and Drew said yes –
because he always tells the truth. Cody said he and McIntyre
are kindred spirits in the way they left WWE and came back
for success. Cody listed off other ways they are the same,
but essentially said it didn’t matter because Cody said he
didn’t believe McIntyre. Cody then invited McIntyre to “come
and get it.” McIntyre said he was telling Cody the truth
again – he wasn’t there to hurt Cody; he was there to help
Cody. Drew stepped out on the apron and told Cody he needed
to watch his back. McIntyre stepped off the apron and Owens
attacked Cody from behind. McIntyre slowly walked to the
back.
Owens and Cody brawled in the ring and Cody briefly had
control. Officials ran out to separate the two and Cody
broke away to leap at Owens. Owens found himself on the
outside of the ring and the two jawed at each other from
afar. Owens was pushed back up the entranceway by the
officials. Cody sold head pain in the ring as he scowled at
Owens. Cody’s music hit to end things.
**********
– The Bloodline was shown arriving to the building earlier
in the day. Naomi and Bianca Belair got the same treatment.
Ditto for Nia Jax and Andrade.
Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Andrade [8:48]
It was nice to see the crowd rally behind this match by the
time these two went to the finish. As for the body of the
bout, it was fine enough. I’m not too much of a fan of
Andrade continuously taking losses, but I’ve been whining
about that for long enough in this space now that I should
probably stop. I like the freshened up Nakamura a little
more each time I see him. His entrance is plodding, but
effective and even the face paint kind of/sort of works.
This was nothing near the level of some of their matches
years ago, but a solid TV match is a solid TV match and
there’s nothing wrong with that.
Nakamura went at Andrade to begin the match, but Andrade
rebounded quickly and hit a moonsault onto Nakamura, who was
on the outside, about 40 seconds into the match, the show
went to a commercial break. The show returned and Andrade
was working a comeback, including a leaping elbow. Andrade
fired up the crowd, but ran into a knee from Nakamura. With
Andrade draped over the second rope, Nakamura landed a
German Suplex before heading to the top and hitting a knee
to Andrade’s head. Nakamura then ripped off the top
turnbuckle covering.
Andrade dropkicked Nakamura into the exposed buckle and
followed it up with a Meteora, which earned Andrade a two-
count. Andrade went to the top and landed his double miss-
then-make moonsault for a good near-fall. Andrade set up for
The Message, but Nakamura countered … only for Andrade to
land a spinning back elbow for a very good near-fall that
actually looked like it should have been a three count.
Andrade placed Nakamura on the top rope, but Nakamura
blocked a super-plex attempt and slammed Andrade’s head on
top of the ring post. Nakamura hit the Kinshasa from there
and got the win.
Almost instantly after Nakamura was announced as the winner,
LA Knight’s music hit and Knight pounded on Nakamura. Knight
went for a BFT, but Nakamura escaped and walked away. Knight
grabbed a microphone and said one way or another, he will
collect what’s owed to him, which is the U.S. title. Knight
then did his catchphrase to end the post-match shenanigans.
**********
– Apollo Crews were walking backstage and ran into Pretty
Deadly. Santos Escobar showed up with Legado Del Fantasma
and accused Pretty Deadly of lying to his faction. Los Garza
then half-attacked Pretty Deadly before Nick Aldis showed up
and broke things up. Aldis then told Pretty Deadly they
needed to have a chat.
– Aldis was shown talking to Pretty Deadly after a
commercial break and asked about who attacked the Street
Profits. #DIY showed up and Aldis said all four wrestlers
were on thin ice. #DIY told Pretty Deadly that it’s
important they leave Phoenix as tag champs later tonight.
Gargano then said “Yes, boy,” and the Pretty Deadly duo were
excited.
Michin defeated Piper Niven [6:57]
A seven minute match that lost nearly three minutes to
commercials. Add all the hours you want, WWE; some things
will never change. This was fine for what it was and I don’t
really have an issue with them running things back between
Green and Michin. I don’t know how you top a Dumpster Match,
if you go a stipulation route between the two, but maybe the
booking minds have something good in mind.
Michin ran at Niven to start the match, but Niven caught her
and ran Michin into a corner. Michin came back and took
Niven down on the outside of the ring. Things were going
well for Michin until Niven caught her and hit a sidewalk
slam before the show went to a commercial break. The show
returned and Michin had control after landing a Bulldog.
Michin went for Eat Defeat, but Niven countered and went for
a Cannonball, but Michin moved and hit one of her own.
Michin saluted Chelsea Green mockingly and hit a Pele Kick
on Niven for a two-count.
Michin went to the top, but Niven moved and landed a Piper
Driver on Michin for a two-count. Niven set up for a Vader
Bomb, but Michin got her feet up. Michin followed that up
Eat Defeat and got the win.
**********
– Paul Heyman was shown entering the arena as the show went
to break.
– A Naomi vignette aired when the program returned.
The Paul Heyman/Bloodline segment
This was a good go-home segment for the Tribal Combat match
on Monday, especially if Roman was never going to show up. I
also like touch that had Sikoa never get physical with
Heyman. Does that mean Heyman might be in cahoots with Sikoa
and his version of the Bloodline now? Probably not, but I’d
be lying if I said it doesn’t feel like a swerve is coming
one way or another on Monday. Also: Man, this show missed
Paul Heyman. He makes good things great and great things
can’t-miss. I don’t know why they didn’t advertise his
appearance beforehand. Makes you wonder if a Reigns
appearance might have been in play up until the final
minutes. Then again, there is more Bloodline later on in the
show.
Heyman walked into the ring and did his “Ladies and
gentlemen …” thing. Heyman said he wanted to set something
straight – on Monday, they will find out who is the real
Tribal Chief. Heyman said Roman Reigns and Heyman trained
Solo Sikoa to become the next Tribal Chief – but not right
now. Heyman then recalled everything that happened at
WrestleMania 40 and said Sikoa sized the moment and stole
the Ula Fala from Reigns’s bag. Heyman called Sikoa a
“twisted son of a b#@!.”
Heyman said Sikoa went out and found a band of filthy
animals who don’t belong in pro wrestling. He said Tama
Tonga and Tonga Loa, who aren’t welcome in the United States
and cited Jacob Fatu as someone who isn’t even welcome in
the United States prison system. Heyman said on Monday,
there must be a winner and there must be a loser. Heyman
said the only Tribal Chief Roman Reigns will win on Monday.
Heyman started to walk out of the ring and Sikoa’s music
hit. Out came Sikoa, who was alone.
Sikoa stood across from Heyman in the ring and the crowd
chanted “OTC!” Heyman said he was about 10 seconds away from
pissing in his pants because the last time they did what
they were doing, Sikoa had Heyman put through a table. Sikoa
put out his hand for Heyman’s microphone and Heyman gave
Sikoa the mic. “Solo sucks!” chants began. Sikoa told
Phoenix, Arizona to acknowledge him and the boos broke out.
Sikoa said it was time for Heyman to come to terms with the
truth. Sikoa said Heyman owes CM Punk a favor and now Sikoa
was asking Heyman for a favor – to hold the Ula Fala during
Monday’s Tribal Combat match. Sikoa said if Roman wins,
Heyman will put the Ula Fala around Roman’s neck and Sikoa
will acknowledge Roman as the Tribal Chief. However, Sikoa
said when he beats Roman – and he will – Heyman will have to
put the Ula Fala around Sikoa’s neck and that will mean he
owns Heyman and Heyman will be Sikoa’s Wise Man forever. At
that point, Sikoa said, Roman will have no choice but to
finally acknowledge him.
Heyman received the microphone back from Sikoa and Heyman
laid the microphone down in the mat before leaving the ring.
Sikoa’s music hit to end the segment.
**********
#DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) fought Motor City
Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley) to a no-contest
for the WWE Tag Team Championship [10:52]
The was perhaps the best MCMG WWE TV match thus far and the
crowd responded as such. That’s promising because as I’ve
been saying for the last couple weeks in this space, Shelley
and Sabin simply have not been able to find a crowd to give
a hoot about them when they make their SmackDown entrances.
This was a step in the right direction. I don’t mind the
copout finish – this was a tag title match that wasn’t even
advertised ahead of time – but I say that only with the
caveat that these two teams get more time somewhere down the
line and can truly have an opportunity to move a live crowd,
which it felt like they were about to do here. The other end
of that? Please don’t make this a four-way ordeal that
includes Pretty Deadly and Angel and Berto.
Ciampa and Sabin started the match. Sabin quickly gained the
upper hand with an arm drag. Shelley tagged in and MCMG
kicked Gargano to the outside. Sabin tagged in and MCMG
landed a double clothesline on Ciampa. While running the
ropes, Gargano tagged himself in and that led to Ciampa and
Gargano being on the outside. Sabin leapt through Shelley’s
legs and hit a suicide dive on Gargano and Ciampa. The show
then went to a commercial break.
The show returned and the heels were on the offensive until
Ciampa ran into a leaping kick from Sabin. Shelley received
the hot tag and Gargano tagged in as well. Shelley landed a
neck-breaker on Gargano for a two-count. Sabin tagged in the
two hit stereo splashes on Ciampa and Gargano, who were on
the outside. Back in the ring, Shelley tagged in and MCMG
worked a series of double-team moves on Gargano before a pin
attempt that Ciampa broke up.
Sabin and Ciampa traded strikes in the middle of the ring.
Lots and lots of super-kicks were had by everyone all four
wrestlers were down in the middle of the ring. Ciampa and
Shelley wound up being the legal men and Ciampa chopped the
hell out of Shelley. Shelley returned the favor. Sabin
tagged in and MCMG landed a fury of double-team moves on
Ciampa. MCMG went for Skull And Bones, but Pretty Deadly ran
out and distracted MCMG. #DIY took advantage and it looked
like Gargano was going to get the win after a super-kick,
but Shelley kicked out at the last tenth of a second. Los
Garza ran out to chase Pretty Deadly away and right as MCMG
looked as though they might win, the brawl between Pretty
Deadly and Los Garza spilled into the ring and that ended
the match.
**********
– Nia Jax and Candice LeRae were talking in the locker room
and Jax wondered where Tiffany Stratton was. Jax then told
LeRae to make sure Bianca Belair doesn’t interfere in her
match later.
– Sami Zayn was walking backstage and ran into Carmelo
Hayes. Zayn talked about how Melo ran away last week and
Melo said Zayn could “get this work.” Jey and Jimmy Uso
showed up and asked Melo if they have a problem. Melo kind
of pouted and left. Zayn walked away to get ready for the
main event and the Usos ran into Kevin Owens, who told the
Usos they need to watch their backs.
– Cody was walking backstage and Aldis walked up to him.
Aldis said Cody seems like he’s hellbent on not making it to
the Royal Rumble. Aldis pleaded with Cody to think about his
future. Aldis said if Cody won’t do that, Aldis will do that
for Cody. Cody said Aldis is the boss, but Cody is the
champ, and because of that, he deserves the ability to call
his shot. Cody said if he sees Kevin Owens or anyone who
looks like Kevin Owens, he will “drop them on site.”
Nia Jax defeated Naomi to retain the WWE Women’s
Championship [19:32]
Naomi started quick with a pair of kicks. Naomi went for
Jax’s legs, but Jax rebounded and toyed with Naomi as a
response until a drop-toe-hold took Jax down. Naomi was on
the apron and Naomi kicked Jax in the head, but Jax came
back with a headbutt that took Naomi to the floor. Jax posed
in the ring and the show went to a commercial break.
The show returned and Naomi got caught only to be slammed by
Jax for a two-count. Naomi tried to fight back, but Jax cut
her off with a bodyslam and an elbow drop for a two-count.
Jax worked a rear chin-lock and that was broken up when Jax
ran Naomi into the ring post. Jax crushed Naomi’s head
against the ring post and a two-count from Jax came after
that. Jax lifted Naomi, but Naomi rolled into a sunset flip
and a pin attempt. Jax hopped up and clotheslined Naomi.
Jax set up for her finisher, but Naomi kicked Jax’s leg and
followed that up with a double-stomp and her split-leg-drop
for a two-count. Jax ran at Naomi, but Naomi moved and Jax
ran into the ring post. Jax found herself on the outside and
Naomi landed a suicide dive before rolling Jax back into the
ring. Naomi landed a series of double axe-handles. Naomi hit
an enziguri and an impressive Samoan Drop for a good near-
fall.
Naomi set up for a split-legged moonsault, but Jax cut Naomi
off and put her in a Tree Of Woe. From there, Jax hit a leg
drop from the second rope for a good near-fall. Jax set up
for her finisher again, but Naomi pulled Jax off the ropes
and landed a Tornado DDT for another good near-fall. Naomi
planted Jax with a draping DDT for another good near-fall.
The show then actually went to yet another commercial break
at about the 13-minute mark of the match.
The show came back and Naomi landed a Blockbuster for a two-
count. Out of nowhere, Naomi slammed Jax for a great near-
fall. Belair and LeRae started brawling on the outside of
the ring while Naomi went for a submission. Jax broke it and
threw a tag title at Belair to break up the outside brawl.
Jax went to the second rope and Naomi cut her off … until
Jax countered with an attempted powerslam from the second
rope, but Naomi countered that with a slam of her own.
Tiffany Stratton’s music hit and Stratton finally looked
like she was going to cash in, but instead, Stratton hit
Naomi in the head with her briefcase. After that help from
Stratton, Jax hit her finisher on Naomi and got the win.
Tiffany Stratton defeated Nia Jax to become the new WWE
Women’s Champion [0:04]
Finally. It felt like it was coming tonight, and I hoped it
was coming tonight, and the crowd hoped it was coming
tonight, and damn it, if they would have ended the segment
with Stratton simply helping Jax retain, every single viewer
on television and in the arena would have screamed about how
this whole story jumped the shark … but it didn’t. I loved
it. The crowd loved it. Actually, I loved everything about
this, including the match between Naomi and Jax, who had
another really good wrestling match before all the MITB
stuff. Better yet, they were given almost 20 minutes, so for
those of us not all that happy that SmackDown added an hour
to its programming, the ability to give matches like this
almost 20 minutes is a fruitful tradeoff. Naomi and Jax
worked their asses off. If you watch one thing from this
episode, it’d be this match. The Heyman promo is a strong
No. 2, to boot. Really good stuff here. It’s fun when
SmackDown gets fun, and that doesn’t happen as much as it
used to these days. Kudos to everyone involved.
After the match, Jax tried to attack Belair and Stratton hit
Jax with her briefcase to an enormous pop. Belair hit a KOD
on Jax and Stratton threw Belair over the commentary table.
Stratton then officially cashed in with Jax out. Stratton
hit the Prettiest Moonsault Ever and within four seconds,
Stratton was your new WWE Women’s Champion. The crowd went
nuts.
**********
– A vignette setting up the Bloodline match on Monday aired.
– The Bloodline was shown walking backstage and Jacob Fatu
kept screaming “I love you, Solo!” Fatu said he was going to
show the world what happens when the world doesn’t
acknowledge the one and only Tribal Chief. Sikoa’s music hit
and the trio walked to the ring for the main event with
about 35 minutes left in the program.
– Byron Saxton caught up with LA Knight backstage. Knight
said he was talking to Nick Aldis about why he attacked
Nakamura. Knight said he returned the favor when it came to
how Nakamura attacked Knight every week before their U.S.
title match last year. Knight then announced that next week,
he will take on Nakamura for the United States Championship.
– The Usos and Sami Zayn made their way through the
concessions stands and the crowd to make their entrances for
the main event.
The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu & Tama Tonga) defeated
Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso & Sami Zayn [22:37]
The outcome was predictable, if only because Sikoa is the
one going into a Very Important Match at WWE’s next Very
Important Event. But that didn’t take anything away from the
finish, which I thought was kind of clever, with Jey
thinking he had the thing won and Sikoa using the Spike to
get the victory. I probably could have done without the
McIntyre appearance near the end, but lest we forget: Raw on
Netflix is coming and he has a match with Jey Uso. Anything
over 20 minutes felt like a bit too much here, especially
with the extended entrance from the babyface team, and
because of that, it felt like this would have probably been
a better dark match, but who am I to judge. In all, a fine-
enough main event (though Tiffy’s cash in would have
probably made for a better moment to end the show, if we’re
being honest). Three hours, eh? We’ll see.
All six men stood in the ring and brawled immediately to
start the match. Sikoa and his Bloodline found themselves on
the outside of the ring and the show went to a break. Back
from the break, Jey worked Fatu’s arm until Tonga was tagged
in. Jey and Tonga locked up and Tonga got the best of Jey at
first. Jey came back by whipping Tonga into a corner and
Zayn tagged in to hit a double axe-handle from the second
rope on Tonga. Jimmy tagged in and kept control for the
babyfaces until Sikoa interfered and whipped Jimmy’s neck
across the top rope.
Sikoa tagged in and worked over Jimmy. Before long, Jimmy
got the upper hand and tagged in Zayn, who fired up against
Sikoa, complete with a clothesline. Zayn came off the middle
rope, but Sikoa caught Zayn and hit Zayn with a Spinning
Solo. The show then went to a commercial break. Back from
the break, Sikoa hit a Samoan Drop on Zayn. Zayn fired back
with a chop, but Sikoa came back with a chop of his own.
Tonga tagged in and worked a wild ground and pound on Zayn.
Fatu tagged in and landed a hip attack on Zayn. Sikoa tagged
in and headbutted Zayn. It wasn’t long before Zayn hit a
Blue Thunder Bomb on Sikoa, out of nowhere, and got the hot
tag to Jey. Tonga tagged in as well, but Jey controlled
Tonga with kicks, punches and chops. Jimmy tagged in and the
Usos hit stereo enziguris. Jimmy and Jey then faced Fatu,
who was clotheslined over the top rope. Jey hit a pop-up
neck-breaker on Tonga for a good near-fall.
A brawl broke out on the outside of the ring while Tonga
DDT’d Jey for a near-fall inside the ring. Fatu tagged in,
but Jey super-kicked him and tagged in Zayn, who tagged in
Jimmy. Jey, Jimmy and Sami hit hip attacks on Fatu and Zayn
and Jey landed suicide dives on Tonga and Sikoa. Jimmy,
inside the ring, hit an Uso Splash on Fatu for a two-count.
Fatu super-kicked Jimmy and went to the top, where Fatu hit
a splash and a moonsault on Jimmy, but Zayn broke up a pin
attempt.
Fatu threw Zayn over the top rope and set up Jimmy for
something, but Jimmy ran Fatu into a corner. Jey tagged in
and Jimmy and Jey hit a double super-kick for a two-count.
Drew McIntyre then walked out with no music or anything of
the like. Jey was distracted before he hit a suicide dive on
McIntyre. Jey went to the top, but missed a splash on Fatu.
Fatu followed that up with a pop-up Samoan Drop for a nice
near-fall. Sikoa tagged in and Jey super-kicked Sikoa. Jey
speared Fatu, but Fatu wasn’t the legal man. After Jey hit a
splash and went for a pin, Sikoa returned to the ring and
hit the Samoan Spike on Jey for the win.
The show ended with a rundown of the Raw on Netflix card and
The Bloodline standing tall in the ring.
