LA Knight defeated Andrade to retain the United States
Championship [17:10]
That post-match thing was odd. Knight seemed genuinely
miffed, but it could have been because he slipped on the
ropes a couple times as the match went to the finish. The
commentary team did a good job covering up for it, but it
looked like Knight didn’t feel like Andrade was blameless.
Interesting. This was one of the best LA Knight matches in a
long time and I have to think that has a lot to do with
Andrade being the one standing opposite Knight. It’s rare
you see an LA Knight match go longer than 15 minutes on
television, but this one did and it worked – actually, it
worked much better than I anticipated it would. Even better:
No Carmelo Hayes interference. I wonder if that means he’s
done with Andrade for good, for real, for real. I hope not.
Andrade stuck out his hand for a handshake to start the
match and Knight shook it. Knight when for an inside cradle
early and got a one-count. Both guys went for their
finishers less than a minute into things, and both got out
of the attempts. The show then went to a commercial break.
Back from the break, the two were trading strikes inside the
ring. Andrade landed a few loud chops and went to the top to
hit a cross-body for a two-count. Andrade then worked a
head-lock to slow things down.
Andrade ran the ropes, which eventually ended with Andrade
running into an elbow from Knight. Action spilled outside
and Knight slammed Andrade’s head off the commentary table
repeatedly. Andrade found himself back in the ring and
Knight hit a slingshot shoulder block for a two-count. The
two fought on the apron and Andrade ran Knight into the ring
post to take control. Andrade went to the top and actually
landed a moonsault onto Knight from the corner top onto the
outside. The show then went to another break.
Back from that break, Knight and Andrade collided in the
middle of the ring to reset things. Andrade got to his feet
first and played to the crowd, which was a mixed bag.
Andrade went for a double-knees, but Knight moved and
followed up with a DDT, which was good enough for a two-
count. Knight stomped on Andrade in a corner, which led to a
running knee from Knight. Knight hit a neck-breaker for a
good near-fall. Knight lifted Andrade and put him on the top
turnbuckle as the crowd chanted “This is awesome!”
Andrade elbowed Knight off the top rope and that led to the
missed-moonsault-into-a-standing-moonsault spot (and it
looked a lot closer to disaster than normal). Andrade then
landed a double-knees in the corner, but Knight kicked out.
Andrade ran at Knight, but Knight caught him and hit a
powerslam, followed by an elbow from the top rope. Knight
went for a BFT, but Andrade countered into a roll-up for a
two-count and then hit a wild spinning back elbow for a
great near-fall. The two battled on the top and Knight
slipped twice, which led to an attempted dropkick from the
top via Andrade, but Knight moved and hit a BFT for the win.
Knight stood up and was bleeding from the eyebrow. The two
had a weird exchange after the match, with Andrade wanting
to shake Knight’s hand, but Knight wouldn’t open his hand.
Andrade raised Knight’s arm and Knight looked angry to close
the segment.
**********
– Tiffany Stratton was talking to Nia Jax backstage and she
said it would be so good to never see Bayley or Naomi on
SmackDown again. Jax said if Stratton loses, it might be a
good idea if Stratton leaves SmackDown.
– Andrade and Melo were talking backstage and Melo said
Andrade choked harder than the Kings did against the Lakers
some years back (he wasn’t entirely wrong). It quickly
escalated and the two had a nice backstage brawl.
The Cody Rhodes/Roman Reigns confrontation
I … I … I don’t know. This wasn’t for me. Not on a pro
wrestling show. I understand it – production is great, drama
is there, it looks like a movie, blah, blah, and blah. I
could have done without it because I like my pro wrestling
with a side of grit. Now, with that said: This was great in
terms of explaining how and why these two will team
together. Cody wanted Roman’s word that he would stand by
him, considering they are going into battle against Roman’s
family, and that was a key aspect to this story that needed
to be explained. So, in that way, this worked better than a
standard opening SmackDown promo segment that would have
felt too normal. That said, mission accomplished. The shiny
excess, though? Not for this viewer.
The walkup looked like a scene from “Love Is Blind.” A ton
of black SUVs pulled up to the Georgia Tech football
stadium. Reigns got out of one of them and walked to the 50-
yard line. A single white car pulled into the stadium and
Cody hopped out of it from the driver’s seat. Cody walked to
the 50-yard line as well. Roman talked first and told Cody
that everyone Cody saw was Roman’s. Reigns then followed
that up by saying it’s his field and his stadium and his
city. Reigns asked Cody what he has done for Roman’s city.
Cody noted how Center Stage and The Omni were in Atlanta and
multiple generations of his family have bled for the city.
Cody said it might be Roman’s field, but it is Cody’s home.
Roman grinned and said, “That’s very good. This is your
home.” Roman told Cody that he signed himself into a
lose/lose situation because Cody has everything to lose and
he’s dealing with people who have nothing to lose. Roman
recalled all the bad things The Bloodline did to Roman and
Roman said he has nothing to lose because they took
everything him from. Roman said he was a man with no
country.
Cody responded by saying that Roman is a chief without a
tribe. Cody said they took Jimmy, his Wise Man and the Ula
Falla. Cody asked Roman to take a good look around WWE
because WWE has a Tribal Chief and a champion and neither of
those things are Roman Reigns. Cody essentially said Roman
is a shell of himself. Roman looked shook and asked Cody
what he wanted. Cody said he wanted Roman’s word that Roman
will have his back so Cody can have Roman’s. Roman gave Cody
his word. Roman said he’d have Cody’s back, but after it’s
done, Roman will take back what’s his – the Undisputed WWE
Championship. Cody said it wasn’t Roman’s to take. Roman
told Cody he was in his way. Cody moved and Roman said Cody
was in his way … in life. Roman then walked away.
Kevin Owens was shown watching the video backstage. Byron
Saxton walked up and asked Owens what he thought. Owens just
walked away.
**********
Apollo Crews defeated Giovanni Vinci [1:35]
I don’t really know that I’m a fan of whatever gimmick this
is supposed to be. If anything, this is getting Crews over …
right? I thought WWE did a good job of building Vinci’s
debut up and making him feel like a big deal. The first loss
put him in joke territory and this second loss throws him
into mid-card hell. I don’t know what’s next, but you have
to think he eventually gets a win. At this point, so what?
Crews’s entrance was not televised. Vinci’s entrance,
meanwhile, was, indeed televised. As for the revolution …
OK, sorry. Anyway, the bell rang and nobody won right away,
so we didn’t get a repeat of their fist match. Instead,
Vinci attacked Crews with a series of chops and slaps. Vinci
worked a ground-and-pound and weirdly threw Crews into the
ropes repeatedly. Vinci lifted Crews, but Crews wiggled out
and rolled up Vinci for the win yet again. After the match,
Vinci attacked Crews and hit a brain-buster. Vinci then
jawed at Crews and left the ring.
**********
– Saxton walked up to Owens again backstage and asked Owens
what he thought. Owens said he’d rather talk about it in the
ring and walked to the ring as the show went to break.
The Kevin Owens segment
There wasn’t much to this, though I do wonder where Sikoa
(and for that matter, Roman) is tonight. I could do without
the impromptu booking, which has been run into the ground in
WWE Land, but it should be a serviceable main event. In the
meantime, Owens feels like he’s spinning his wheels a bit in
these random roles that aren’t necessarily random, but they
aren’t necessarily fresh, either. With all the contract
chatter surrounding him lately, it does make you wonder what
his immediate future might look like.
Owens said he’s aware that people wonder what he thinks of
the situation between Cody and Roman. Owens said he has to
be honest … but then Tama Tonga’s music hit and Tama Tonga,
Tonga Loa and Jacob Fatu walked out – sans Solo Sikoa. Tonga
received a ton of boos and said last week, Cody and Roman
embarrassed Sikoa last week and that was a big mistake.
Tonga said Cody and Roman will get what’s coming to them at
Bad Blood, but tonight, Owens will get what he has coming by
orders of the real Tribal Chief, Solo Sikoa.
Owens invited everyone into the ring and ultimately faced
off with Jacob Fatu. The Bloodline put the boots to Owens
until #DIY ran out for the save, complete with a Shatter
Machine on Tonga. Nick Aldis then walked out with a
microphone and a bunch of security guys. The ring was filled
with security and Aldis said he was sick and tired of
everyone fighting each other when there isn’t a bell
ringing. Aldis said he noticed there were three heels and
three babyfaces and as such, a six-man tag match was booked
for the main event.
**********
– Bayley and Naomi were talking backstage and Bayley said
they have a common goal of getting the belt off Nia. Naomi
said when she wins, Bayley will be the first with a title
opportunity.
Naomi & Bayley defeated Nia Jax & Tiffany Stratton [11:05]
Well, it appears a triple threat is coming. The tiny moment
between Naomi and Bayley was fun, but outside of that, this
was a pretty standard tornado tag by WWE standards. Stratton
accidentally hitting a Swanton on Jax only furthers their
will they/won’t they story, and that’s fine, but I’m about
two weeks away from that whole thing running my patience
thin. This means Jax leaves SmackDown forever, right? I’m
joking, but that would create a neat wrinkle.
The match opened with the heels taking control until Naomi
and Bayley came back with some splashes. The heels quickly
regained the upper hand and the show went to a commercial
break. Back from that break, the action spilled to the
outside and Jax threw Naomi over the barricade. Jax tried to
do the same to Bayley, but Bayley got out of it and pushed
Jax into a Naomi kick. Bayley hit a suicide dive on Jax and
Naomi landed a cross-body on Stratton on the outside.
The action returned to the ring and Stratton clotheslined
Naomi. It worked until Bayley hit Stratton with a suplex and
went for a pin, but Naomi broke up the pin, so the babyfaces
had a moment of discord. Naomi and Bayley made up and landed
a double back-drop on Jax. Jax came right back and took down
Naomi before going for her finish, but Bayley came over and
cut Jax off. Stratton got involved, but that only led to a
stereo elbow/leg drop from Naomi and Bayley on Stratton and
Jax. Naomi and Stratton were working on the top rope, but it
led to an X-Factor from Naomi on Jax. Stratton then
accidentally hit a Swanton on Jax.
Bayley and Naomi hit a 1-D on Stratton. All of this was
enough for Jax to gain her energy back. From there, Bayley
and Naomi countered something from Jax and subsequently
pinned Jax at the same time. As such, they won the match
simultaneously. Jax looked shocked as the show went to a
commercial break.
**********
– A Chelsea Green vignette aired and it featured Green
taking the literal trash out. Green then beat up a mannequin
with Michin’s face taped onto the top of it. Green was
ostensibly training for a dumpster match with Michin, which
was set up last week. Turns out, the match will happen in
Nashville in two weeks. As for next week, Melo and Andrade
will have their sixth match in the series.
– Naomi and Bayley were talking to Nick Aldis in his office.
Aldis said the solution to the finish of their match will be
that next week, Naomi and Bayley will face each other. The
winner will take on Jax for the WWE Women’s Championship.
– Kevin Owens made his entrance for the main event, but
video of #DIY being beat up backstage was shown. The
Bloodline then came out and attacked Owens. From there, the
Street Profits’ music hit and the Profits ran to ringside
for the save. Owens landed a Swanton on everybody on the
outside. It looked like Owens and the Profits would take on
the responsibility of the six-man tag after a commercial
break.
The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) & Kevin
Owens fought The Bloodline (Jaco Fatu, Tama Tonga & Tonga
Loa) to an apparent no-contest [14:49]
I’m not sure why #DIY was taken out of the match … only to
have the Profits replace them … only to have #DIY run out
for the save after the match … only for #DIY to quickly be
dispensed. I also don’t quite know why the referee calls it
all off after someone is thrown into the steps, which
happens routinely in WWE every week on television. But. If
you can get past all that, I suppose, this was fine.
SmackDown has become extremely formulaic anymore and this
six-man tag was the epitome of that. At some point, this
show has to get out of its rut, but my fear is if it does
actually move to three hours next year … well, that’s going
to be a tough ask. For now, outside of Roman and Cody (and
perhaps Andrade and Melo, though that clearly has a shelf
life), SmackDown is an increasingly tough watch. Not very
compelling. Not very different. Not very interesting. That
said, on to next week.
Owens and Loa started the match and Owens got the better of
it. Dawkins tagged in and got his strikes in before Ford
tagged in and worked over Loa. Dawkins came back in and kept
up the offense. Owens followed that up with a tag in and a
clothesline and a two-count. Ford tagged in and stomped on
Loa as the crowd chanted “OTC!” Eventually Loa was able to
tag in Fatu and Fatu quickly gained control over Ford. Tonga
tagged in and landed a springboard splash onto Ford. Tonga
hit a sliding clothesline on Ford for a two-count. Fatu
tagged back in and landed a running elbow on Ford, but
missed a hip attack.
Dawkins tagged in and fired things up, hitting a leaping
back elbow and hitting the rest of the Bloodline … until
Dawkins ran into a super-kick from Fatu. Fatu followed it up
with a moonsault and the show went to a commercial break.
Back from the break, Tonga covered Dawkins for a two-count.
Tonga eventually leapt at Dawkins, but Dawkins caught him
and suplexed Tonga. Fatu tagged in and cut off Dawkins,
whipping Dawkins into a turnbuckle. Fatu ran at Dawkins, but
Dawkins countered with a leaping kick. Fatu jumped at
Dawkins and Dawkins moved, ultimately getting the hot tag to
Ford.
Tonga tagged in and Ford hit a series of moves, complete
with a step-up knee and a standing moonsault, for a two-
count. Owens tagged in and immediately ran around the ring
outside of it, clotheslining everyone in the Bloodline and
hitting a Frog Splash on Loa from the apron. Back in the
ring, Owens hit a Cannonaball and Swanton on Tonga for a
good near-fall. Owens went to the top and Tonga cut Owens
off. Tonga went for a super-plex, but Owens countered with
his usual counter suplex. A pin attempt was broken up via
Loa. Owens hit a Stunner on Tonga, but Loa pulled Owens off
Tonga and for whatever reason, the ref rang the bell to end
the match.
After the match, Ford landed a flip dive on The Bloodline
and pumped up the crowd. A brawl between the teams ensued.
The Bloodline got the best of the babyfaces, including an
attempt at a triple powerbomb on Owens … until #DIY stumbled
out from the back and broke up the brawl. It didn’t quite
matter because The Bloodline fought them off, too. The trio
set their sights on Owens … until Cody’s music hit and Cody
ran out with a chair. Cody hopped into the ring with Fatu
and Fatu kicked the chair out of Cody’s hands. Cody came
back, however, with a Cody Cutter on Fatu. Owens grabbed the
chair and stood behind Cody. Cody turned around and it
looked like Owens was going to hit Cody with the chair, but
Owens dropped the chair. Cody extended his hand and Owens
shook it. The two half-hugged and the show ended.
