Days removed from Clash in Italy, WWE SmackDown emanates live from Bologna this afternoon.
Cody Rhodes retained his Undisputed WWE Championship over Gunther on Sunday, but not without some controversy attached to the result, as Rhodes’ winning pin was made while Gunther’s foot was on the bottom rope.
Rhodes is set to appear on SmackDown this evening, but Gunther will certainly have a lot to say regarding the finish.
The road to Night of Champions and the King and Queen of the Ring finals continues as we’ll see two fatal four-way bouts.
For the men, Bron Breakker, Dominik Mysterio, Trick Williams, and Damian Priest will battle for a spot in the King of the Ring semis.
On the women’s side, Kiana James, Jacy Jayne, Bayley, and Raquel Rodriguez will do battle.
We’ll find out what’s next for WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley following her successful title defense over Jade Cargill. Plus, Carmelo Hayes and Ricky Saints will continue their rivalry with another match.
Today’s show is airing live on Netflix overseas starting at 2 p.m. Eastern time and will air in its regular USA Network time slot later tonight.
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– Following the WWE signature, we got a recap of last Sunday’s Clash in Italy PLE, specifically from the SmackDown side of things. After that, we opened with Michael Cole (filling in for Joe Tessitore) and Wade Barrett as they were interrupted by an irate Gunther ripping apart the commentary tables.
Gunther wants justice
Gunther ranted about how he was the greatest wrestler in the world and that he intentionally put his foot on the bottom rope, which invalidates Cody Rhodes’ win on Sunday. As Gunther called out Rhodes, the theme of the Undisputed WWE Champion interrupted.
Rhodes said that Gunther was right, but he wondered why a twenty year veteran acted like he never had moments where he was “big mad”. Rhodes said that sometimes, you’re the hero or the cold-blooded sausage maker, and that he knew who was which between him and Gunther as he challenged “The Ring General” to have a rematch for the title tonight. Sami Zayn interrupted not long after.
Zayn started by saying he knew how Gunther felt with all the complaining he’s doing. He again called Rhodes a “golden boy” as Gunther told him to go away. Zayn noted that he might not know what being a world champion is like, but he knew a thing or two about beating Gunther. Rhodes told Zayn to calm down, but the mouthy Canadian wouldn’t take that for an answer.
Gunther shoved Rhodes into Zayn and locked him into the sleeper. Zayn hesitated but tried to help Rhodes. The two brawled outside as Rhodes went for a suicide dive. Gunther shoved Zayn in the path of Rhodes’ dive. Gunther backed off as Zayn refused to accept Rhodes’ apology.
This Zayn/Rhodes story is one of the better things in WWE right now, and I enjoy it intersecting with the Gunther title feud. Hope they can make it interesting.
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– Nick Aldis admonished Gunther for what he did before the break, but Gunther said he was being disrespected, threatening to drown Aldis in lawsuits until he got what he wanted.
Queen of the Ring Fatal Four-Way Qualifier: Raquel Rodriguez vs. Jacy Jayne vs. Kiana James vs. Bayley
This match kicked off as all four women faced off in the ring. Bayley and Raquel fought it out briefly as James and Jayne tried to go after the Judgment Day’s giantess. A clothesline from Bayley took Rodriguez out of the equation, while she hit a Bayley-to-Belly on Jayne for an early near-fall. James tried to roll-up Bayley, but couldn’t get the pin.
Jayne attempted a double stack pin on Bayley and James, but the two kicked out. The action was fast and fureious in the ring as Raquel re-entered the fray with a crossbody that took everyone out as we took a commercial break.
Back from commercial as Raquel was driven shoulder-first into the steel steps by a group effort from Bayley, James, and Jayne. On the apron, Jayne took off with a diving cannonball to take out Bayley and James. Jayne threw Bayley into the ring and hit her with a neckbreaker. The throw to the ropes as Jayne stomped away on Bayley in the corner. Kick right into Bayley’s spine was followed by a Jayne senton for another near-fall. James tried to get back in the ring, but Jayne knocked her down. James recovered and had Jayne in the cornere, but she missed with the running shoulder charge. Jayne then got Bayley and James with rolling cannonball sentons. Rodriguez joined in and hit the corkscrew splash from the corner for a close two.
Raquel placed Bayley on the top rope and punched at her. Jayne pulled Raquel down and then went after Bayley herself. Frankensteiner connects as Raquel then hit a powerbomb on Bayley, throwing her right into Jayne. Double chokeslam by Raquel, but Jayne broke it up as we took another break in the action.
Back from commercial as Jayne pummelled James in the ring, but it opened her up for a knee strike from Bayley. On the top rope, Bayley hit the diving elbow on Jayne, but James broke up the count. James blocked a Bayley-to-Belly, as she then hit the Dealbreaker and a standing moonsault for a two. Outside the ring, Jayne took Giulia out, as James got the pin and used the ropes for leverage. Jayne knocked the foot off the rope as Giulia struck her down. When James recovered, she saw Giulia and yelled at her for supposedly ruining the win, but Bayley got James with the Roseplant. Rolling Encore to Bayley, but Raquel stepped in and hit the Tejana Bomb on James for the win.
After the match, James was still angry at Giulia for costing her the win, continually yelling at her and stating that she was done with Giulia. This led to Giulia snapping and attacking James for all the insults thrown at her.
Raquel Rodriguez def. Bayley, Kiana James, and Jacy Jayne via pinfall
This was a decent start to the night’s action, but the Giulia attack on Kiana should hopefully mean the beginning of righting the course, so to speak for Giulia, who many feel hasn’t gotten her fair shake on the main roster.
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– Sami Zayn stormed around backstage and found Johnny Gargano as he whined about Cody Rhodes some more to him. Nick Aldis appeared and warned him to stay out of Rhodes and Gunther’s business. Zayn kept whining, but Aldis said he had a very important meeting to attend to. Zayn wondered who was important enough for the meeting as Chad Gable, the former “Original” El Grande Americano appeared. Gable walked into Aldis’ office.
Royce Keys vs. Talla Tonga (w/ Solo Sikoa & Tama Tonga)
Keys stood nose-to-nose in front of Talla and got pie-faced for it. Keys responded with some strikes that barely staggered Talla. The M.F.T.s’ monster responded with a huge shoulder block. Keys attempted a powerslam, but couldn’t get Talla up as he got battered in the back. The two big men traded strikes, but Talla blasted Keys with a throat thrust that brought the powerhouse to his knees. Slam attempt was countered by Keys, as a pair of clotheslines sent Talla over the top rope, which took us to the break.
Back to SmackDown as Keys’ attempt at a slam was blocked by Talla, who dropped onto the chest of Keys. The running big boot from Talla into the corner failed to find its target, which gave Keys the opening to try and create something. Clubbing strikes from Keys rocked Talla, but not enough to ground him. Running clotheslines to no avail, as well as the slam attempt. Talla missed with a running splash into the corner, which opened him up for Keys knocking the giant off his feet with a running pounce. Finally, Keys was able to hit the powerslam on Tallla as the straps went down.
Solo Sikoa got on the apron to distract as Tama Tonga tried to instigate further. He ate a punch for his troubles at ringside. As Keys got back into the ring, he got hit with the big boot from Talla and the Talla T-Bomb for the win.
Post-match, Sikoa had Talla and Tama attack Keys until R-Truth ran in to try and make the save. The Numbers’ Game™ seemed too much as Damian Priest ran down, but not to save Keys. This left the powerhouse open for a Cutthroat from Tama, who struck with the dulled edge of an osprey.
Talla Tonga def. Royce Keys via pinfall
The Bloodline over on Raw and the M.F.T.s on SmackDown are just not grabbing my attention, and this match being more of the same when it comes to M.F.T. stuff is boring. The tease at Clash in Italy of these two factions potentially feuding is something I’m dreading and given WWE’s predilection for reheated leftovers, especially when it comes to anything Bloodline-adjacent, it’s an inevitability.
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– We got a vignette teasing the arrival of SmackDown’s newest arrival, Finn Balor. We’ll see him next week in a King of the Ring Fatal Four-Way where he’ll take on Jey Uso, Royce Keys, and L.A. Knight.
– Elsewhere, Damian Priest was upset about helping about someone that he doesn’t even know. Royce Keys is not someone that Priest knows, and that his priority was keeping R-Truth okay. As Priest left, the AAA Tag Team Champions, the War Raiders, appeared and said that when Priest and Truth were ready to face them, they’d be game. Truth told the Raiders that he never met either of them ever.
Rhea Ripley addresses Clash in Italy
The WWE Women’s Champion entered to a huge ovation from the Bologna crowd, fresh off of her defeat of Jade Cargill at Clash in Italy.
Ripley started by saying hello to the Bologna crowd before she talked about how she finally put the Jade Cargill chapter behind her this past Sunday. Ripley noted that she didn’t come out completely unscathed, as her knee was a little bit banged up after Clash in Italy. The Bologna crowd continued to sing their love for Ripley.
Ripley noted how Cargill came into Sunday with a gameplan to take her out, use the numbers of The Baddies against her, but at the end of the day, Cargill failed because Ripley was still the WWE Women’s Champion. As for that numbers advantage Cargill tried to play, Ripley said that she got some unexpected help in that situation as Charlotte Flair made her way down to the ring.
Flair said that she knew that Ripley didn’t ask for her help, but she had Ripley’s back because she respected her. Flair admitted after the past few weeks, she had fun teaming up with Ripley, but with the Queen of the Ring coming up in a few weeks, she knew that she was a competitor. So, for as much fun as Ripley had in teaming up with Ripley, at SummerSlam, it would be her standing in front of Ripley. That’s because Ripley still had what she wanted.
Tiffany Stratton, the WWE Women’s United States Champion interrupted things. Flair wondered if Stratton was her to apologize to her, but Stratton said she was here to call her shot for the WWE Women’s Championship. Enter Jade Cargill and fellow Baddies B-Fab and Michin.
Cargill said that since she was in the Queen of the Ring alongside Flair, she was ready to make her pay for her little sidequest on Sunday. Cargill then turned her attention to Stratton, telling her to stay out of the grown folks’ business. Cargill then said she was coming after what was her’s right now.
SmackDown’s esteemed GM, Nick Aldis cut in before Charlotte Flair said that maybe we should see her and Tiffany Stratton face off against Cargill and one of her Baddies right now. Aldis said that he never let a good idea pass her by as this match officially was made. Holla holla.
Standard setup for the Queen of the Ring fatal four-way matches involving Cargill, Flair, and Stratton happening next week. Nothing much else to say here.
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Charlotte Flair & Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill & Michin
Flair and Michin started off here as she got her with the rolling head-scissors before she stared down Cargill. This allowed Michin to recover and hit her with a release German suplex. Stratton tagged in and hit Michin with the running hip attack against the ropes, followed by the basement dropkick. Cargill tagged in and got Stratton with the fallaway slam, followed by the spinebuster for a near-fall.
Flair tagged in and connected with a crossbody on legal woman Michin, followed by the stepover clothesline. In the corner, Flair chopped at Michin twice before she nailed her with a big boot. Flair got Cargill and B-Fab with big boots as she hit them with a diving crossbody. This opened her up to a Michin suicide dive as we took a timeout.
Back fromt he break as Flair hit a huge back suplex on Michin to create some needed separation. Michin tried to stop Flair from making the tag to Stratton. Cargill got Flair with a cheapshot, which allowed Michin to hit the Styles Clash. One, two… Stratton broke up the count. Michin attempted a figure-four, but Flair reversed it as she sent Michin crashing into the ringpost. This allowed a hot tag from Stratton, who unleashed a back elbow on Michin and a shotgun dropkick to Cargill. Alabama Slam by Stratton to Michin as she headed up top and connected with the Swanton Bomb. One, two… Michin kicked out at two.
Pele kick from Michin allowed for the tag to Cargill, who got hit with a springboard Stunner by Stratton for the two-count. Flair and Michin took each other out, which led to Stratton and Cargill mixing it up in the ring. Cargill caught Stratton and lifted her up for the Powerbomb and the near-fall. Outside the ring, B-Fab blasted Flair with a pump-kick as Stratton got lifted up for Jaded. To no avail. On the second time around, Cargill hit Stratton with Jaded and the win.
Jade Cargill & Michin def. Charlotte Flair & Tiffany Stratton via pinfall
An alright tag match. The Cargill & Baddies faction is still doing nothing for me whatsoever, no matter how hard WWE tries with them.
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– Backstage, Fatal Influence attacked Paige & Brie Bella, as they interrupted a photoshoot by the WWE Women’s Tag Champions.
– A video of Cody Rhodes hanging out with contest winners at Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe was shown.
– R-Truth chatted with Royce Keys, wanting to get him to play ball with Damian Priest, or as Truth called him “D.P.”. Keys said he wasn’t willing to team up with Priest.
Ricky Saints vs. Carmelo Hayes
Saints ambushed Hayes before the bell could even ring as he attacked him in the corner before lighting his chest up with a chop. Hayes fought back and threw Saints out of the ring as he took off with the tope con hilo. In the ring, frog splash by Hayes on Saints got a near-fall. Saints wrenched Hayes’ arms and chopped him, but he got hit the springboard clothesline. A clothesline from Hayes to Saints took us to the commercial break.
We returned from the break as Saints hit Hayes with a clothesline before he kept the pressure on his foe. The running uppercut into the corner, followed by the bulldog for a near-fall from Saints. Hayes countered a Northern Lights Suplex attempt from Saints into a DDT that kept both men down. Both Saints and Hayes got to their feet and began to exchange strikes. Big Boot by Saints was met by Dirty Diana from Hayes. One, two…. 2.999999999!!!!!!! First 48 countered into a jackknife pin combination, but no three.
A bounce off the turnbuckle and the Revolution DDT by Saints on Hayes, but that wasn’t enough for the three. Powerbomb by Saints reversed into the First 48 by Hayes, but the Absolute One kicked out at two. Hayes headed up top and looked for Nothin’ But Net, as Saints used the ropes to knock his foe off balance. Out of the ring, Hayes leapt at Saints, but got hit in the gut, with the referee counting down. Hayes beat out the count as Saints argued with the referee. Hayes rolled up Saints but got only a near-fall. Hayes’ rollup was turned into a rollup by Saints, and a handful of tights got the win for Saints.
Ricky Saints def. Carmelo Hayes
I enjoy these two facing off one another and this match was another solid entry in their current duology of matches.
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– Trick Williams’ interview was interrupted by Bron Breakker, who stared him down. These two will be in the King of the Ring fatal four-way later on tonight.
– Chelsea Green tried to once again ask for Tiffany Stratton’s help, but got told by the Women’s U.S. Champion that she could handle it herself.
– Blake Monroe focused on Tiffany Stratton in this latest vignette heralding that she was coming soon to SmackDown (despite, again, having appeared in a brief backstage cameo two weeks ago). Monroe said that Tiffy Time was going to run into “Monroe Minutes” real soon.
Chelsea Green vs. Lash Legend (w/ Nia Jax)
Green slapped Legend in the face, as she ran out of the ring and was chased at ringside. Green slid in the ring and hit Legend with a Codebreaker. However, Legend got her with the rolling uppercut. Legend took time to play with her food as she hit the running splash on Green. Bearhug by Legend had Green ragdolled out of the ring as Nia Jax attacked with the ref focused on Legend in the ring.
In the ring, Sunset Flip by Green led to an Aloha Arn struggle, but Legend kept her balance before she absolutely tattooed Green with the big boot. Running splash by Legend was missed as Green began to try and mount a comeback., Clotheslines by Green weren’t enough to keep Legend out cold, but the top-rope-a-dope was enough to send her out of the ring. Green to the top rope and a diving crossbody onto both Jax and Legend. In the ring, Green went for another high-risk move as the missile dropkick found its target in Legend. One, two… not quite.
Un-Pretty-Her by Green, but Legend used her strength to block it and turn it into the Lash Extension for the three.
Lash Legend def. Chelsea Green via pinfall
This was decent, and the Lash Legend counter of the Un-Pretty-Her into the Lash Extension was well-executed.
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– We got a recap of Jacob Fatu acknowledging his Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns, on Raw this past Monday.
– Royce Keys was confronted by Solo Sikoa backstage. Sikoa said that Roman Reigns made Keys’ boy Jacob Fatu kneel like a dog, which meant Keys had nobody around. Sikoa asked if anybody checked up on him even as Keys was busting his ass. Roman Reigns didn’t. Jacob Fatu didn’t. But Solo Sikoa did. Sikoa said that they needed to get ready for war as Keyes needed to stop making it difficult, or else Sikoa would make it difficult himself.
– We got a recap of Chad Gable’s unmasking following Mask vs. Mask last Saturday in AAA. After that, AAA World Cruiserweight Champion Rey Fenix was chatting with the Fraxiom duo of Nathan Frazer & Axiom before Chad Gable showed up. Gable said that he and Fenix had an awesome match at WrestleMania, but it was under false pretenses. Gable noted that he wore the El Grande Americano mask originally as a mockery of lucha libre. Gable flew all the way from Italy and asked for Fenix’s forgiveness. Fenix said that he accepted Gable’s apology, but told him that he wasn’t the only one that he needed to ask an apology from.
– Elsewhere, Cody Rhodes was informed by Nick Aldis that he had to wait until next week for Gunther to announce the terms for the rematch for the Undisputed WWE World Title. We learned that this match would happen in two weeks in Kansas City, MO.
King of the Ring Fatal Four-Way Qualifier: Damian Priest vs. Bron Breakker vs. Trick Williams vs. Dominik Mysterio
Breakker didn’t waste time as he hit Williams with a German suplex to start. Priest then began to fight with Breakker as he got hit with a German suplex. Another German suplex to Williams by Breakker as he then flattened Priest with the super-speedy shoulder block. Outside the ring, Breakker stalked Dominik and got him with the massive shoulder tackle as we took a commercial break.
Back to our main event as Priest and Breakker stared down before they briefly worked together to hit an interfering Breakker with a superkick. With Breakker taken care of, Priest hit Dominik with a slam before he unleashed his flurry of kicks on Williams and Breakker, who both got deposited to the outside. Superkick to Dominik by Priest turned the AAA Mega Campeon inside out. Priest’s forearm was countered by Dominik, but that couldn’t keep him down for long. Breakker connected with the Frankensteiner for a pinfall, but Dominik broke it up.
Dominik tried for the Three Amigos, but Breakker reversed it into a military press World’s Strongest Slam. Williams broke up the subsequent pinfall attempt by Breakker. Williams and Breakker exchanged strikes as the U.S. Champion then hit him with the sidekick. There was one for Dominik, as he was then flattened by the clothesline. Neckbreaker to Priest by Williams, who then connected with the Book-End for a near-fall. Priest headed up top but he was met by Dominik. Williams hoisted Dominik on his shoulders as Priest got his shots in the prone Dominik. Breakker tried for another Frankensteiner, but that was blocked. Breakker and Williams briefly teamed up as they hit the double superplex and we headed to one last commercial break.
Our main event returned from the break with all four men fighting in the ring. Dominik moved out of the way of Breakker’s spear, which sent him crashing into the ringpost. Meanwhile, Dominik got taken for the Razor’s Edge ride by Priest. The cover, but Liv Morgan distracted the referee. Breakker grabbed Priest by the neck as he lifted him up and hit the uppercut on the crash to Earth. Breakker then took down Williams with a toss across the ring. Superkick by Dominik followed by the dropkick, which put him in the 619 position. Spear by Breakker on Priest, he got sent out of the ring with a Trick Shot knee from Williams. The cover on Priest, but Dominik pulled the ref out of the ring.
Breakker recovered and put Williams through the commentary table with his signature leaping apron clothesline. In the ring, Priest was dropkicked by Dominik, but he was met with a big boot. J.D. McDonagh tried to interfere, but he got dropped with South of Heaven by Priest. Dominik got choked by Priest, but Liv Morgan hit him with the low blow. 619 by Dominik, then the Frog Splash, and that’s it, over. Dominik Mysterio is on his way to the King of the Ring Semifinals…. and a date with Oba Femi.
Dominik Mysterio def. Damian Priest, Bron Breakker, and Trick Wiliams via pinfall.
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A good main event for an otherwise by-the-numbers edition of SmackDown. The dynamic between Dominik, Trick, Breakker, and Priest was great and it made for a fun four-man match to cap off the show.
Elsewhere, the show didn’t really seem all that exciting, and a lot of it stems from how the booking feels like it’s on autopilot right now, especially in the runup to Night of Champions. The reheated leftovers of things like the Bloodline don’t help, either.
Speaking of reheated leftovers, as good as the Sami Zayn stuff is, the same really can’t be said for Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther. The wrinkle of a title match on TV in a couple of weeks being preceded by a set of stipulations to be named by the challenger who complained of a questionable finish? That’s pretty much what the booking was for the Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre title feud from a few months back. In which case, don’t be surprised if Gunther does win in Kansas City, but through dubious means to set up the rubber match this Summer.
All in all, not really a SmackDown to write home about. Some good stuff (the main event, Saints vs. Hayes), but everything else just feels kind of there.
