Tonight’s WWE SmackDown from Cincinnati’s Heritage Bank Center will be headlined by WWE Champion Cody Rhodes teaming up with Randy Orton to take on The Vision’s Bronson Reed & Bron Breakker.
Last week, Rhodes confronted Paul Heyman and suggested that the loyalties of World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins’ “Oracle” may lie with Brock Lesnar once more. This brought Breakker and Reed out to confront Rhodes before Orton evened the odds.
Men’s United States Champion Sami Zayn continues his open challenge series after another successful defense last week against NXT star Je’von Evans. Tonight marks the fifth time Zayn has defended his title since winning it in late August.
Coming off her title defense last Friday, WWE Women’s World Champion Tiffany Stratton will have a contract signing with Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer as their Crown Jewel Championship match approaches.
Plus, Damian Priest said that he plans on issuing a challenge to his rival Aleister Black.
Join us for live coverage starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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– Over shots of the Cincinnati skyline, we were welcomed to tonight’s SmackDown by Michael Cole before we headed to the arena for our opening segment.
Cody Rhodes kicks off SmackDown
The entrance of the Undisputed WWE Champion, Cody Rhodes, got things going for tonight’s show as he made his way to the ring with some things to say on his mind ahead of his tag match with Randy Orton against Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed later tonight.
As Rhodes got into the ring, he started off with his usual “what do you want to talk about?” icebreaker. Paul Heyman interrupted him, accompanied by Breakker and Reed at his side. “What would we like to talk about?” asked Heyman.
At the same time, Orton appeared at Rhodes’ side to even the odds as Heyman introduced himself in his usual manner. Heyman said that he and the Brons weren’t here to talk to Rhodes, but rather to Orton. He said that Orton wasn’t taking his calls all week, which meant that he had the Brons corner Rhodes, which would bring out the Viper. According to Heyman, that wasn’t a prediction, but a spoiler.
Heyman pointed out that no matter the strategy that Orton and Rhodes would come up with, it wouldn’t be enough as they’d lose to Breakker and Reed later tonight. Heyman asked Orton what would happen if he and Rhodes lost tonight, attempting to stir the pot. “That’s the Undisputed World Champion, we could do so much more than that,” Heyman asked Orton.
He said, that either way, no matter how we’d look at it, the alliance between Orton and Rhodes would not last, because that’s not a prediction, but rather a prophecy. The Seth Rollins-less Vision made their exit as this segment ended.
Seems like a bit of foreshadowing for what could be a future feud for Cody Rhodes, perhaps for down the line, just not tonight, however. Still, an intriguing start to the show, nonetheless.
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– As Carmelo Hayes walked in the locker room, the Miz accosted him and chewed him out for letting him get beat last week. Hayes responded by saying that this partnership between him and Miz was done because Miz was simply standing in his way when he was supposed to be watching his back. Hayes said that he was being cool about this because normally, he shoots first. He told Miz that “we good” before walking off.
U.S. Title Open Challenge: Sami Zayn (c) vs. Aleister Black
Before the match, Carmelo Hayes addressed Zayn, saying that this time it’d be different because nobody was here to cloud to his vision or judgement. He said that he’s been the best that he’d ever been. However, before Hayes could actually make his way to the ring, The Miz attacked him with a Skull Crushing Finale, which left him laying. WWE officials shooed Miz away as they checked up on the downed Hayes.
Aleister Black appeared and said he’d take the open challenge as this match got underway officially after that.
Zayn dropped Black with a series of arm drags before he transitioned into an hammerlock following the last one. Black escaped the hold and kicked Zayn in the face as he took over with strikes in the corner. Black maintained control with a boot to the face of Zayn, which left him trapped against the ropes momentarily. Black took us into the commercial break with a springboard moonsault on Zayn, as the challenger still had the upper hand.
We returned from the break with Zayn having fought back and battering Black with punch after punch in the corner, followed by repeated stomps to his foe’s head. Zayn leapfrogged above Black before he clotheslined him out of the ring. He followed that up with a moonsault from the apron that floored Black at ringside. Back in the ring, Zayn caught Black with a nice Michinoku Driver for the close kickout at two.
As Black recovered, he and Zayn got into a standing switch standoff until the challenger blasted him with a kick to the head and a German suplex. One, two… not quite. Zayn avoided a spinning kick and attempted a Blue Thunder Bomb, but got countered into a discus knee by Black instead. The challenger headed to the top rope, but Zayn intercepted and left him staggered long enough for a superplex that took both men out as we got another break in the action here.
Our match continued as Zayn headed to the top and took a leap, but he was skeetshotted with a kick by Black upon landing. That, however, was still not enough for Black to pick up the win and the U.S. Title. With both men on their feet, they exchanged strikes until Black gained the upper hand with strikes in the corner. In the midst of this, Zayn attempted a Helluva Kick, but Black dodged and responded with a top rope Meteora. One, two…. Zayn just managed to kick out! As Zayn was at Black’s mercy, Damian Priest appeared at ringside and created just enough of a distraction for Zayn to catch Black with a Helluva Kick, followed by the Blue Thunder Bomb. One, two, three. This one’s done.
After Zayn left the ring, Priest cleared the commentary table and hoisted the fallen Black above him. He then threw Black through the commentary table with a Razor’s Edge.
Sami Zayn def. Aleister Black via pinfall to retain the United States Championship
This was probably the weakest of Zayn’s U.S. Title Open challenge matches, but it was still an entertaining bout nonetheless. Zayn has proven himself a workhorse in the past few weeks and this match was no exception to that.
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– As SmackDown GM Nick Aldis was talking to NXT talents Zaria and Sol Ruca, he was interrupted by Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre, who were looking to recruit the team into the Secret Hervice. However, that turned sideways as the two instead found themselves booked in a match against Zaria and Ruca by Mr. Aldis.
Chelsea Green & Alba Fyre vs. Zaria & Sol Ruca
Zaria and Fyre opened the match for their respective teams with a lockup. Zaria grabbed Fyre by her throat and threw her into the corner and laid into her foe with a strike. As Fyre escaped, Zaria took her to the opposite corner and held her up with an elevated sleeper. The Australian followed that up with a top rope clothesline. After Green tagged herself in, Ruca entered the match and held her with an interesting modified tarantula hold of sorts, followed by an X-Factor for the near-fall.
The Secret Hervice showed some effective teamwork as they took out Ruca with a double team dropkick that sent the Women’s North American Champion to the outside. Zaria was taken out of the equation with a dive from Fyre. With Ruca isolated, Green and Fyre maintained control for a bit. Zaria eventually recovered and threw Fyre into the barricade. Back in the ring, Green fell victim to Ruca’s incredible Sol Snatcher cutter for the victory.
Zaria & Sol Ruca def. Chelsea Green & Alba Fyre via pinfall
A rather short match here, but it’s nice to see some variety in the SmackDown women’s roster in the form of some NXT stars showing up, and their eventual Women’s Tag Title match against Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair should be entertaining.
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– Backstage, Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss were interviewed about the victorious team of Ruca and Zaria. The Women’s Tag Champions said that their potential challengers have proven themselves, but that they need to be ready when it’s their turn to challenge for Flair & Bliss’s titles. As the champs left, Bliss humorously imitated Flair’s “woooo”.
– A recap of Roman Reigns’ return on Raw this past Monday was shown. Reigns was also advertised to appear on next week’s edition of Raw.
– Cody Rhodes talked with Randy Orton, who said that nobody should care what Paul Heyman said earlier. The two exchanged a fistbump, their alliance seemingly stronger than ever.
Stephanie Vaquer vs. Tiffany Stratton contract signing
SmackDown GM Nick Aldis was in the ring to moderate this contract signing for Vaquer vs. Stratton for the Crown Jewel Championship at next week’s Crown Jewel event in Perth. Stratton was introduced first, followed by Vaquer.
Once both women in the ring, Vaquer took to the mic first. She said that she respected Stratton, and that even though she has only been Women’s World Champion for two weeks, she said she’d prove herself to be the best. “Let the best woman win,” said Vaquer.
Stratton answered that although she and Vaquer were the best women right now in WWE, she’d be the one to beat Vaquer at Crown Jewel. Stratton said that it didn’t matter if they were in Cincinnati or Perth or anywhere else, it’d always be Tiffy Time. Both women signed the contract amicably and shook hands. The contract signing ended without incident.
However, as Stratton was walking out, she was ambushed from behind by Giulia. Kiana James told Aldis not to notarize the contract just yet. James then tried to recruit Vaquer for her services, as she said Giulia outshined even Stratton as the top star on SmackDown. As James continued to talk, Stratton pulled James out and attacked her. Vaquer caught Giulia napping and had her hoisted up for the SVB, but the Women’s U.S. Champion managed to escape unscathed.
I low-key enjoyed this segment, if only for giving us something different in terms of Giulia potentially running back her rivalry against Women’s World Champion Vaquer. Even if it’s a tag match with Vaquer and Stratton vs. Giulia and James, it’s something I want to see to break up the monotony that the SmackDown women’s divison has been mired in for the last few months.
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– We got Earlier Today footage of Je’von Evans talking with Mr. Aldis about his future potentially involving a move to SmackDown. Rey Fenix appeared and got friendly with Evans, as Los Garza talked trash to the two. This led to Mr. Aldis scheduling a tag match with Fenix & Evans vs. Los Garza.
– A vignette from Jacob Fatu aired. He said that he was tired of people lying and talking out of their ass. Fatu declared that Drew McIntyre was going to the bottom, while he was headed straight to the top at the expense of the Scotsman.
Je’von Evans & Rey Fenix vs. Los Garza (Angel & Berto)
Evans caught Berto with a high-flying crossbody to start things off. Berto responded with a knee to the face as he then attacked Evans with punches to the face, followed by a hard kick. In the corner, Evans attempted to fight out of trouble, but got hit with a dropkick by Berto. The high-flying Evans countered with a springboard hurricanrana on Berto. Los Garza, however, caught the young gun with a double team kick to the face, followed by a punch.
Fenix entered the match and took flight with a tornillo dive that took Angel out. Berto then took out Fenix with a dive of his own. This was then followed by Evans soaring with a big time leap over the top rope that took everyone out as the action headed to a break.
SmackDown returned with Angel punching away at Fenix in the corner, until his foe escaped and caught him with a hard kick to the face. On the other side of the ring, Evans clotheslined Berto out of the ring. Things broke down a bit as Los Garza coordinated with a unique double team move where Berto kicked Evans while Angel held Fenix up. Despite that move, it still wasn’t enough to end this match.
Fenix and Angel took each other out with a clothesline as Evans got the hot tag. Evans hit Berto in with an elevated Cheeky Nandos kick before he dove onto both Angel and the cameraman at ringside. As Evans entered the ring, Berto tried to catch him by surprise with a rope-assisted pin, but the referee broke it up.
As Angel entered the ring, he fell victim to a rebound springboard kick by Evans as Fenix re-entered the match. Fenix lifted Berto up for the Mexican Muscle Buster, while Evans intercepted Angel with an OG Cutter. Fenix pinned Berto to pick up the victory for his team.
Rey Fenix & Je’von Evans def. Los Garza via pinfall
This was a great little match and if it was a tryout of sorts for Evans to be a part of the SmackDown roster moving forward, I’d say he passes, as his high-flying moveset is perfect to pop crowds.
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– As Damian Priest was interviewed about how far his rivalry with Aleister Black would go, Kit Wilson interrupted and told him that he’d do everything he can to stand up against what he saw as “toxic masculinity”. Priest answered by pushing Wilson on his wheelchair far enough to send him crashing into some pipes. Ultimately, Priest challenged Black to a Last Man Standing match for next week’s SmackDown.
– A vignette from Solo Sikoa and his M.F.T.s aired, focusing on Talla Tonga.
– The Street Profits were interviewed about their WWE Tag Title matches against the Wyatt Sicks on next week’s SmackDown. Montez Ford said that they weren’t just fighting for the Tag Titles, but they were fighting for each other. The Wyatt Sicks interrupted on the screen behind the Profits, and talked trash to their challengers.
Next Week on SmackDown
- Tiffany Stratton & Stephanie Vaquer vs. Kiana James & Giulia
- Last Man Standing: Damian Priest vs. Aleister Black
- WWE Tag Team Championships: The Wyatt Sicks’ Dexter Lumis & Joe Gacy vs. The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins)
- Sami Zayn’s U.S. Title Open Challenge
Cody Rhodes & Randy Orton vs. The Vision (Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed)
Our main event kicked off with Orton facing off against Breakker in the middle of the ring. Orton quickly pushed Breakker into the corner and opened up with an European uppercut, followed by repeated punches to Breakker’s face. Orton followed it up with a clothesline over the top rope as we went to commercial not even a minute into this one.
SmackDown’s main event bout continued as Orton was in the grip of Bronson Reed. During the break, Orton was dropped across the announce table by Reed, which led us to this point in the match. Back to live action, Reed ran shoulder-first into the steel post after Orton dodged at the last second. Rhodes entered the match with a tag, as he took out Reed with a Disaster Kick. Both Reed and Breakker were taken out to the ringside area and fell victim to a suicide dive by the Undisputed WWE Champion.
Back in the ring, Breakker struck Rhodes from behind while Reed had the referee distracted, as Reed seized the opportunity to punish his foe with clubbing blows. Rhodes turned it around with a dropdown uppercut, but found himself on the receiving end of a World’s Strongest Slam by Reed. Breakker tagged in and absolutely blasted Rhodes with a charged clothesline and we once again headed to one last commercial break in the midst of the action.
As we returned from the break, it was still The Vision in the driver’s seat as the Brons kept Rhodes isolated in their corner. Rhodes managed to kick Breakker away in the hopes of getting a tag, but Reed stamped out those hopes. The Undisputed WWE Champion avoided a Reed senton, which finally allowed Orton to get the hot tag.
It was classic Orton at his best as he hit his signature powerslam on both Breakker and Reed. However, the titanic Australian responded with the Jagged Edge on Orton. Reed tried to head to the top rope, but Orton recovered and met him at the pass with a massive superplex. Breakker managed to break up the pin at two. Rhodes and Breakker fought as the hotshot flew from the apron and took out Rhodes with a diving clothesline through the barricade.
In the ring, Orton had Reed scouted for the RKO, but Paul Heyman created a distraction as Seth Rollins stepped in and stomped Orton. This allowed Reed to pick up the victory with a Tsunami.
After the match, Rollins told Breakker and Reed to back off while Rhodes was in the ring to check up on Orton. Heyman advised Rollins not to go in for the kill, but to no avail. Rollins tried to go for a Stomp, but Rhodes avoided it and instead caught Rollins with the Cross Rhodes to end SmackDown.
The Vision (Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed) def. Randy Orton & Cody Rhodes via pinfall
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Above average main event, but the Brons getting the victory was the right call, perhaps to further tease the Orton & Rhodes dissention mentioned at the top of the show.
Despite that, I quite enjoyed this week’s NXT-infused edition of SmackDown. The matches were all good and as a result, the two hours flew by quickly. As always, Sami Zayn’s U.S. Title Open Challenge was the standout (distraction finish aside), but the Evans/Fenix vs. Los Garza tag match was solid action too. All in all, tonight was entertaining.
