Tag: drew mcintyre

Drew McIntyre ‘so proud’ to have set blueprint for released WWE wrestlers

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Drew McIntyre is proud to have set a blueprint that others can follow after being released by WWE.

When he was cut from his contract in 2014, McIntyre rededicated himself in his career and focused on having the best run outside of WWE possible. He returned in 2017 for a second run that has brought a newfound level of success, including multiple World Championship reigns. He has the chance to become WWE Champion again this weekend when he challenges Cody Rhodes for the title at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

McIntyre told the No Contest Wrestling podcast that he loves being used as an example for how others can reinvent their careers after getting fired. He believes WWE management even points to him as a success story while giving encouragement to released talent.

“WWE genuinely tell people, ‘Look what Drew did. He took them on a journey, reinvented himself, and found his way back. And if you’re good enough, if you work hard enough, if you believe in yourself enough, you can do it too.’ I’m so proud of that,” McIntyre said. “You know, as much as stuff is going on with Cody and I right now, look what he did. He followed the blueprint, and he took it to the next level himself. Zack Ryder — Matt Cardona right now — he truly is independent. He’s able to do that carny stuff Cody and I weren’t very good at [laughs]. And he does an amazing job at it.

“I know so many people killing it, kind of using that blueprint I’m so proud of.”

McIntyre said that, when he was out of WWE, William Regal kept an eye on him and kept Paul “Triple H” Levesque informed. McIntyre was ready to go to NJPW in 2017 but decided to come back to WWE instead after a conversation with Levesque.

Salt Lake City is hosting Saturday Night’s Main Event this weekend. The show — streaming live on Peacock — will see the crowning of a new World Heavyweight Champion as CM Punk and Jey Uso face off for the vacant title.

WWE SmackDown live results: Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre conflict continues

Posted on by Marc Quill

After last week’s impromptu match, WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre will both be in the building for tonight’s SmackDown from Tempe, Arizona.

McIntyre won last week’s title match by DQ after he hit Rhodes with the title belt. With their rematch at November 1’s Saturday Night’s Main Event now official, both men will advance their storyline tonight.

In a non-title match, WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton will look to return to her winning ways when she takes on Kiana James. The business associate to Women’s U.S. Champion Giulia found herself in this match after having some choice words for Stratton last Friday.

Ilja Dragunov became the new United States Champion last week by defeating Sami Zayn in an open challenge. Dragunov has vowed to continue the open challenge series and make his first title defense tonight.

A grudge match between Fraxiom and DIY was originally made for tonight but isn’t listed on the official WWE.com preview for the show. We’ll see if that bout is still on.

Join us for live coverage starting at 8 p.m. Eastern.

**********

– Over a live shot of the Mullett Arena in Tempe, AZ, we were taken to a recap of last week’s chaos with Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre and an injured Jacob Fatu.

– After the recap, Rhodes was shown arriving backstage as Jimmy Uso welcomed him. Jimmy thanked Rhodes for sticking up for Fatu last week.

Cody Rhodes opens SmackDown

The Undisputed WWE Champion headed out to the ring to address the challenge of Drew McIntyre at Saturday Night’s Main Event next week.

”So, Tempe, Arizona, what do you wanna talk about?” asked Rhodes before he turned attention to what he did to McIntyre last week, something he described as being “uncharacteristic of him”.

Before Rhodes could continue, Drew McIntyre himself interrupted and remained incredulous that the crowd would cheer for Rhodes over him. McIntyre ranted about the crowd cheering for Rhodes no matter what he did, even with the title belt strike last week. McIntyre said that this had now become about him finishing the story, and he’d do it next week.

McIntyre again deflected blame for the Jacob Fatu attack, trying to insinuate Jimmy Uso as the culprit. Rhodes angrily interrupted and challlenged the Scotsman to a fight. As McIntyre and Rhodes got ready for a fight, Jimmy Uso leapt from the barricade and went on the attack. Security poured in to break up the skirmish but not before Uso got in a dive between the ropes on McIntyre.

With order being attempted to be restored, Solo Sikoa and The M.F.T.s made their way to the ring for our opening contest, which was coming up next.

A wild and chaotic opening buoyed by Jimmy Uso’s anger-filled attack on McIntyre, which will undoubtedly set up our main event for tonight.

**********

– Backstage, McIntyre yelled at Nick Aldis to do something, but Jimmy Uso again attacked as security stopped the chaos once more.

The MFTs (JC Mateo & Tama Tonga) (w/ Solo Sikoa & Rey Fenix)

Nakamura and Tama started off this match. Tama went on the attack against Nakamura with a series of strikes, but he found himself downed by a knee to the gut. Fenix and Mateo tagged in and had their turn of the action.

Fenix launched himself from the rope with an elevated armdrag as Nakamura entered the match with a tag. The two showed impressive teamwork in the corner at Mateo’s expense, which forced the M.F.T.s to retreat to ringside as we took a commercial break.

Our match returned as Tama stopped Fenix’s atrempts to reach his corner with a fierce lariat. Mateo re-entered the match and slammed Fenix with a bomb as the M.F.T.s continued the momentum. Fenix created some needed separation with an enzuigiri as Nakamura got the hot tag.

Nakamura atrempted to lift Mateo, but to no avail. Mateo answered with a twisting back suplex that kept Nakamura grounded. As Tama tagged in, Fenix made his presence known with a springboard on Tama. He followed that up with the Goodbye, Amigo tightrope kick. Things broke down further, which led to Fenix leaping onto Tama and Mateo on the outside.

As Fenix tried to go up top, Solo Sikoa created a distraction, as Talla Tonga chokeslammed Fenix onto the apron. This weakened Fenix for Tama’s Hidden Blade-style running elbow for the three and the win for the M.F.T.s

Match Result: The M.F.T.s def. Rey Fenix & Shinsuke Nakamura via pinfall

Not a bad first outing for the “Bloodline with a new hat”. A decent tag opener for sure.

**********

– Backstage, Jimmy Uso spoke with Nick Aldis and through all this, we learned that our main event tonight would be Jimmy taking on Drew McIntyre in a No Disqualification match.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Kiana James (w/ Giulia)

Stratton wrenched James’s arm to start us off, as the two got into a bit of a stalemate afterwards, owing to both women’s gymnastics backgrounds. Stratton connected with consecutive armdrags on James before she again went after the arm with a submission. James attempted to fight back with a forearm strike, but she found herself taken down by a dropkick. A running hip strike against a stunned James across the middle ropes sent her to the outside. Stratton continued the punishment with a right hand strike. Giulia provided a distraction by stepping up to Stratton, which allowed James to throw the WWE Women’s Champion into the barricade, as we took a break in the action.

We returned to our match as James flattened Stratton with a running big boot to the face, but couldn’t put her foe away. James punched at Stratton, who responded with a jawbreaker that took her and Giulia’s business manager down out. Both women struggled to get up as they then battered away at one another with strikes to one another. Stratton got the better of James and nailed the handspring elbow into the corner, followed by her signature Alabama Slam. Stratton connected with the Rolling Senton, but couldn’t capitalize with the Prettiest Moonsault Ever.

James responded with a Falcon Arrow but again only got a near-fall in the process. In the corner, James placed Stratton on the top rope, but couldn’t get the Superplex as she was shoved aside to the canvas. Stratton soared with a Swanton Bomb, as she followed that up with the Prettiest Moonsault Ever for the victory.

After the match, Stratton’s victory was cut short as Giulia attacked with the Arrivederci Knee. Before Giulia could dole out more damage, Jade Cargill ran in and sent Giulia scurrying with a pump kick. As Giulia and James backed off, Cargill offered a hand to Stratton, who accepted the help of her former foe. However, that seemed to be an all-too-fleeting moment as Cargill abruptly smashed Stratton with a clothesline. The embittered Cargill refused to let up with her attack on Stratton, throwing her around at ringside into the steel steps and ring post.

With Stratton unable to defend herself, Cargill stomped away on her behind the announce table as referees and officials led by Jamie Noble tried and failed to stop the assault. As Stratton’s leg was planted along one of the steel steps, Cargill stomped on it before she walked off.

Match Result: Tiffany Stratton def. Kiana James via pinfall

A good match, but the real story was Jade Cargill’s heel turn, which was much needed for her as she was feeling kind of stale as a face. Could be what’s needed to refresh SmackDown’s flagging women’s division.

**********

– Sami Zayn congratulated Ilja Dragunov on his U.S. Title victory last week, as he passed on the U.S. Championship Open Challenge onto the new champion. In Zayn’s mind, Dragunov was the right guy to carry on the legacy of these Open Challenges as he hyped up the champ.

– Jade Cargill was asked about her actions as she said that this world does not reward patience and she was ready to take what was hers: the WWE Women’s Championship.

U.S. Title Open Challenge: Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. Aleister Black (w/ Zelina Vega)

Before the match, Dragunov addressed the crowd, stating that he missed the fans after being out for so long. He thought he’d never see the light at the end of the tunnel, but he said that he’d never give up. Dragunov declared that he’d defend the title with all his obsession and proudly continue the U.S. Open Challenge. “Tonight, pain shall entertain you,” Dragunov said.

Black and Dragunov locked up to begin the match before the challenger attempted to take control with his fierce kicks. Black countered the Constantin Special with a kick before Zelina Vega threw Dragunov into the barricade with a hurricanrana. Black absolutely pasted Dragunov with a running kick to the face from the apron to send us to the break.

We returned from commercial with Black and Dragunov exchanging fierce blows, as the U.S. Champ connected with an enzuigiri. Dragunov followed that with a running strike to the corner on a stunned Black. Dragunov then threw Black around with repeated German suplexes followers by a unique rotating suplex for the near-fall.

As Dragunov headed to the top rope, Vega created a distraction, which allowed Black to stop Dragunov’s attack. From the top, a Black Meteora stunned Dragunov. Suplex attempt was turned into a rollup by Dragunov for the two. Black once again drove a knee to the back of Dragunov, but couldn’t get the three. Black failed to connect with some sort of springboard attack, as Dragunov struck with the Constantin Special and this match went to a second break in the action.

The match returned with Dragunov taking off from the top rope with a dropkick on a prone Black. He then flew from the top with a sentin for a two. Dragunov had Black targeted for the Torpedo Moscow, but was met with a knee to the face. One, two… not quite!

Black had Dragunov in his sights for the Black Mass, but he missed and fell victim to a Torpedo Moscow instead. Dragunov got up and attempted to finish this off with an H-Bomb, but Zelina Vega pulled at his leg. This earned Vega an ejection from the match. At that moment, Damian Priest marched down to the ring, with eyes on revenge on Black. Priest removed his sunglasses to reveal a burn mark as Black was distracted long enough for a Torpedo Moscow from Dragunov and the the three.

Post-match, an irate Priest attacked Black as he got two chairs and cleared away the commentary table as he looked to dish out some ultimate damage. Zelina Vega leapt onto Priest’s back and scratched at the burnt eye, which allowed Black to escape a most grisly fate.

Match Result: Ilja Dragunov def. Aleister Black via pinfall to retain the United States Championship

A fantastic Open Challenge match. I’m glad Dragunov is continuing it. However, I’m not too hot on the Aleister Black vs. Damian Priest feud continuing longer than it needs to.

**********

– Carmelo Hayes was interviewed about his attack on The Miz last week. Hayes said that everyone was expecting him to say he was happy to attack the Miz, but he wasn’t going to do that because revenge was a double-edged sword. Hayes noted that he was ready to get his career back on track with thanks to the support of the people and he owes it to get back to being “HIM”. Kit Wilson interrupted and trashed Hayes for being a proponent of “toxic masculinity”, and found himself set for a match against Hayes on next week’s SmackDown.

– Ilja Dragunov met with Fraxiom and said that the Open Challenge would continue. #DIY taunted Fraxiom, who called Gargano and Ciampa a scared duo. Tama Tonga then appeared and mocked Fraxiom as he did his signature “yeah yeah yeah” taunt.

– Nia Jax appeared to question Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss’s friendship, which led to a match between Bliss and Jax to be made for next week.

No Disqualification Match: Jimmy Uso vs. Drew McIntyre

Things got going right away as Uso and McIntyre brawled at ringside for a bit before the action spilled into the ring. McIntyre pummeled Uso in the corner with strikes, before he found himself lit up with chops to the chest. McIntyre struck Uso with a hard kick to the chest, as he then continued the punishment with a clubbing blow to the back. Uso fought back and clotheslined McIntyre to the outside. He then followed this up with an attempted suicide dive that was met with a forearm from the surly Scotsman.

At ringside, Uso slammed McIntyre’s face across the steel steps, which sent McIntyre retreating into the crowd. Uso followed suit and the fight continued into the stands. McIntyre attempted a DDT onto the floor, but got countered into a suplex by Uso. McIntyre was thrown back over the barricade into the ringside area afterwards. Uso obliged the crowd’s demand for tables by pulling one out from underneath the ring, which was suitable enough for our final commercial break of the evening.

We returned to SmackDown’s main ewvent with McIntyre lifting Uso onto his shoulders, but instead getting blasted with a kick to the head. Outside the ring, Uso tightrope walked across the barricade in the hopes of nailing a splash, but he got caught by McIntyre, who threw him for a belly to belly suplex onto the floor.

McIntyre grabbed a steel chair from the timekeepers area and immediately struck Uso in the ribs before whacking his foe across the back with it. McIntyre unfolded the chair and smashed Uso’s face on the seated portion. He set Uso up for a Claymore, but a drop toehold instead sent the Scotsman face first onto the chair. Uso fired himself up and hit a Whisper in the Wind onto McIntyre for the two-count.

Uso grabbed the chair and went to town on the fallen McIntyre with repeated strikes before he set up the Slim Jim-branded table. As Uso tried to grab at McIntyre, he was caught by surprise with a Future Shock DDT for yet another near-fall. McIntyre tried to go for another Claymore, but he was intercepted with a Samoan Drop onto the table that broke it on impact. Uso tried to go up top for an Uso Splash, but McIntyre threw a chair in his face to counter it. This allowed McIntyre to finish things off with a Claymore Kick for the pin and win in our main event.

After the match, McIntyre placed Uso’s neck across a chair and pressed on it, which led to officials running down in the hopes of breaking it up. Just then, Cody Rhodes ran down and mixed it up with McIntyre, as he thrw him over the timekeeper’s area. McIntyre recovered and took out Rhodes with a Claymore as the Levesque & Fitting producer credits signalled the end of the show.

Match Result: Drew McIntyre defeated Jimmy Uso via pinfall

**********

Standard SmackDown main event followed by standard post-match shenanigans to top of a moderately good show. This Rhodes/McIntyre feud is at least a hot one, but I’m feeling a bit cold on it, if we’re being honest.

Other than that, tonight’s show had some decent-to-great in-ring action that buoyed everything else, and I dare say that SmackDown has been better than above-average as of late. Ilja Dragunov’s U.S. Title Open Challenge and a needed heel turn for Jade Cargill were the standouts of tonight’s show, in my view.

New announcements made for WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Update —

WWE has announced that new United States Champion Ilja Dragunov will issue an open challenge for the title on SmackDown tonight. After winning the belt from Sami Zayn last week, Dragunov said it’s his duty to continue the open challenge series that Zayn had instituted.

WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and his next challenger are both set to appear on SmackDown tonight.

At Saturday Night’s Main Event on November 1, the WWE Championship will be on the line with Rhodes defending against Drew McIntyre. Both McIntyre and Jacob Fatu were being positioned as potential challengers to Rhodes until an angle last week where Fatu was taken out in a backstage attack. McIntyre claimed that he wasn’t responsible — but Rhodes did not believe that.

There was then an impromptu title match between Rhodes and McIntyre on SmackDown last week. It quickly ended in a disqualification, setting things up for Saturday Night’s Main Event.

As for their appearances tonight, WWE did not announce any other details except that Rhodes and McIntyre will both be in the building:

  • Last week’s SmackDown featured a heinous attack on Jacob Fatu and a chaotic Undisputed WWE Title Match between Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre that ended in a disqualification win for McIntyre when The American Nightmare blasted The Scottish Psychopath with the championship.
  • Now, Rhodes and McIntyre prepare for a title clash at Saturday Night’s Main Event on Nov. 1.
  • Brace yourself for all the explosive action, tonight at 8e/7c on SmackDown on USA.

Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona is the venue for SmackDown tonight.

WWE SmackDown (Friday, October 24) —

  • WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre appear
  • Non-title match: WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton vs. Kiana James
  • United States Champion Ilja Dragunov open challenge

WWE title match added to next Saturday Night’s Main Event

Posted on by Bryan Rose

A new championship match is set for Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Nick Aldis on social media Tuesday confirmed that Cody Rhodes would be defending the WWE Championship against Drew McIntyre on November 1 in Salt Lake City. This follows an angle on SmackDown that saw the two brawl in an impromptu match.

A show-long storyline on Friday saw Aldis announce that McIntyre would meet Jacob Fatu in a number one contender’s match in the main event. However, as Fatu’s music played, it was soon revealed that he was laid out backstage, his mouth a bloody mess and what appeared to be teeth on the floor. McIntyre was pleased by what had happened but denied he had any involvement. 

Cody Rhodes then came out and said if McIntyre wanted a WWE title match, they would do it right now. The two brawled for a while before the bell rang. It never became clear if it was a a title match, however, as the match soon ended in a DQ after Rhodes laid out McIntyre with the WWE title.

Saturday Night’s Main Event (November 1)

  • WWE World Heavyweight title: CM Punk vs. Jey Uso
  • WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes defends against Drew McIntyre

WWE SmackDown live results: Cody Rhodes addresses Crown Jewel loss

Posted on by Marc Quill

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown in San Jose, California will be the first since Crown Jewel: Perth.

At the PLE, Cody Rhodes lost to Seth Rollins and was unsuccessful in his mission to repeat as men’s Crown Jewel Champion. Rhodes will kick off the show tonight and address that loss, along with what’s next for him in his WWE Championship reign.

Women’s Tag Team Champions Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss have a title defense tonight against NXT’s Zaria & Sol Ruca — who have made it clear they want the gold. The team known as ZaRuca earned their opportunity after proving themselves several weeks ago with a win over Chelsea Green & Alba Fyre.

Drew McIntyre and Jacob Fatu are scheduled to finally settle their score in the ring. The two have been involved in a heated rivalry for the past few weeks after Fatu took exception to McIntyre’s ranting. Reports this week have Fatu out for a considerable amount of time with a non-wrestling related injury, so it’s unclear what will develop tonight.

Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

**********

– We opened with a recap of the major events that took place at Crown Jewel concerning Seth Rollins’ big win over Cody Rhodes, followed by the shocking betrayal Rollins suffered at the hands of Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed two nights later on Raw. We have Vic Joseph filling in for Michael Cole on commentary, and a returning Corey Graves joining him.

– Inside the ring, SmackDown’s GM Nick Aldis was here to inform us that tonight’s Jacob Fatu vs. Drew McIntyre match will now be a No. 1 Contender’s match, with the winner set to face Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. At this time, Rhodes was introduced by Mr. Aldis.

Cody Rhodes opens SmackDown

Rhodes started by stating that he might not feel that he and Seth Rollins need to be in the ring together again, but that’s not how it worked around here. He said that Rollins had some business of his own with a rogue Vision and Paul Heyman to deal with, and he had business of his own to handle as the top guy of SmackDown.

Rhodes sized up both Jacob Fatu and Drew McIntyre, one of which would be facing him for the Undisputed WWE Title at the next Saturday Night’s Main Event in two weeks time. He concluded that he didn’t know how things would shake out, but Rhodes knew that the road to SNME ran through San Jose.

Standard Cody Rhodes promo to open SmackDown, as the Fatu vs. McIntyre match still appears to be on despite the reported injury that Fatu sustained. We’ll see how that plays out later tonight.

**********

– Solo Sikoa and the M.F.T.s accosted a cameraman who was taking pictures of Rey Fenix, who took exception to Sikoa’s belligerence. Fenix paid for it as the M.F.T.s. laid a beating on him before a vanguard of officials warded them off.

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Zaria & Sol Ruca

Blake Monroe was shown in the crowd, stated to be watching Sol Ruca ahead of their Women’s North American Championship match at Halloween Havoc.

Ruca and Flair got things going with a test of strength in the ring before the former escaped the grasp of the latter with a somersault. Flair answered by flipping over the turnbuckle so that she could kick Zaria on the apron. Flair then continued to go to work on Ruca as Bliss got the tag. Bliss connected with a hurricanrana on Ruca that sent her back to her home corner as Zaria entered with a tag.

Bliss tried for a charge, but got caught by Zaria, who lifted her. However, Bliss escaped and attempted a Sister Abigail early on. Zaria answered with a huge spinebuster that sent us to the commercial break.

We returned from the break with Zaria having Bliss trapped in the corner with an elevated sleeper hold from the middle rope. Bliss managed to escape the Aussie’s grip as she tried to reach out for a tag to Flair. Zaria, however, managed to cut Bliss off as Ruca entered the match and sent her championship foe spinning with a tilt-a-whirl drop. Zaria and Ruca tried to connect with an assisted diving attack, but Bliss dodged and managed to get to her corner as Flair got the hot tag.

In the ring, Flair blasted both Zaria and Ruca with chops before she connected with her signature somersault clothesline on the former. Flair then dropped Zaria with a northern lights suplex followed by a taunt towards Ruca. Shortly after, Ruca got a tag as she went to work on Flair with a German suplex in the corner followed by an attempted diving dropkick. Flair intercepted and caught her legs to turn that into a Boston Crab. Flair was in position for the Sol Snatcher by Ruca, which hit its target perfectly. One, two… Bliss managed to break it up in the nick of time.

Outside the ring, Bliss tried to dive at Zaria, but she got thrown against the barricade instead. Flair interjected with a boot to the face as Ruca leapt from the apron to take down the Women’s Tag Champions. Ruca then traded some words with Blake Monroe in the front row, which opened her up to Flair clipping her in the back of her legs. Flair threw Ruca into the ring and proceeded to lock the Figure Eight submission hold, with Ruca being forced to tap shortly after.

Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss def. Zaria & Sol Ruca via submission to retain the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships

That was a fun opening tag match, and the Blake Monroe involvement in the finish does continue that story she has with Ruca ahead of their Halloween Havoc match.

**********

– Cody Rhodes was walking backstage as Jacob Fatu had a chat with him. Fatu said that once he was finished dogwalking Drew McIntyre from San Jose to San Francisco, Rhodes would find out that Jacob Fatu is all gas and no brakes. Fatu and Rhodes shared a respectful handshake as the latter walked off.

– We got remarks from Aleister Black regarding what happened last week with Zelina Vega’s arrival to his side. Black said that he had been setting this in motion for months now, and that Vega’s assistance was part of the plan alll along. “We are not the infection, just the mirror that shows it,” said Vega of her alliance with Black. They said that the venom wasn’t poison, but it was salvation.

– Backstage, The Miz was shaking hands with Nick Aldis as Sami Zayn appeared and wondered why the U.S. Title Open Challenge wasn’t happening tonight. Aldis explained that Shinsuke Nakamura was still owed a rematch but he wasn’t here tonight, and the M.F.T.s were still lurking about. Zayn would have none of it as he said he waas ready to hold the Open Challenge and if anyone wanted a shot at the U.S. Title, they knew where they could find him.

U.S. Title Open Challenge: Sami Zayn (c) vs. Ilja Dragunov

As it appeared that The Miz was going to answer Zayn’s Open Challenge, Carmelo Hayes attacked from behind and took him out of the equation as the two brawled out of the stage area.

After a moment, we found out that the returning Ilja Dragunov was Zayn’s opponent for the Open Challenge.

Dragunov and Zayn shared a handshake of respect as the bell rang before the two stood toe-to-toe and slugged one another with strikes. Zayn recovered and lit up Dragunov with a chop as he went for a suplex. Dragunov countered out of the suplex with Zayn fighting back afterwards. Dragunov left Zayn stunned a enzuigiri, as he then threw the U.S. Champion in the corner and absolutely blasted him with a running boot to the face. This took us to a break in the action.

We returned from commercial break with Zayn dropping Dragunov with a clothesline as we got a replay of the action that took place during the break. With both men back up, Zayn and Dragunov once again got into an exchange of strikes that neither man could get an upper hand of. Zayn recovered and delivered a tornado DDT in the corner.

As Dragunov seemed to be stunned in the corner, Zayn ran at him, but ended up eating a jumping kick to the face instead. That only got a near-fall for the returning Dragunov. Zayn valiantly tried to fight out of Dragunov’s grip, but got dropped with a German suplex. Zayn eventually escaped and nearly got the win on a roll-up, as he then responded with some German suplexes of his own on Dragunov.

Dragunov lifted Zayn up and then dropped him with a standing uranage that once again got the two-count. Dragunov tried to go up top, but Zayn avoided it and connected with the Michinoku Driver for a near-fall. The two competitors’ battle reached the apron as Dragunov tried to get Zayn up on his shoulders. Zayn countered and instead got Dragunov with a nasty DDT onto the apron. With both men down, we took another break in the action.

The match returned from break with Zayn and Dragunov duking it out on the top rope, but it was the U.S. Champion who found himself flat on the canvas as Dragunov soared with a senton on Zayn. One, two…. NO! Zayn once again headed up to the top rope, but Dragunov again tried to go after his foe. Even after Zayn took Dragunov down, he just couldn’t keep his foe out cold as he fell victim to a Superplex.

Dragunov had Zayn dead to rights for the H-Bomb, but Zayn got a boot up to stop it. Meanwhile, Zayn’s Helluva Kick attempt was avoided by Dragunov, who then connected with a standing back suplex for the near-fall. Dragunov hit the Constantin Special and nearly had the match won with a Torpedo Moscow. Zayn intercepted at the last second with a Helluva Kick, followed by a Blue Thunder Bomb. One, two… 2.99999999!!!!!

As Zayn had Dragunov targeted for a Helluva Kick, Solo Sikoa appeared on the ramp and provided a distraction. Zayn threw Dragunov in the corner with an Exploder Suplex. However, Sikoa’s distraction seemed to be enough as it inadvertently bought Dragunov time to recover. Dragunov intercepted the Helluva Kick with a Torpedo Moscow. He then finished it off with an H-Bomb to become the new United States Champion.

After the match, the M.F.T.s. rolled up and unleashed an assaualt on Zayn and Dragunov while Sikoa watched on. Rey Fenix ran in but fell victim to the M.F.T.’s numbers game.

Solo Sikoa got on the microphone and promised that the M.F.T.s would run SmackDown as they’d get their championships back again. Before he could continue, he was interrupted by a video from The Wyatt Sicks, as Bo Dallas asked Sikoa if he and his M.F.T.s were ready for what was to come on the other side. As the video ended, the members of The Wyatt Sicks appeared in the darkness and once again stared down Sikoa and the M.F.T.s. Sikoa’s group backed off as the segment ended with the usual Wyatt Sicks static.

Ilja Dragunov def. Sami Zayn via pinfall to become the new United States Champion

Fantastic match. It was great to see Dragunov back in action, as he and Zayn put on a hell of a contest. A shame that it got partially marred by the M.F.T.s stuff at the end. I’m not sure if a feud between Sikoa’s faction and the Wyatt Sicks will be any interesting, I have to admit. Still, it’s nonetheless great to see Dragunov finally become a champion.

**********

– There was an Arby’s-sponsored recap of Stephanie Vaquer’s big victory over Tiffany Stratton at Crown Jewel to become the 2025 Women’s Crown Jewel Champion.

– Stratton was interviewed backstage about her loss and how that’d affect her. Stratton said that one loss would not affect her as she’d be still the WWE Women’s Champion. Kiana James interrupted and badmouthed Stratton for not being a “premium talent” unlike her client, the Women’s U.S. Champion Giulia. Stratton taunted James for not having it in the ring and promptly challenged her to a match for next week’s show.

– We got Earlier Today footage of the Motor City Machine Guns celebrating their one-year anniversary in WWE before Los Garza rudely interrupted the two. Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley pointed out that it was Angel and Berto who lost to them in their debut match and they sought to make it an annual thing, which led to this next match.

The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) vs. Los Garza (Angel & Berto)

Angel and Shelley started off, as Berto provided a brief distraction, which allowed Angel to go on the attack. That advantage for Los Garza was all too fleeting as the MCMGs got the momentum back with a dive outside the ring. As Sabin was trying to get into the ring, Berto grabbed at his leg, which again gave Angel an opening to pounce on his foe with a stomp.

Sabin avoided a corner splash from Angel as Shelley got the tag. Los Garza once again turned it around as they dropped Shelley with an assisted double team boot to the face. Sabin got sent to the floor as we took a break in the action.

We returned from the break with Angel working over Shelley as we got a look at a replay of a double knee/kick combo from Los Garza that left Shelley stunned during the break. Shelley hit a neckbreaker on Angel as Sabin got the hot tag. The tag team veteran unleashed a flurry of offense on both Angel and Berto while Shelley contributed as well. Los Garza turned it around with a Gory Special/jumping neckbreaker combo on Sabin. One, two… Shelley broke it up just in time.

As the action broke down ont he outside, Berto took flight and vaulted over the top rope to take both Shelley and Sabin out. Back in the ring, an attempted double team move by Los Garza was thwarted by Shelley and it came down to a patented Skull and Bones from the Machine Guns on Berto to pick up the victory.

Motor City Machine Guns def. Los Garza via pinfall

A fun tag match yes, but honestly kind of a sad indictment that this is the first time in over a month or so that we’ve seen either team. I understand it’s hard to find time to fit the many tag teams of the tag division of SmackDown into a two-hour show, but it’s kind of unfortunate that the Machine Guns were brought in with much fanfare and seem to just be mostly an afterthought.

**********

– As Fraxiom plotted their next moves for the WWE Tag Titles, the #DIY duo of Tommasso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano rolled up and had some harsh words for the rest of the SmackDown tag division. Axiom took exception to Gargano making fun of his mask as he challenged him to a match

– As Jacob Fatu was scheduled to make his entrance for our main event, we suddenly cut backstage as Fatu was seen crushed underneath a girder with various officials running up to check up on him. After the break, Nick Aldis was checking up on Fatu alongside the officials while McIntyre made his entrance.

The Main Event: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Drew McIntyre

McIntyre entered with a smug smile on his face as he then got into the ring with a microphone in hand. He taunted Fatu as he demanded the referee to award him the match to become the number one contender. Mr. Aldis interrupted and warned McIntyre that if he found out that McIntyre had something to do with this, he’d do something about it. As McIntyre continued to complain about a conspiracy, Cody Rhodes interrupted and angrily said that if McIntyre wanted a shot at the WWE Title, that we should do it right now. We went to a commercial break just as the match was apparently kicking off.

Our main event continued with Rhodes and McIntyre continuing to brawl at ringside before the battle spilled into the ring as it finally kicked off in earnest. McIntyre got the upper hand with a suplex across the ring. Rhodes threw his vest at McIntyre as he punched away at him. The surly Scotsman got the advantage again with another throw across the ring. Rhodes recovered and punched away at McIntyre in the corner, followed by a bite to the forehead.

McIntyre caught Rhodes by surprise with a Future Shock DDT, and nearly had the WWE Title won, but Rhodes kicked out at two. McIntyre continued his attack in the corner as he punched away at Rhodes before the referee got him to back off. McIntyre caught Rhodes by surprise with a headbutt as he then continued away with the chops to the exposed chest.

Rhodes recovered and hit his uppercut followed by a Cody Cutter. As Rhodes tried to go for a suicide dive, McIntyre met him at the ropes with a headbutt. Rhodes was then thrown over the timekeeper area. McIntyre tried to retrieve Rhodes, but he got hit in the face with the WWE Championship title belt to cause the DQ.

The brawl continued after the bell as Rhodes cleared away the announce table and had him set up for a Cross Rhodes over the announce table. At that moment, Nick Aldis and several officials stepped in to stop the chaos. However, Rhodes eluded them and headed to the top rope as he then crushed McIntyre with a dive to the outside.

SmackDown ended with both men separated by the gaggle of officials as Rhodes looked on from the ring at McIntyre with anger.

Drew McIntyre def. Cody Rhodes via DQ (Rhodes retains Undisputed WWE Championship)

**********

Obviously, this whole main event angle with Jacob Fatu being crushed underneath a girder was WWE’s way of writing him off TV and add more heat to McIntyre to build him up as (most likely) the opponent for Cody Rhodes at Saturday Night’s Main Event in two weeks.

That said, this was a strong edition of SmackDown, bolstered by a big main event angle and a shock return that doubled as a shock title win. I’ll admit that I quite enjoyed tonight’s show a fair bit and hopefully we’re in for more episodes like this in the coming weeks.

Match announced for WWE SmackDown next week

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Two of SmackDown’s top wrestlers are set to face off next week.

Jacob Fatu vs. Drew McIntyre will take place on the Friday, October 17 edition of SmackDown in San Jose, California. The match stems from a confrontation they had a couple of weeks ago where the returning Fatu called out McIntyre for always complaining about everything and blaming other people for his problems. McIntyre gave Fatu a headbutt — and Fatu responded by laying him out.

The two then brawled on today’s WWE SmackDown in Perth, Australia. On the show, there was a backstage segment where Fatu respectfully told Cody Rhodes that he has his eyes on challenging for the WWE Championship after Crown Jewel. McIntyre then interrupted things with a blindside attack on Fatu.

Later on, Fatu responded to the attack by starting a brawl with McIntyre as SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis was informing him of next week’s match.

McIntyre told Aldis that he’s looking forward to beating some respect into Fatu in front of Fatu’s hometown fans in California.

Also on today’s SmackDown, there was a segment where WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss agreed to defend their belts against the NXT team of Sol Ruca & Zaria. A date for that matchup was not set — and WWE has not announced which brand it will be taking place on.

WWE star Drew McIntyre books ‘Highlander’ movie role

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Drew McIntyre has booked a co-starring role in an upcoming Hollywood movie.

It was announced via Deadline today that McIntyre has joined the cast of “Highlander” — which is based on the 1986 movie of the same name. McIntyre will portray the character Angus MacLeod, who is the brother of the main character played by Henry Cavill.

WWE legend Dave Bautista is also part of the cast, along with Russell Crowe, Marisa Abela, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, and Max Zhang. The movie is from Amazon MGM Studios’ United Artists and is being directed by Chad Stahelski — the director of the “John Wick” movie franchise.

Deadline notes that production on the film is expected to begin in early 2026 after Cavill recently suffered an injury that delayed things.

Here is the description for the “Highlander” film:

An immortal Scottish swordsman faces off with other immortal warriors in order to obtain a coveted ability.

McIntyre (real name Andrew Galloway) is represented by Paradigm Talent Agency. He and Bautista previously worked together on the film “The Killer’s Game” that was released in 2024.

At WWE Wrestlepalooza last weekend, McIntyre competed in the main event, unsuccessfully challenging Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship.

WWE Wrestlepalooza main event match revealed

Posted on by Ethan Renner

WWE has revealed which bout will go on last at Saturday’s Wrestlepalooza premium live event on ESPN’s new direct to consumer service.

As confirmed by WWE on Friday’s SmackDown, Cody Rhodes defending the Undisputed WWE Championship against Drew McIntyre will headline Wrestlepalooza on Saturday in Indianapolis.

A contract signing segment involving Rhodes and McIntyre closed Friday’s SmackDown go-home show, ending with McIntyre laying the champion out.

WWE announced Thursday that Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena will open Saturday’s card which begins at 7 p.m. Eastern time.

A total of five matches are official for the PLE, the first to be offered on ESPN’s DTC Unlimited service. The show can be viewed through the ESPN app on any number of smart devices.

The lineup for Saturday’s show:

WWE Wrestlepalooza, Saturday, September 20, 7 p.m. Eastern time —

  • Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defends against Drew McIntyre
  • CM Punk & AJ Lee vs. Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch
  • IYO SKY vs. Stephanie Vaquer for the vacant Women’s World Championship
  • Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso vs. Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed
  • John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar

Contract signing set for WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre will interact on WWE SmackDown tonight ahead of their title bout at Wrestlepalooza.

It’s been announced that tonight’s Wrestlepalooza go-home edition of SmackDown will include a contract signing for Rhodes and McIntyre’s WWE Championship match. The bout was made last week when Rhodes returned to WWE programming, appearing for the first time since McIntyre laid him out with a Claymore against the announce table in August.

Rhodes — the WWE Champion — had been away filming his role as Guile in Legendary Entertainment’s upcoming live-action “Street Fighter” movie. Rhodes and his wife Brandi also welcomed their second child into the world at the end of last month.

In his return last week, Rhodes fought off McIntyre while saving Randy Orton from McIntyre’s attack.

SmackDown is being held in Toledo, Ohio tonight on the eve of Indianapolis hosting the Wrestlepalooza PLE

WWE SmackDown (Friday, September 19) —

  • Exclusive interview with Brock Lesnar
  • WWE Champion Cody Rhodes & Drew McIntyre Wrestlepalooza contract signing
  • United States Champion Sami Zayn defends against Carmelo Hayes
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss defend against Chelsea Green & Alba Fyre

Match official for WWE Wrestlepalooza, new SmackDown segment added

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The WWE Championship match for Wrestlepalooza is official.

During Raw, it was confirmed that Cody Rhodes would defend the WWE Championship against Drew McIntyre this Saturday at WWE’s first-ever PLE on the ESPN app. This follows Rhodes’ return on SmackDown, where he not only took out Drew McIntyre but officially threw down the challenge for their upcoming WWE Championship match.

Additionally, it was announced that Rhodes would appear on Friday’s SmackDown, just one day prior to Wrestlepalooza.

Prior to Friday, Rhodes hadn’t been seen on television for over a month. Back in early August, McIntyre laid out Rhodes following a match and gave him a running dropkick on the outside, with Rhodes’ head crashing through the bottom of the announce table. The storyline injury took place so Rhodes could film his part for the upcoming ‘Street Fighter’ movie out next year.

On SmackDown, McIntyre continued to assault Randy Orton after their match when Rhodes made his return, laying out McIntyre with a Cody cutter.

Here are the updated lineups for this Friday’s SmackDown and the following day’s Wrestlepalooza PLE:

WWE SmackDown (September 19)

  • United States Champion Sami Zayn defends against Carmelo Hayes
  • Cody Rhodes will appear

WWE Wrestlepalooza (September 20)

  • John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar
  • WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defends against Drew McIntyre
  • Women’s World Championship: IYO SKY vs. Stephanie Vaquer
  • CM Punk & AJ Lee vs. Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch
  • Bronson Reed & Bron Breakker vs. The Usos

Drew McIntyre responds following WWE SmackDown angle

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Drew McIntyre has a message for Cody Rhodes.

After being attacked by a returning Rhodes on Friday’s SmackDown, McIntyre posted a video on Sunday of himself driving his car as fans sang his name. McIntyre then responded by playing Rhodes’ entrance theme and turned up the volume as he drove past the crowd.

“The Rock wants Cody’s soul. I want his ass,” McIntyre wrote.

Then, noticing the phrashing, he wrote “Wait.”

The end of Friday’s show saw McIntyre defeat Randy Orton, continuing his assault after the match was over. This brought out Rhodes, making his return after being injured at the hands of McIntyre. Rhodes proceeded to send McIntyre packing following a Cody cutter. As McIntyre retreated to the entranceway, Rhodes issued the challenge for Wrestlepalooza, which takes place this coming weekend.

Following SummerSlam, McIntyre made it clear that he was coming for Rhodes and the WWE Championship. An angle took place one month ago where McIntyre dropkicked Rhodes’ head through the announcer’s table. The injury angle took place so Rhodes could film his part for the upcoming ‘Street Fighter’ movie.

WWE star returns on SmackDown, issues challenge for Wrestlepalooza

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Cody Rhodes is back, and he has already thrown down a challenge.

In the main event of Friday’s SmackDown, Drew McIntyre scored a win over Randy Orton after connecting with the claymore. After the match, McIntyre continued to attack Orton until Cody Rhodes came down for the save, making his return after being gone for over a month. As McIntyre retreated to the entranceway, Rhodes announced he was back and threw down the challenge for Wrestlepalooza on September 20.

Back in early August, Rhodes and McIntyre were fighting outside of the ring when McIntyre took out Rhodes and proceeded to send him head first through the announcer’s table with a running dropkick. The injury angle took place so Rhodes could film the upcoming ‘Street Fighter’ movie.

The updated card for Wrestlepalooza:

WWE Wrestlepalooza (September 20)

  • John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar
  • WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defends against Drew McIntyre (challenge issued)
  • Women’s World Championship: IYO SKY vs. Stephanie Vaquer
  • CM Punk & AJ Lee vs. Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch
  • Bronson Reed & Bron Breakker vs. The Usos

WWE SmackDown live results: Brock Lesnar appears

Posted on by Marc Quill

At the end of another newsworthy week in WWE, tonight’s SmackDown airs live from Norfolk, Virginia — as Wrestlepalooza approaches next weekend.

Ahead of his match against John Cena at the new PLE, Brock Lesnar will appear on tonight’s show. Lesnar issued the challenge last Friday in Chicago after attacking Cena during his United States title match with Sami Zayn.

Zayn will be in action again, defending the title in another open challenge.

In a meeting of former champions, Randy Orton will finally get a chance to face Drew McIntyre in singles action after weeks of targeting his hated rival. The two met in a tag team bout at SummerSlam and last squared off one-on-one at July’s Saturday Night’s Main Event.

In a rematch from SummerSlam, WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton will defend against Jade Cargill. Stratton has held the gold for 250+ days.

Our live coverage kicks off at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

**********

– As Vic Joseph introduced us to tonight’s show, shots of Randy Orton, Drew McIntyre, Tiffany Stratton, and Jade Cargill arriving to the Scope Arena were shown. We then went to inside the arena, where Joseph was joined by his NXT color commentary partner Booker T. to call tonight’s action.

– A recap of last week’s John Cena vs. Sami Zayn match being crashed by Brock Lesnar was shown.

Brock Lesnar opens SmackDown

Lesnar arrived to the arena, cowboy hat and all, as the crowd was a mix of cheers and boos for his arrival.

With mic in hand, the fans chanted “you suck” at Lesnar before he could speak, and he was soon interrupted by R-Truth, who rapped his way to the ring. Once Truth entered the ring, he asked the Norfolk crowd to make some noise before Lesnar told him to shut up.

Truth responded by saying he was going to be the first WWE superstar to say to Lesnar, “welcome back”. He said that he used to be scared of Lesnar, but not anymore. Lesnar answered by saying that he didn’t know who Truth was and he wanted him to get to the point.

Truth said that Lesnar was disrespecting John Cena, his hero and older brother for the past twenty-five years. Lesnar said he was here to look for John Cena tonight as he asked Truth for his whereabouts. Truth said he didn’t know where Cena was, but he was here to defend the honor of his “older brother”. Truth then told Lesnar that his name was “Ron Cena”.

Lesnar asked again where Cena was, as Truth again answered that he didn’t know. Truth warned Lesnar that “Super Cena” was coming for Lesnar, as he wouldn’t be running from The Beast, he’d be feeding on him. Lesnar had enough and picked Truth up for an F5, which somehow ripped his pants.

Not a very good segment to start the show, but it was mercifully short. The necessity of reverting R-Truth to his pre-Cena heel turn character randomly has hurt his standing and the build (or lack thereof due to Cena’s absence this week) towards Wrestlepalooza’s scheduled main event just isn’t grabbing my attention at all.

**********

– Backstage, Sami Zayn was talking with someone as he was happy to continue the U.S. Open Title Challenge, as he and his opponent would give the crowd a hell of a show tonight. We found out he was talking to Rey Fenix, and their match would be up next.

– We were shown shots of various WWE and AAA officials arriving to the arena in Las Vegas for Worlds Collide, which airs after SmackDown.

– A vignette from Solo Sikoa was shown, where he expressed anger about having lost his Bloodline, Ula Fala, and the United States Champonship. He vowed to take back what he lost, as it was time for others to live in the shadows of his Family Tree.

U.S. Title Open Challenge: Sami Zayn (c) vs. Rey Fenix

We started off fast with Zayn rocking Fenix with repeated arm drags. Fenix responded with an acrobatic arm drag, followed by an attempted dive to the outside. Zayn dodged out of the way, as Fenix feinted between the ropes at the last second to stop himself. We went to a break at this early point in the match.

SmackDown returned with Zayn having the upperhand as he delivered a pitch-perfect tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on Fenix for the near-fall. Zayn continued to target Fenix’s shoulders with a submission, but found himself taken out by a kick on the apron. With Zayn stunned outside the ring, Fenix soared above the ropes with a tope con hilo that took the U.S. Champion out.

Back in the ring, Fenix took off from the top rope with a frog splash on Zayn, but couldn’t get the three out of it. Zayn attempted a Blue Thunder Bomb, but Fenix countered him twice in two attempts. Fenix blasted Zayn with a superkick after another feint between the ropes. One, two… not quite. Fenix headed up top, but couldn’t connect with the moonsault, as Zayn dodged.

Zayn had Fenix in position for the Helluva Kick, but the masked star avoided and countered with a DDT, that once again wasn’t able to get him the victory. We got a second break in the action with both men down in the ring.

Our match returned from the break with Fenix once more heading up to the top rope, looking for a high-risk maneuver. Zayn cut him off at the pass and put Fenix on his shoulders. However, Fenix countered and hit an incredible double stomp from the top rope onto a seated Zayn.

Fenix leapt up for his signature moonsault and connected, but Zayn kicked out at the nick of time. In the middle of the ring, both men tried to hit a suplex, but couldn’t. Fenix was first to escape as he bounced off the ropes for a kick, but Zayn caught him for the Blue Thunder Bomb. One, two… 2.9999999!!!!!!!!

Zayn managed to catch Fenix with his Exploder Suplex in the corner and had him targeted for the Helluva Kick. Fenix recovered and hit a hurricanrana instead, but only got a near-fall out of it. Fenix continued the momentum with the Goodbye Amigo kick. He attempted his spin kick in the corner, but Zayn reversed it into another Exploder Suplex. One Helluva Kick later, and it was a succcesful title defense for Sami Zayn.

Sami Zayn def. Rey Fenix via pinfall to retain the United States Championship

That was one heck of a match to kick things off. Both Zayn and Fenix were at the top of their game and I quite enjoyed this from start to finish.

**********

– We got Earlier Today footage of B-Fab being confronted by Giulia and Kiana James. B-Fab said that she might’ve been busy as of late with the Street Profits’ drama, but she wasn’t busy now. This led to a match being made between the two, which was up next.

– A video from the Wyatt Sicks was shown, with Bo Dallas wondering where the Street Profits would go from here. He said that the Profits have failed at every turn, as Erik Rowan said that people never truly appreciate things until it’s gone. Dallas said that the Sicks weren’t the ones who sowed the seeds that sprouted horns, as he told us to follow the buzzards.

Giulia (w/ Kiana James) vs. B-Fab

As B-Fab entered the ring, James got in her face, and paid the price for it. Giulia took exception and kicked B-Fab to the outside, as she threw her around outside the ring. In the ring, James stomped away on B-Fab and teed her up for Giulia’s Arrivederci Knee. They looked like they were going to do further damage to B-Fab until Michin ran in, armed with a kendo stick. Michin struck James with the kendo stick, as she sent Giulia to a retreat.

Giulia vs. B-Fab never happened

**********

– We got remarks from Aleister Black about his win over Damian Priest on last week’s SmackDown. He said that Priest could keep fighting and he could die by that code, and that violence begat violence.

WWE Women’s Championship: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Jade Cargill

Cargill immediately went for a pump kick, but Stratton avoided it soundly. The challenger tried to lift up Stratton, but got met with a high dropkick. Cargill eventually got the advantage with a powerslam on Stratton, as she then followed that up with an attempted suplex. Stratton countered the suplex attempt and went for a rollup to little success. With Cargill out of the ring, Stratton vaulted over the top rope with a dive, as we went to a break in the action.

Our WWE Women’s Title match returned with Cargill hitting a fallaway slam on Stratton. She tried to go for a corner attack, but Stratton countered and eventually hit a spinebuster on Cargill. Stratton tried for a hurricanrana, but Cargill caught her and looked for a powerbomb. Stratton turned that around into a hurricanrana as she then hit a double-footed dropkick on her opponent.

Stratton headed up top and connected with the Swanton Bomb for a near-fall. Cargill recovered and hit a superkick on Stratton that sent her outside. In the ensuing mixup, Stratton attempted a baseball slide, but she got caught by Cargill, who slammed her against the apron. Back in the ring, Cargill failed to connect with a pump kick, but managed to avoid the Prettiest Moonsault Ever. She had Stratton on her shoulders and hit a modified Blue Thunder Bomb for a close near-fall.

Stratton hit a nice rollthrough into an Alabama Slam, as she looked for another Prettiest Moonsault Ever. Cargill avoided calamity and hit the Pump Kick as both women were down in the ring. Cargill and Stratton eventually recovered and mixed it up on the apron with an exchange of strikes. Cargill looked for a Spear, but Stratton dodged, which caused the challenger to hit the ringpost instead.

Stratton missed with the diving moonsault to the outside, as Cargill speared her opponent through the barricade. The match was then ruled a draw due to a double countout.

After the match, Nia Jax attacked both Cargill and Stratton and left both women laying.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill ended in a Double Countout

A decent match that was undercut by the draw ending and Nia Jax showing up once again, really highlighting how bare the cupboard is, when it comes to the top of the SmackDown women’s division. It’s honestly felt like the same set of players in the title picture and it’s really hurt the main event scene as it pertains for the women of SmackDown.

**********

– As Nick Aldis walked out of his office, he was accosted by Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre, who demanded a Women’s Tag Title match. Aldis proposed that the two would face the winners of Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss’s title defense on Tuesday’s NXT Homecoming.

– We got a video package ahead of Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena at Wrestlepalooza that focused on both men’s beginnings in wrestling.

– Over in Las Vegas, Rey Mysterio was interviewed about Worlds Collide, before his son Dominik rolled up and said he’d become the AAA Mega Campeon after tonight’s main event. Rey said he’d put the AAA Mega Campeon belt around Dominik’s waist if he won tonight.

– Back in Norfolk, Sami Zayn was interviewed after his successful U.S. Title defense as Carmelo Hayes called his shot to be Zayn’s next challenger. After Zayn left, The Miz showed up too late and was upset about Hayes taking up Zayn’s U.S. Open Challenge, having been seemingly outsmarted by his Melo Don’t Miz partner.

Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre

Both men locked up in the middle of the ring to start before McIntyre went on the attack in the corner. Orton roared back with a clothesline as he got in some shots of his own on the Scotsman with punches in the corner. He then sent McIntyre crashing to the outside with another clothesline over the rope as our main event headed to a break.

SmackDown’s main event came back from the break with McIntyre seemingly having Orton at his mercy, but he fell victim to a suplex instead. With McIntyre down in the ring, Orton targeted him with some stomps to the legs, followed by a knee drop to the face. McIntyre took a shot at Orton’s knee with a clip, followed by a stretch in the corner.

McIntyre maintained the pressure on Orton’s injured knee with a figure-four leglock cinched in tight in the middle of the ring. Orton struggled hard, but managed to turn it over to reverse the pressure of the leglock on McIntyre. In the middle of the ring, Orton dropped his foe with a belly-to-back suplex that sent McIntyre scurrying back out of the ring.

Orton slammed McIntyre against the commentary table, but got raked in the eyes, as he found himself dropped across the table with a back suplex. McIntyre once again clipped at Orton’s knees as our main event headed to one final break in the action.

We returned from the break as McIntyre slammed Orton down to the mat, with the bum knee making contact with the top rope as a result. Orton poked McIntyre in the eye to regain momentum, as he then bashed his opponent’s head across all four corners. McIntyre tried for another figure four, but Orton kicked him aside into the ring post, which sent the Scotsman out of the ring once more.

As McIntyre got himself back in the ring, Orton tried to generate momentum with a signature powerslam to fell his foe. Orton looked like he was going to hit the apron DDT, but McIntyre scurried to the announce table. This opened him up to consecutive back suplexes across the commentary table. Back in the ring, McIntyre connected with the Claymore Kick, but couldn’t capitalize. This gave Orton the opportunity to land an RKO out of nowhere. Out of the ring, McIntyre shoved Orton against the apron.

McIntyre tried to get back into the ring, but he fell victim to the apron DDT from Orton. McIntyre was in position for getting punted by Orton, but the referee got in the way. In the ensuing chaos, this gave McIntyre an opening to hit one final Claymore Kick to get the victory in our main event.

After the match, McIntyre looked like he was going to finish Orton off good with a Claymore against the commentary table, but Cody Rhodes ran in for the save, going after McIntyre right away with a flurry of offense. Rhodes hit a Cody Cutter on McIntyre as he asked for a microphone after the fighting was done. Rhodes said that the champ was back and that he’d face McIntyre at Wrestlepalooza.

**********

An okay main event for an otherwise okay episode of SmackDown. Obviously it was a nice star power-filled match and it did its job of bringing Cody Rhodes back into the mix after a month or so of filming the Street Fighter movie, setting up another Wrestlepalooza match.

The dismal opening segment got things off on a shaky note, but I did enjoy the in-ring action this week, especially with Zayn vs. Fenix in the opening bout. That made for some okay viewing for the rest of the night on this week’s SmackDown.

Drew McIntyre on Logan Paul: ‘I don’t consider him an outsider’

Posted on by Ian Carey

Drew McIntyre doesn’t consider Logan Paul an outsider.

McIntyre has praised his SummerSlam tag team partner during multiple interviews, and he did so again recently on the Huge Pop podcast. The former WWE Champion was asked about celebrity involvement in wrestling during the interview, and responded that as long as they can “bring eyeballs,” McIntyre is fine with it.

He said:

“If you bring eyeballs and you actually care about the product and you’re willing to work hard, then it’s all good in my book. Like Bad Bunny, for example. Even Jelly Roll, he worked his ass off, literally, lost over 200 pounds, brought some different eyeballs. I mean, he probably should’ve picked somebody else other than me to have a match with, because he failed epically in front of the entire world, but he tried really hard. He brought some eyeballs, so I’m happy with that.”

“Somebody like Logan, he’s a super athlete. He has a respect and passion for WWE, but he knows exactly who he is.”

McIntyre continued to say of Paul:

“He wants to be here and he deserves to be here, and I don’t consider him an outsider. He’s one of our Superstars now. And I guess he’s my tag partner. We just need to find a freaking name for our little group now.”

McIntyre and Paul defeated Jelly Roll and Randy Orton at SummerSlam. Paul scored the pin after hitting Jelly Roll with a frog splash. It was Paul’s 23rd WWE match dating back to WrestleMania 38 when he and The Miz defeated Rey and Dominik Mysterio.

As for McIntyre, he appears headed into a program over the WWE Championship with Cody Rhodes. On the August 8 episode of SmackDown, McIntyre put Rhodes through the announce table with a Claymore Kick. McIntyre then cut a promo on Rhodes during Friday’s show.

Drew McIntyre’s full appearance on the Huge Pop podcast is available below:

WWE SmackDown live results: Drew McIntyre addresses attack on Cody Rhodes

Posted on by Marc Quill

Following last week’s SmackDown main event, Drew McIntyre sent a message to WWE Champion Cody Rhodes by attacking him and hitting a Claymore kick through the side of the commentary table.

McIntyre will appear on tonight’s SmackDown to address his attack and perhaps stake his claim for a future title shot ahead of Clash in Paris.

Alexa Bliss takes on Piper Niven of the Secret Hervice after Bliss’s partner and co-Women’s Tag Team Champion Charlotte Flair defeated Chelsea Green last week.

“Melo Don’t Miz” will reunite tonight in tag team action as Carmelo Hayes and The Miz take on Fraxiom. Last week, Hayes was seeking a singles championship, but got roped into a tag match by Miz who had supposedly spoken to SmackDown GM Nick Aldis about it.

The Street Profits & DIY will renew their rivalry when they face off. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa have blamed the former WWE Tag Team Champions for letting the SmackDown tag division fall into chaos after losing their titles to the Wyatt Sicks.

Join us for live coverage starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

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– Following the WWE signature and flyover over Boston’s skyline, we got shots of Drew McIntyre arriving at the arena, as well as a recap of the damage caused by the surly Scotsman after he hit a nasty Claymore kick on Cody Rhodes through the side of the commentary table last week.

Solo Sikoa and the M.F.T.s open SmackDown

The United States Champion and his “family tree” arrived on the scene to open our show. Once Sikoa and his group entered the ring, he said that the M.F.T.s. were in the building to remind everyone that he and his group ran SmackDown. And if anyone didn’t like that? Too bad.

Last week, Sami Zayn came out and tried to show up on SmackDown, and that forced Sikoa and the M.F.T.s to show up on Raw to, in his words, “stomp his ass out”. Sikoa declared that Zayn was stomped out, alongside Jimmy Uso and Jacob Fatu. He once again challenged anyone to come out from the back to face him, but the music of Sami Zayn cut Sikoa off, and out came the man himself. Zayn walked to the ring alone and stopped on the apron, with mic in hand.

Zayn said that he was just out here to talk. He asked Sikoa if he could just talk with him. The U.S. Champion told his M.F.T.s to back off as he stood face to face with Zayn. The Montreal native said that this past Monday, if he had beaten Rusev, there was a possibility he could’ve been fighting for the World Title at Clash in Paris, and now that wasn’t going to happen thanks to Sikoa’s group. He noted how he felt furious, but after some long thoughts, Zayn noted that he was finally liberated. Zayn had been so focused on chasing the World Title that he hadn’t had time to focus on other things in WWE, and for that he wanted to actually “thank” Sikoa.

Zayn said that there was one title that he hadn’t held in WWE aside from the World Title, and that was the United States Championship. Sikoa taunted Zayn that he would never win the U.S. Title and yelled at him to get out of “his show” as he didn’t want to see him ever again. In actuality, it turned out, Zayn was now officially a member of the SmackDown roster. Sikoa took something away from Zayn, and now the Canadian was going to take the U.S. Title away from Sikoa.

As Sikoa tried to strike at Zayn, we had ourselves a skirmish. The M.F.T.s stepped in and delivered a numbers game-enhanced beatdown until Jimmy Uso ran in for the save. The M.F.T.s’ advantage was still too much until Jacob Fatu made the save. As the M.F.T.’s forces were sent to a retreat, Talla Tonga saw himself sent outside by a triple superkick from Zayn, Uso, and Fatu.

Nick Aldis stepped in and made it official that our main event tonight would be Zayn, Fatu, and Uso versus any three of the M.F.T.s in a six-man tag match.

Moving Sami Zayn to SmackDown was a good lateral move, even though it pulls him into the so-called “Bloodline Vortex” once again. That said, I think I’m ready for him to be the next U.S. Champion.

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– Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett welcomed us to the show as they tossed things over to Byron Saxton, who was standing by with Chelsea Green and her Secret Hervice. Green was asked, in her words, how we got here. Green claimed she could’ve been severely injured after getting a faceful of cake last week, as Piper Niven and Alba Fyre promised to “confiscate” Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss of their WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships.

Alexa Bliss (w/ Charlotte Flair) vs. Piper Niven (w/ Chelsea Green & Alba Fyre)

The ring and ringside LED displays were adorned with a King of the Hill logo, to promote the recently-released reboot of the beloved animated series.

Bliss asked for a moment prior to the match as she put her Lilly doll aside. Niven pounced on the attack with stomps on Bliss as she pointed at Lilly. Green tried to take it from outside the ring, but Charlotte backed her off. In the ring, Bliss jumped on the back of Niven and tried to apply a sleeper hold to ground her larger foe. Niven used her power to break the hold successfully as she had the physical advantage on Bliss at this point in the match. She floored Bliss with a textbook Black Hole Slam as we headed to a commercial break.

SmackDown returned with Bliss taking advantage after she avoided a Niven cannonball during the commercial break. She hit Niven with repeated running moonsaults, but those weren’t enough to secure the three count. Niven regained momentum with a headbutt, which finally allowed her to hit Bliss with the corner cannonball. Bliss avoided possible calamity by dodging the Viper Bomb. As Bliss tried to head up top, Green got on the apron to provide a distraction, but Flair stopped her. Fyre then got on the apron, but got kicked away by Bliss. In the end, Bliss got the rollup victory on Niven.

After the match, the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions found themselves on the wrong end of a three-on-two attack from Green and the Secret Hervice.

Alexa Bliss def. Piper Niven via pinfall

Kind of a nothing match, if we’re being honest. But, it’s at least nice to see Green and her stable actually look credible for once with their post-match beatdown.

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– Tiffany Stratton and Jade Cargill were arguing backstage as Nick Aldis tried to bring some peace to the situation. Nia Jax soon appeared, and was told by the WWE Women’s Champion to simply “bring it” if she wanted another shot at her.

Melo Don’t Miz (Carmelo Hayes & The Miz) vs. Fraxiom (Axiom & Nathan Frazer)

Axiom & Hayes started us off in this match until Miz tagged himself in, much to his partner’s annoyance. Joe Gacy of the Wyatt Sicks was shown standing in the crowd, which got Axiom’s attention. Gacy’s tag team partner Dexter Lumis was shown lurking in the crowd as well.

Axiom and Miz got themselves into a battle of flipping attacks until the former NXT Tag Champion used his speed to escape, as Frazer entered the match. Miz was flummoxed by Frazer’s speed as he decided to let Hayes handle him. Frazer flipped across the ring and caught Hayes with an enzuiguiri. Fraxiom used their high-flying double team attack to rattle Melo Don’t Miz with an all-out dive assault. We went to a break at this point.

SmackDown returned with Hayes having a resthold applied on Axiom, as he then hit a superkick on him. Axiom countered an attempted powerbomb with a hurricanrana that got a near fall. Hayes finally connected with that powerbomb, but could not put Axiom away. Hayes tried to get at Frazer, who avoided the attack. Axiom took advantage and hit a kick to the face of Hayes. Frazer got the hot tag as he made off with supersonic speed to floor Miz with a moonsault.

Frazer looked for the Phoenix Splash, but Miz rolled out of the away as he hit Frazer with a big knee. Hayes tagged in and tried for a springboard attack, but Frazer met him at the rope and hit an inverted Spanish Fly instead. Hayes somehow kicked out at two. On the top rope, Hayes tried to head up top, but Axiom stunned him with a kick. This opened Hayes up for the Spanish Fly/Phoenix Splash combo from Fraxiom. Miz broke up the count by stepping onto the back of Frazer, followed by a DDT afterwards.

On the top rope, Frazer hit Hayes with a jumping kick and looked for a jumping Spanish Fly with Axiom. However, Miz stopped Axiom with a DDT on the apron. Back on the top rope, Hayes countered Frazer with an amazing top rope cutter. As Hayes was looking for Nothin’ But Net, Miz selfishly tagged himself in and stole the win with a Skull-Crushing Finale, much to Hayes’ chagrin.

The crowd was hot for this match, and the story of Miz trying to steal the glory of Hayes is at least interesting, and presuming that this leads to a tag title match with the Wyatt Sicks, the supernatural faction will surely take advantage of Miz’s duplicity to defend their tag team gold.

Melo Don’t Miz def. Fraxiom via pinfall

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– Tiffany Stratton was approached by Kiana James, who offered her services of being a client of hers, which included benefits such as a custom pink World Championship. Stratton refused James’ services as she walked off. Michin then appeared and stated that she had Giulia next. James said that this was “under advisement”.

Drew McIntyre addresses his attack on Cody Rhodes

The Scotsman stepped into the ring and talked about people asking why he did what he did last week to the Undisputed WWE Championship. He asked for the clip to be played again, which brought a smile to a face. McIntyre asked us to listen closely, as he said that apparently did “not” attack Cody Rhodes. He then accosted Joe Tessitore about a medical update on Rhodes. He ranted about how that management was hiding Rhodes’ medical condition.

McIntyre said that he wasn’t mad at Rhodes, that he instead felt sorry for him because of how much he put the weight of the fans and the WWE management on his shoulders. McIntyre noted that he was once in Rhodes’ position, but he moved on afterwards. He noted that Rhodes was nothing without “his story”, as he boasted that McIntyre didn’t attack Rhodes… he was attacked instead.

McIntyre walked us through what happened and put his own spin of the events that transpired last week. He noted that he defended himself, and that while Rhodes was good at pissing people off, McIntyre said he was good at taking people out. He declared himself the “real nightmare” as he walked off.

Uninterrupted McIntyre segment here, which presumably will lead to a Clash in Paris title match, and likely to give Cody Rhodes a break while filming his Street Fighter role, or at least prepare for it.

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– The Street Profits were confronted by Solo Sikoa and the M.F.T.s just before their match against #DIY. As the Profits left, Sikoa asked Talla Tonga what he was looking at, as something in the distance caught the big man’s attention. We got a glimpse of who exactly Talla was looking at after the M.F.T.s walked off, and it was a faraway Erick Rowan lurking menacingly.

#DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) (w/ Candice LeRae) vs. The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) (w/ B-Fab)

As the bell rang, Ford caught Ciampa with a dropkick, but found himself hit with a boot that sent him to the #DIY corner not long after. Gargano & Ciampa blasted Ford with a tandem of running boots into the corner.

Ford avoided a chop block from Ciampa as he then tagged Dawkins. The titanic Dawkins used his strength and speed to keep the #DIY duo cornered. Outside the ring, LeRae got herself in the way of Dawkins, which allowed Ciampa to hit him with a kick. Gargano, Ciampa, and LeRae sat on the apron and did their happy clap, which took us to the break.

The action picked up from commercial with Gargano and Dawkins down on the mat after a slam from the latter. Both men tagged in their respective partners as Ford soared with a high crossbody from the top rope on Ciampa. He countered Gargano with a Famouser, followed by a jumping neckbreaker on Ciampa. Ford leapt up with a splash on Ciampa for the near-fall.

The Profits showed great teamwork with an assisted double team back suplex on Ciampa. As Ford headed up top for the Blockbuster, B-Fab was sent to the steps by LeRae outside the ring. This created a distraction and allowed #DIY to hit their superkick-into-Fairy Tale Ending. Dawkins slid in the last second to break up the count. Ford avoided a superkick from Gargano as he sent him into Ciampa instead. While Ford was on the apron, LeRae took him out with a leaping hurricanrana, In the ring, Gargano hit Ford with his slingshot DDT, and the action turned to chaos. Outside the ring, LeRae got smashed with a knee from B-Fab, and in the end, the Profits secured victory after a high-flying frog splash from Ford on Ciampa and the three.

The Street Profits def. #DIY via pinfall

Just a fun tag match. The Street Profits are always reliable for fast-paced tag action, and pitting them against #DIY is a recipe for some exciting tag team action.

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– Carmelo Hayes tried to ask Nick Aldis for a singles shot at the United States Championship when the Miz once again tried to speak for his partner’s behalf. Chris Sabin of the Motor City Machine Guns taunted Hayes by asking if he was “Him” or if he was “His” (as in belonging to Miz). This led to Aldis scheduling the MCMGs versus Melo Don’t Miz for next week’s show.

– We got a recap of John Cena and Logan Paul’s encounter from last week’s show, which led to a match between the two to be booked for Clash in Paris.

– R-Truth was asked about John Cena’s recent “attitude adjustment”, to which he seemed overjoyed about. Before he could get further, Aleister Black confronted him. He wanted to know which Truth he was getting, as Truth got serious and stepped up to Black. “There he is, Mr. Killings,” said Black as he told Truth to see him next week.

– Backstage, Sami Zayn wondered if Jacob Fatu was going to be cool with them teaming up together in our main event. Fatu told Zayn to stay out of his way, as he walked off with a “yaddamean”, which confused Zayn.

Next Week on SmackDown

  • John Cena returns
  • R-Truth vs. Aleister Black
  • Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley) vs. Melo Don’t Miz (Carmelo Hayes & The Miz)

The M.F.T.s (Solo Sikoa, Tanga Loa, J.C. Mateo) (w/ Talla Tonga) vs. Sami Zayn, Jimmy Uso, Jacob Fatu

We got things going with Mateo and Uso as our legal men. Mateo backed Uso into the corner and clubbed him with strikes. Uso escaped and stunned Mateo as Zayn tagged in and tried his best to maintain momentum. Mateo used his strength to run Zayn into his corner, as Tanga Loa entered the match with a tag. Tanga threw Zayn outside and caused a distraction for Talla Tonga to kick Zayn with a big boot, which took us to the final break of the evening.

SmackDown’s main event returned from commercial with Sikoa pummeling Zayn near the M.F.T. corner. The feisty Quebecer tried to fight back, but Sikoa asserted control and brought Mateo into the match. Zayn avoided a running splash in the corner from Mateo, and looked for a tag. Sikoa punched Uso away and taunted Fatu as he continued to attack Zayn.

As Zayn was on the top rope, he roared back and hit a tornado DDT on Sikoa, which created some much-needed separation for him. Finally, Jacob Fatu was tagged in as he unleashed his wrath on Tanga Loa. Fatu struck Tanga with repeated headbutts, followed by the running hip attack. Mateo got sent over the top rope with a clothesline by Fatu, as a flying dive from Uso to the outside left him out cold. In the ring, pop-up Samoan Drop by Fatu was not enough to end the match as Tanga kicked out.

Fatu headed to the top rope as Sikoa stopped him long enough for Tanga to get the knees up on the moonsault. Sikoa tagged in and hit a diving splash on Fatu. One, two… not yet! Fatu and Sikoa traded superkicks until a double-down clothesline from the two took one another out. Zayn entered the match with a tag and a Blue Thunder Powerbomb on Sikoa. Mateo broke up the count and ate a superkick from Uso as result. Fatu superkicked Tanga before he sent Talla Tonga over the announce table with a suicide dive to the outside.

In the ring, Sikoa’s Samoan Spike was reversed into an Exploder Suplex by Zayn, followed by the Helluva Kick for the one, two, three in our SmackDown main event.

As SmackDown ended, Fatu finally showed respect to Zayn as the two embraced and celebrated with Jimmy Uso to end the night.

Sami Zayn, Jacob Fatu, and Jimmy Uso def. The M.F.T.s via pinfall

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A solid TV main event match that did its job of establishing Sami Zayn as a credible threat to Sikoa’s U.S. Title as well as solidify him as a top face along side Jacob Fatu. It was also rather nice to get a clean finish to the match after the last two episodes of Raw & SmackDown gave us inconclusive DQ finishes and beatdown segments to end them.

All in all, a fairly decent episode of SmackDown that did its best to fill two hours without stars like John Cena or Cody Rhodes to carry the bulk of the show. If there is a downside, I think it’s with how the WWE Women’s Championship feels kind of shuffled off to the side, as champion Tiffany Stratton only had two backstage segments and the fact that Nia Jax & Jade Cargill are being teased as challengers again does highlight how small the main event scene of the SmackDown women’s division is. Hopefully that’s something that’s to be addressed in the near future, and Bianca Belair’s return, whenever that is, should help alleviate that somewhat.