A Women’s World Championship match has been added to the lineup for the Saturday, September 2 WWE Payback pay-per-view.
As revealed during Monday’s Raw show, Rhea Ripley will defend the Women’s World title against Raquel Rodriguez at Payback.
Rodriguez attacked Ripley with a crutch on Monday’s show as she announced that she had been medically cleared from a recent knee injury and would be facing Ripley for the title at Payback.
The Women’s World title match joins a lineup that includes a steel cage match with Trish Stratus facing Becky Lynch, plus a World Heavyweight title match that was made official during Raw with Seth Rollins defending against Shinsuke Nakamura.
While not officially announced, an Intercontinental title rematch with Gunther defending against Chad Gable appears to be a future direction either for an upcoming Raw or Payback after Gable defeated Gunther via countout on Monday’s Raw.
The updated card for Payback:
WWE Payback, Saturday, September 2, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —
World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins defends against Shinsuke Nakamura
Women’s World Championship: Rhea Ripley defends against Raquel Rodriguez
New WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions were crowned as Shayna Baszler betrayed Ronda Rousey at Money in the Bank.
Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez won the titles after Baszler attacked Rousey. Baszler blindsided Rousey with a forearm, beat her down, and put her in the Kirifuda Clutch. Baszler then walked out on Rousey. With Rousey left on her own, Rodriguez hit the Tejana Bomb and Morgan hit Oblivion. Morgan then pinned Rousey to win the titles.
The turn from Baszler came out of nowhere. Rousey had just tagged herself into the match before being attacked by Baszler.
With their victory, Morgan & Rodriguez reclaimed the titles that they were forced to vacate in May. They had to relinquish the Women’s Tag Team titles then due to a shoulder injury that Morgan suffered. Morgan made her return from injury on SmackDown last week.
Rousey & Baszler won a fatal four-way match for the titles after they were vacated by Morgan & Rodriguez. Last month, the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles were unified with the NXT Women’s Tag Team titles when Rousey & Baszler defeated Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn.
Before Money in the Bank, Ronda Rousey and Raquel Rodriguez are set to face off in singles action.
WWE has announced that Rousey vs. Rodriguez will take place on Raw tonight. The match is part of the build to Rousey & Shayna Baszler defending their Undisputed Women’s Tag Team titles against Rodriguez & Liv Morgan at Money in the Bank.
Rousey & Baszler unified the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles with the NXT Women’s Tag Team titles by defeating Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn on last Friday’s episode of SmackDown. There was then a confrontation between Rousey & Baszler and Rodriguez & Morgan following the match.
The appearance marked Morgan’s return to WWE television. She had suffered a shoulder injury last month that forced Rodriguez & Morgan to vacate the Women’s Tag Team titles.
Tonight is the final Raw before Money in the Bank. The pay-per-view is being held in London this Saturday (July 1).
The updated lineup for tonight’s Raw is listed below:
Dominik Mysterio addresses Cody Rhodes
World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins gives an update on his condition following Finn Balor attack
Women’s Money in the Bank summit with Becky Lynch, Trish Stratus, Zoey Stark, Zelina Vega, IYO SKY, and Bayley
Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez are getting a chance to reclaim the titles that they never lost.
During this week’s episode of The SmackDown LowDown, it was confirmed that Morgan & Rodriguez will challenge for Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler’s Women’s Tag Team titles at Money in the Bank. The pay-per-view is taking place in London on Saturday, July 1.
Rousey & Baszler defeated Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn on SmackDown last night to unify the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles with the NXT Women’s Tag Team titles. Following the match, Morgan made her return from injury as she and Rodriguez confronted Rousey and Baszler.
Morgan & Rodriguez had to vacate the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles last month due to Morgan suffering a shoulder injury. Rousey & Baszler then won the vacant titles in a four-way match against Rodriguez & Shotzi, Bayley & IYO SKY, and Chelsea Green & Sonya Deville.
This is the sixth match that’s been announced for Money in the Bank. The updated card for the event is listed below:
Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match: Ricochet vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. LA Knight vs. Santos Escobar vs. Butch vs. Damian Priest vs. Logan Paul
Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match: Zelina Vega vs. Becky Lynch vs. Zoey Stark vs. Bayley vs. IYO SKY vs. Trish Stratus
World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins defends against Finn Balor
Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa vs. The Usos
Cody Rhodes vs. Dominik Mysterio
Women’s Tag Team Champions Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler defend against Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez
Trish Stratus is getting the chance to qualify for her first-ever Money in the Bank ladder match.
WWE has announced that a Money in the Bank qualifying match between Stratus and Raquel Rodriguez will take place on Raw this Monday (June 19). The winner will become the final participant to qualify for the women’s MITB match.
Becky Lynch, Zoey Stark, Zelina Vega, Bayley, and IYO SKY have already been confirmed for Money in the Bank. If Bayley loses to Shotzi on SmackDown next Friday, Shotzi will replace her in the bout.
With the help of a new ally in Stark, Stratus defeated Lynch when they faced off at Night of Champions last month.
Stratus vs. Rodriguez is one of three new matches that’s been made official for Monday’s Raw. Rhea Ripley vs. Natalya and Matt Riddle vs. Ludwig Kaiser have both also been added to the lineup for the episode.
Ripley vs. Natalya will be a non-title match. At Night of Champions, Ripley retained the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Natalya in dominant fashion.
Ronda Rousey made her return on Raw, attacking Raquel Rodriguez.
After Rodriguez defeated Chelsea Green in a singles match, she was attacked by Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler on the stage. Rousey told Rodriguez that she and Baszler would continue to attack Rodriguez, partner or no partner, every week unless they got their championship match. Rousey then held Rodriguez as Baszler struck Rodriguez with a running knee, knocking her out.
Rousey has been out of action with a fractured arm since March. Despite the injury, she competed in the four-way tag team showcase match with Baszler at WrestleMania 39. She scored the win for her team by submitting Shotzi with an armbar, and has not appeared on television since.
Rodriguez was originally set to team with Liv Morgan to defend their titles against Green and Sonya Deville on Monday’s Raw. However, it was announced that Morgan was not cleared to compete due to an injury suffered by Morgan on SmackDown. Rodriguez instead defeated Green in a singles match.
A championship celebration is set to take place on SmackDown tonight.
WWE has announced that Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan will take part in a championship celebration on tonight’s episode of SmackDown. Rodriguez & Morgan won the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles on Raw this Monday, defeating Becky Lynch & Trish Stratus.
Lynch & Lita were supposed to defend the titles against Rodriguez & Morgan on Raw, but there was an angle where Lita was taken out backstage by a mystery attacker. Stratus took Lita’s place in the match and was pinned by Morgan.
WWE has also announced that Santos Escobar will face Damian Priest on SmackDown tonight. The match will be part of the LWO’s ongoing feud with Judgment Day.
The updated card for tonight’s show is listed below:
Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan championship celebration
Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan are the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions.
The two defeated Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus, the latter of whom was subbing for Lita, on Raw Monday. The finish had Lynch tag in Stratus. As Lynch took out Rodriguez with a dive on the outside, Stratus went for the chick kick. Morgan dodged the kick and instead rolled up Stratus, pinning her to win the titles for her team.
After the match, Lynch entered the ring and consoled Stratus. As Lynch turned her back to leave, Stratus attacked her, then laid her out with the chick kick.
Earlier in the show, a backstage segment showed Lita being jumped backstage and was unable to stand. In a second backstage segment, it was announced that Stratus would take the place of Lita heading into the Tag Team title match.
Lynch and Lita were the champions for 43 days, defeating Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai and IYO SKY) on the February 27 edition of Raw. This is Rodriguez’s second run with the Tag Team titles and Morgan’s first.
A new match announcement has been made for SmackDown’s WrestleMania 39 go-home show.
Tonight’s SmackDown will feature a fatal four-way match between Raquel Rodriguez, Natalya, Shayna Baszler, and Sonya Deville. The bout is a preview of the women’s WrestleMania Showcase match that’s taking place at WrestleMania 39 night two this Sunday.
That Showcase match will be Rodriguez & Liv Morgan vs. Natalya & Shotzi vs. Baszler & Ronda Rousey vs. Deville & Chelsea Green.
WWE.com wrote:
Tonight on WrestleMania SmackDown, four of the eight WrestleMania Showcase participants will face off in a star-studded Fatal 4-Way.
Raquel Rodriguez, Natalya, Shayna Baszler and Sonya Deville will get a chance to gain some momentum for their teams as they look forward to the Fatal 4-Way Tag Team WrestleMania Showcase match.
Don’t miss this showcase before the Showcase on WrestleMania SmackDown, tonight at 8/7 C on FOX!
Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles is hosting SmackDown tonight. After the show goes off the air, the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony will take place. The HOF ceremony is streaming live on Peacock/WWE Network.
The updated SmackDown card is listed below:
Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes go face-to-face for the final time before WrestleMania
2023 Andre the Giant Battle Royal
Drew McIntyre & Sheamus vs. Imperium (Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci)
Raquel Rodriguez vs. Natalya vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Sonya Deville
Rey Mysterio, Raquel Rodriguez, and Gunther are the latest to declare for this year’s Royal Rumble.
On Friday’s SmackDown, both Rey Mysterio and Gunther declared their entry for the men’s Rumble match. Raquel Rodriguez in a promo said she was excited to enter her first Royal Rumble.
Mysterio, in a promo, said that it wasn’t the best holiday season for him due to Dominik Mysterio’s unwelcomed arrival during his family’s festivites. However, he said that the best way for himself to get back on track is by winning the Royal Rumble.
Gunther successfully defended the Intercontinental title on Friday’s show, defeating Braun Strowman with a powerbomb. Later backstage, Gunther declared for the Rumble, saying that Friday’s win over Strowman was glorious, but now it’s time to capitalize by winning the Royal Rumble.
After Raquel Rodriguez announced she was entering the Royal Rumble, she and Liv Morgan got into a confrontation, leading to a match between the two. Rodriguez won the match with the Tejana bomb.
Here is the updated Royal Rumble lineup:
WWE Royal Rumble, Saturday, January 28, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock and WWE Network —
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Kevin Owens
Mountain Dew Pitch Black match: Bray Wyatt vs. LA Knight
Raquel Rodriguez is the new number one contender for the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
On Friday’s SmackDown, Gonzalez last eliminated Shayna Baszler in a gauntlet match to determine Ronda Rousey’s next challenger. As a result, she will now face Rousey on next week’s show in Tampa.
The match started off with Xia Li pinning Emma and Tegan Nox in short fashion. Gonzalez then arrived, pinning Li, Liv Morgan, and Sonya Deville, who was announced as the final opponent. However, after Rodriguez pinned Deville, Rousey introduced Baszler as the final participant. Baszler proceeded to take off Rodriguez’s arm brace, but Rodriguez rolled up Baszler while she was distracted to score the win.
In recent weeks, Rousey and Bazler have consistently attacked Rodriguez, injuring her arm in a recent tag team match. On last week’s SmackDown, Rodriguez said she would be able to compete in this week’s gauntlet match before being attacked by Rousey and Baszler, who targeted her arm yet again.
WWE has updated the lineup for tonight’s SmackDown.
Two new matches have been added to the show. The “Honorary Uce” Sami Zayn will be in singles action against Ricochet and Bayley will face Raquel Rodriguez.
Additionally, three of the four teams originally announced for the tag team number one contender’s match have been replaced. The original teams scheduled for the match were The New Day, The Street Profits, Alpha Academy, and Los Lotharios. The match is now listed as Hit Row vs. Imperium vs. The Brawling Brutes vs. The New Day. No reason was given for the change.
Logan Paul is also scheduled for the show.
The September 16 edition of WWE SmackDown takes place from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The announced lineup is as follows:
Logan Paul appears
Sami Zayn vs. Ricochet
Bayley vs. Raquel Rodriguez
Tag Team title number one contender’s match: The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs. Imperium (Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci) vs. Hit Row (Top Dolla & Ashante “Thee” Adonis) vs. The Brawling Brutes (Butch & Ridge Holland)
In addition to serving as the go-home show for Clash at the Castle, last night’s Raw featured the crowning of new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions.
WWE’s Women’s Tag Team Championship tournament concluded with Raquel Rodriguez & Aliyah defeating Dakota Kai & IYO SKY to win the titles. Rodriguez & Aliyah are the first team to hold the titles since Sasha Banks & Naomi walked out of Raw this May.
After making a tag that Kai & SKY didn’t see, Aliyah snuck back into the ring and rolled up Kai to win the match.
“The culmination of a tournament featuring some of the brightest stars from the @WWE and @WWENXT Women’s Divisions,” Paul “Triple H” Levesque tweeted. “Congratulations to @RaquelWWE and @WWE_Aliyah on their #WWERaw MAIN EVENT win and becoming the NEW Women’s Tag Team Champions!!! #JustTheBeginning”
Also on last night’s show, Matt Riddle and Seth Rollins got into a heated war of words ahead of their match at Clash at the Castle, Kurt Angle made an appearance in his hometown of Pittsburgh, and more.
Raquel Rodriguez and Aliyah are the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions.
Rodriguez and Aliyah defeated IYO SKY and Dakota Kai in the finals of the WWE Women’s Tag Team tournament in the main event of Monday’s Raw. The finish saw Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss, and Asuka come out, distracting SKY and Kai. Aliyah used the distraction to tag herself in without SKY or Kai seeing. Aliyah then rolled up Kai and pinned her to win the titles for her team.
After the match, Bliss, Asuka, and Belair celebrated with Aliyah and Rodriguez as the show went off the air.
A tournament for the vacant titles began on the August 8 edition of Raw. SKY and Kai defeated Tamina & Dana Brooke and Alexa Bliss & Asuka to advance to the finals. Rodriguez and Aliyah, meanwhile, defeated Natalya and Sonya Deville twice to advance.
The titles were declared vacant back in May when then-champions Sasha Banks and Naomi were stripped of the titles and suspended from the company indefinitely after walking out prior to an episode of Raw.
Date: August 29, 2022 Location: PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA
Show Recap —
AJ Styles entered as the announcers previewed tonight’s show and Dolph Ziggler entered as they played a replay of the Edge/Beth Phoenix/Judgment Day stuff from last week. They really focused heavily on Rhea Ripley during Judgment Day’s entrance and said she might be the most dangerous member of the group.
Finn Bálor & Damian Priest (w/Rhea Ripley) defeated AJ Styles & Dolph Ziggler (8:34)
Styles hit Priest with a diving forearm outside the ring which led to break a minute into the match. Bálor was in control over Ziggler following the break. (They’ve been better lately at showing you what happened during the break but they didn’t do that here.) It seemed like Bálor wanted to try a Styles Clash but Ziggler countered into a fameasser.
There was a weird spot where Priest ducked a forearm and Styles held up so that he wouldn’t hit Bálor (who was on the apron) by accident. Priest shoved Styles who bumped into Bálor anyway and tried a rollup but only got two. Styles followed later with a Calf Crusher but Bálor helped Priest get to the rope.
Ziggler had Priest pinned with a rollup but the ref was distracted by Styles for no reason in particular. Ziggler fended off Bálor with a superkick but Priest dropped him with a South of Heaven chokeslam for the pinfall win.
— After the match, Edge was shown arriving at the arena in a Mercedes SUV.
********
Judgment Day paced around the ring after a break. Ripley invited Edge to the ring so she could take what was left of his manhood. Bálor thought it was ridiculous that Rey Mysterio and Edge got their own documentaries but he didn’t. Priest said they weren’t in Toronto where he had Pheonix — the pants wearer of the family — to save him.
Edge entered to a big reaction. Edge informed Priest that both he and Beth wore the pants in their family. He said it was 2022 and told Priest to stop being a caveman or he’ll be single for the rest of his life. The crowd laughed when Edge told them that looked angry and emo, mad that they couldn’t get tickets to My Chemical Romance.
Edge said Judgment Day haven’t learned their lesson because he did not come alone. Dominik and Rey Mysterio attacked them from behind with kendo sticks. A brawl broke out which left Dominik alone in the ring with Ripley.
The crowd encouraged Dominik to attack Ripley. Not only did he not hit her, she calmed him down and convinced him to hand over the stick. Edge and Rey popped back in the ring but Bálor and Priest pulled Ripley away.
********
Kevin Patrick asked Miz and Ciampa about what happened with Dexter Lumis last week. Miz didn’t want to talk about Lumis because he doesn’t even work here. Patrick brought up Lumis being arrested on NXT but Miz blew him off.
********
Six-woman tag team match: Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair, Asuka & Alexa Bliss defeated Kayla Sparks, Dani Mo & Katie Arquette (3:19)
Belair gave Sparks a KOD before Asuka tapped out Dani Mo.
(Kayla Sparks, Dani Mo and Katie Arquette didn’t get an official graphic with their names. The announcers seemed to refer to Sparks as “Kay Sparks” and Arquette as “Katie Arq”.)
Belair, Asuka and Bliss cut a promo on Bayley’s crew after the match.
********
Adam Pearce told Miz that Lumis was released from police custody because Miz won’t press charges or speak to the authorities. Miz still refused to talk about and told Pearce he wasn’t happy about having to face Bobby Lashley tonight.
********
Kurt Angle segment
Angle entered to a big reaction and “you suck” chants during his entrance. He said he was glad to be home before he plugged Clash at the Castle.
Chad Gable and Otis interrupted. Commercial break.
Gable called Angle a personal hero of his. Angle’s story motivated him when he went to the Olympics. Angle reminded him that he won his gold medal with a broken freakin’ neck.
Gable said Alpha Academy was looking for a new member but there wasn’t a shred of talent in Pittsburgh. The crowd booed. Gable said, “There’s an Olympic hero in this ring, not to mention Kurt Angle, so show some respect.” (Angle couldn’t help but laugh.)
Gable offered Angle a membership into Alpha Academy for one night only. Otis gave him an Alpha Academy jacket. Angle tossed it away and turned them down.
Gable couldn’t believe it. Angle said, “it’s true, it’s damn true” but Gable shooshed him. Angle told Gable to shoosh. They yelled “shoosh” at each other.
Gable was pissed and told Otis to go after him. The Street Profits ran out (wearing black and yellow).
Montez Ford challenged them to a match. Gable accepted under one condition: when his team wins, Angle must join Alpha Academy so Gable can coach him to the next level. Angle and the Street Profits accepted.
[SECOND HOUR]
Announced for Clash at the Castle: Edge and Rey Mysterio vs. Finn Bálor and Damian Priest.
The Street Profits defeated Alpha Academy (16:04)
This was a really good match where everyone had moments to shine.
They went to break after Gable gave Ford an overhead suplex off the top. Angelo Dawkins made a comeback after the break and gave Gable a Silencer for two. Gable gave him a German suplex and reversed a Ford high cross into a pin for two. Gable followed that with a Northern Lights suplex for two.
Otis slammed Ford before Gable followed with a diving headbutt but Dawkins broke up the cover. Dawkins and Otis took each other out with double clotheslines.
Gable dropped his shoulder straps and applied the ankle lock as he stared at Angle (who was watching from ringside). Ford fought out and applied the ankle lock himself. Ford grapevined the leg and the crowd thought we’d get a finish but Otis broke it up.
Otis confronted Angle so Dawkins wiped him out with an impressive pounce sending him over the announce table.
Dawkins launched Gable into a Ford suplex and Ford finished him off with a frog splash for the pinfall win.
— After the match, Dawkins and Ford gave Angle a red solo cup. Angle took a sip but immediately spat it out. Angle grabbed three bottles of milk for them to drink instead. Angle handed out bottles to the crowd too.
********
Members of the Pittsburgh Steelers were shown at ringside.
********
Jimmy Smith acknowledged that they had advertised a face-to-face segment between Riddle and Seth Rollins but because of everything that has happened, that wasn’t possible so they’d be interviewed in separate rooms.
They aired “fan footage” of Riddle and Rollins getting into a fight earlier today on top of a parking garage. It was broken up by officials and referees who I guess were parking their cars at the same time.
Riddle/Seth Rollins sit-down interview
Corey Graves hosted the interview and asked them what happened earlier today. Rollins claimed that Riddle was creeping his bus but Riddle denied that and they talked over each other before Graves got them to stop.
Riddle said Rollins was worried that he would embarrass him just like Roman Reigns did and just like Cody Rhodes did. Rollins said nobody liked him and when he ended Riddle on Saturday it would be for everyone. Rollins was happy to put Riddle on the shelf next to Rhodes.
Riddle said he would prove there was only one man in Rollins’ marriage, “and that’s Becky, bro.”
********
After a break, they showed more footage of Riddle and Rollins (after they thought the interview was over). Rollins said Riddle didn’t have a wife because she divorced his bitch-ass. Riddle demanded to know where Rollins was and Riddle repeatedly said he would “f*ck” him up.
********
They congratulated Bad Bunny on winning an MTV VMA.
Non-title match: United States Champion Bobby Lashley defeated The Miz (w/Ciampa) (10:49)
Lashley was firmly in control until a Ciampa distraction allowed Miz to take control. Lashley came back with suplexes and a chokeslam but Ciampa pulled Miz out of the ring before Lashley could go for a spear. Miz distracted the referee as Ciampa attacked Lashley. Miz hit a low DDT for a nearfall.
Miz set up for Skull Crushing Finale but let go upon seeing Dexter Lumis in the crowd (standing about 25 rows up).
Lashley put Miz in the Hurt Lock for the submission win.
— Miz tried to explain to Ciampa that he saw Lumis but Ciampa didn’t believe him.
(Smith mentioned that Lashley was defending his title but I’m pretty sure this was non-title.)
********
There was a funny segment with Edge and Angle backstage. They played off the segment from years ago where Edge showed Angle pictures of their past with insulting messages written on the back. After Edge left, Angle showed the Mysterios one of the pictures only to realize what was written on the back.
[THIRD HOUR]
There was a video on Connor “The Crusher” Michalek and Connor’s Cure.
This Friday on Smackdown: Roman Reigns celebrates two years as champion.
The Usos and Sami Zayn segment
Jimmy and Jey Uso boasted about Reigns’ title reign. Zayn announced that Reigns has named him the master of ceremonies for Friday’s celebration. Jey shot him a look so Zayn went on to boast about the Usos being the best team in WWE.
Kevin Owens interrupted. Owens informed them that their boss Roman still owed him one.
Jey asked Zayn if Owens was his boy. Owens was amused when Jey threatened to “get” Owens if Zayn didn’t do it first.
Zayn told Owens that Reigns didn’t owe him, or anyone, anything. Owens said Zayn was making himself look stupid by hanging out with the Bloodline and letting them treat him the way they do. Owens called Zayn one of the best in-ring performers of all time (the crowd cheered) but now he was their clown. Owens called it sad.
Zayn took it a moment before telling Owens that he didn’t know what he was talking about. He said Jimmy liked him and they did their special handshake. Jey didn’t reciprocate but Zayn said they were working on it. Most importantly, Zayn said that Roman liked him.
Jey mentioned what they did to Drew McIntyre and warned Owens to leave. Owens didn’t care about what they did to McIntyre but he did care what Jey did to him, costing him a chance to end Reigns’ title reign 18 months ago. He said they were celebrating two years of Jey having his head shoved up his cousin’s ass.
Zayn warned Owens that he was inviting Jey to kick his ass. Owens said this is where they get a referee to the ring so they could fight. A ref ran down and they went to break.
********
Kevin Owens defeated Tag Team Champion Jey Uso (w/Jimmy Uso & Sami Zayn) (12:26)
Owens was about to give Jey an apron powerbomb but Jimmy distracted him and Jey hit a superkick before hitting a Samoan drop onto the steel steps. After a break, a battle on the top led to Owens hitting a fisherman’s buster. Owens followed later with a Swanton for two.
Jey blocked a stunner before Owens blocked a superkick and hit one of his own. Jey slipped out a pop-up powerbomb, hit a superkick and a diving splash for two. Owens handed out superkicks to both Jey and Jimmy before giving Jey a frog splash for two.
Owens again set up for an apron powerbomb but turned his attention to Zayn. Jey used the distraction to hit a suicide dive.
Jey demanded Zayn grab a chair as Jimmy distracted the ref. Jey held down Owens so that Zayn could hit him but Zayn wouldn’t do it.
As Jimmy admonished Zayn, Owens gave Jey a stunner for the pinfall win.
*********
Bayley, Dakota Kai and IYO SKY did a promo about tonight’s match and the match on Saturday. Basically, they planned on getting to the top and staying there.
Miz was shown frantically leaving the arena (a good 40 minutes after his match ended). As Miz drove off in his SUV, Lumis could be seen sitting in the back.
********
Johnny Gargano/Theory segment
This started as an interview with Gargano. He said that “Johnny Wrestling” wasn’t just a nickname — wrestling meant everything to him. The interviewer asked if Theory ruined his return but Gargano said no, he was actually happy to see him.
Gargano spoke about Theory’s talent, which is why he was with him in NXT. Theory had every genetic gift that he didn’t have so didn’t have to start at the bottom. Gargano said he didn’t hear from Theory for nine months, not even after his baby was born.
Theory showed up and asked why Gargano didn’t call him when he was the US title. Theory said Gargano was jealous and he expected more from him. Theory pointed at his MITB briefcase and said it was lonely at the top. He warned Gargano that he was swimming with the sharks now.
********
The announcers ran down the Clash of the Castle card. There was also a video package highlighting the two teams fighting for the Women’s tag team titles.
Women’s Tag Team Championship Tournament Finals: Raquel Rodriguez & Aliyah defeated Dakota Kai & IYO SKY (w/Bayley) (11:17)
Kai and SKY drove Aliyah into the steel steps and Kai hit Rodriguez with a PK which led to break. Kai and SKY used a combination of strikes on Rodriguez to remain in control. Rodriguez launched SKY into Kai but couldn’t tag out because Aliyah was down from being knocked into the steps again.
Rodriguez made a comeback anyway and gave SKY an elbow drop for two. SKY responded with a Code Red for two. Rodriguez turned SKY inside out with a clothesline but SKY got an assist from Bayley as Kai distracted the referee. Kai hit a running boot and SKY followed with the moonsault but Rodriguez kicked out.
Belair, Bliss and Asuka marched out to chase away Bayley.
As SKY and Kai were distracted, Aliyah tagged herself in and hid. SKY and Kai double-teamed Rodriguez but Aliyah slipped in the ring and rolled up Kai to score the pinfall win.
Belair, Asuka and Bliss congratulated Rodriguez and Aliyah who posed with their new belts as fireworks went off.
(This was an odd way to end the tournament and crown new champions. Aliyah was absent for most of the match and they didn’t exactly come across like the better team.)
