Tag: smackdown live results - Page 3

WWE SmackDown live results: Royal Rumble go-home show

Posted on January 31, 2025January 31, 2025 by Colin McGuire

Royal Rumble weekend in Indianapolis begins with tonight’s SmackDown from Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

On the eve of the Rumble, Chelsea Green and Michin once again face off for the Women’s United States title. Green beat Michin in the finals of a tournament to crown the inaugural champ in December, but the two have continued their feud since then. Most recently, Michin pinned Green in a tag match last week as she and B-Fab defeated Green and Piper Niven.

An eight-man tag match is also on tap for tonight with Motor City Machine Guns teaming up with Los Garza to take on DIY and Pretty Deadly. It comes in advance of Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin challenging Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa for the WWE Tag Team titles in a two-out-of-three falls bout at the Royal Rumble.

Naomi vs. Liv Morgan and Jimmy Uso vs. Carmelo Hayes are set for tonight as well. Plus, Joe Tessitore interviews Kevin Owens in advance of his ladder match against Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes on Saturday.

The first hour of tonight’s show is airing commercial-free. Join us for live coverage starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

**********

– Michael Cole welcomed everyone to the show as footage of the city of Indianapolis was shown. Liv Morgan, Naomi, Bianca Belair, Michin, Chelsea Green and Damian Priest were shown walking through portions of the arena earlier in the day.

– Cole was at a small desk in the crowd, ala Saturday Night’s Main Event. Cole then introduced Pat McAfee and said he was the reason the Royal Rumble will be in Indianapolis this year. McAfee made his entrance and stood at the small desk with Cole. The crowd chanted “McAfee!” and McAfee called Indianapolis the greatest host city on earth. McAfee said the city is world-class and it hosts Final Fours, National Championships and the like and the people there are the best in the world. McAfee said he was “so damn thankful to be here.” Cole then threw to Joe Tessitore in the ring.

The Kevin Owens Interview

This was really good. Not necessarily on Punk/Cody level from Monday, but intriguing nonetheless, if only for how loud Owens has been about not liking Punk in or out of the ring (of course, this is professional wrestling, so who really knows where the real life truth lies, but the tension here felt palpable). Owens looked legitimately unhappy that he had to be out there with Punk and Punk looked as happy as the Young Bucks taking their victory lap as he smirked his way through this thing. It all added up to a fun way to open the show and it has me hopeful that we might actually get Owens vs. Punk someday in WWE one way or another.

Both belts that will be up for grabs at the Royal Rumble were hanging in the middle of the ring. Tessitore said it’s difficult to look past Owens’s latest actions. Tessitore played up the idea that he plays a big role covering wrestlers, so he wanted to give Owens fair time. Tessitore asked Owens what everyone was missing about how Owens feels about Cody. Owens began to talk and the crowd started to drown him out with boos. Owens called Tessitore a Cody Rhodes fan boy and lamented that everyone was talking about how they would face Cody at WrestleMania, but Owens said he will win the title at the Rumble and go onto WrestleMania himself.

Owens asked Tessitore if he thought he was a tough guy and Owens did not accept Tessitore’s initial apology for not giving him mic time. Owens then grabbed the winged-eagle belt as it hung in the middle of the ring and went to leave, but CM Punk’s music hit and Punk walked out. Owens looked less than thrilled. Punk grabbed a microphone and the crowd loudly chanted “CM Punk!” and Punk took it in. Owens and Punk stood silent and started at each other for a minute while “Holy s-!@#” chants broke out in the crowd.

Owens asked Punk if he could help him and Punk said no. Instead, Punk said he was there to offer two apologies – one for interrupting him; the other was for Owens thinking Punk was looking past Owens for WrestleMania. Punk said when he wins the Royal Rumble and if Owens makes it past an angry Cody Rhodes, the main event of WrestleMania could be Kevin Owens vs. CM Punk. Punk said if Owens wins at the Rumble, then Owens’s title reign won’t last long.

Owens said he felt conflicted because on one hand there are 29 guys in the Rumble that he likes more than Punk. But at the same time, Owens said the thought of Punk vs. Owens in the main event at WrestleMania – or Owens beating Punk’s ass at WrestleMania, he corrected himself to say – appealed to him. Owens played up the fact that all Punk wants to do is main event WrestleMania and it’s right at Punk’s fingertips. Owens said the idea of Punk never getting to main event WrestleMania is so good to Owens. Owens said he loves the thought of Punk never completing that dream. Owens stepped towards Punk and said Punk will go to his grave as a miserable failure. Owens said he hopes Punk doesn’t win the Royal Rumble and dropped the mic to leave.

Punk, however, kept going. Owens stood on the ring apron. Punk said he had never lost five title matches at the Royal Rumble while Owens has. Punk said he had never lost to Logan Paul, but Owens has. Punk said he had never tried to manipulate his best friend to help him win a title, but Owens has taken short cuts. Punk noted how he has to throw 29 other people over the top rope while Owens has to survive a pissed off Cody Rhodes in a ladder match. Punk invited Owens back into the ring and said he’d kick his ass. Punk told Owens to not be afraid. Owens dropped his mic. Punk did, too. Owens teased getting into the ring and instead walked away with his winged-eagle belt. Punk’s music hit to end the segment.

**********

– The Miz was talking to Nick Aldis backstage and said if Andrade was standing right there, right now, he’d punch Andrade in the face. Andrade asked if Miz issued a challenge. Andrade suggested The Miz vs. Andrade later tonight and Miz said if Andrade wanted a lesson in greatness, that’d be fine. Aldis made the match for later tonight.

– Carmelo Hayes walked to the ring with a microphone and called Jimmy Uso not “The One,” but “The Two.” Melo said he won’t miss because his name isn’t Tyrese Halliburton. The show naturally cut to the Indiana Pacers star, who was sitting in the front row. Jimmy tried to jumpstart the match, but Melo quickly countered and the first match was under way.

Jimmy Uso defeated Carmelo Hayes [8:31]

I was expecting more from the Melo/Halliburton interaction, but maybe they are saving something for Tyrese later in the show. Another thing I was expecting was Jimmy getting a clean, easy win, but Uce had to kind of/sort of cheat to win and Melo, for what it’s worth, got a lot of offense in before taking the loss. Maybe this means they run it back sooner than later. While it helped Melo to be competitive here, he still took the loss and it’s probably about time for him to earn some wins now that he’s gone nearly a year as the No. 1 draft pick for SmackDown. Time will tell. As for this match, it was fairly boilerplate. Melo looked more crisp than Jimmy, but Jimmy’s power stood out. A fine-enough way to fill television for about 10 minutes.

Melo kept control for a good part of the first minute until he tried to headbutt Jimmy, but that turned out to hurt Melo more than it hurt Jimmy. Melo ran into an uppercut from Jimmy and Jimmy yeeted. Jimmy clotheslined Melo over the top rope and went for a dive, but Melo cut Jimmy off with a clothesline inside the ring. Melo landed a hip attack and went for another one, but Jimmy moved and tried a pop-up move, but Melo turned it into a DDT for a two count.

With Jimmy on the outside, Melo landed a dive and jawed at Halliburton. Jimmy attacked Melo from behind and rolled Melo back into the ring to hit an enziguri. Jimmy then went for a hip attack, but Melo moved. It didn’t matter because Jimmy came back with a pop-up Samoan Drop for a two count. Jimmy went to the top rope, but Melo cut him off and went for something of his own, but Jimmy denied him and landed some type of arm-drag suplex on Melo to reset the match as both guys were down.

Jimmy kicked Melo, but then ultimately jumped into Melo’s First 48, but Jimmy kicked out at two-and-a-half. Melo went for a springboard move, but Jimmy move and super-kicked Melo for a good near-fall. Jimmy went to the top and went for a splash, but Melo go the knees up and rolled Jimmy up for a two count. Melo then hit a running knee and went to the top, where Melo landed a splash of his own for a nice near-fall. Melo looked shocked.

Melo went back to the top rope, but Jimmy cut him off with a kick. Jimmy went for something, but Melo countered into a rollup. Jimmy kicked out and rolled Melo up for the win. Jimmy had a handful of tights to help him get the win.

**********

– The Royal Rumble “By The Numbers” video aired and man, those are always so good.

– Chelsea Green was interviewed by Byron Saxton backstage. Green said last week, Michin tried to destroy the face of the United States and tonight, Green will return the favor. Green then said she will win the Royal Rumble Saturday night. Green also called Piper Niven her “Secret Hervice” and it was damn funny.

Michin defeated Chelsea Green via DQ [6:21]

Eh. OK. That’s fine. I guess. I think. Maybe. Probably. It was hard to think a clean finish was coming when this was slotted 45 minutes into the episode, and I have no problem with them stretching this program out a little more, but it was a disappointing finish and if Green vs. Michin isn’t about to walk over the line, it can certainly see the line from where it sits currently. It’s hard to think of Green dropping that belt anytime soon, but the way they have built this feud, I can be convinced that Michin would be the best opponent to eventually take it from her. Either way, this was a bit too short to really get going. As an aside: Without Green in WWE and Toni Storm in AEW, professional wrestling on all American channels would be a lot less interesting. God bless them for that.

The two traded pin attempts to begin the match and Green rolled outside the ring to roll back into it. Michin hit a series of German Suplexes and Green went to the outside, where Michin landed a dive through the ropes. Back inside the ring, Michin went for Eat Defeat, but Green got away from it. Michin pounded on Green until Green pushed Michin over the top and to the outside. Back inside the ring, Green worked a chin-lock. Eventually, Green went to a head-lock.

Michin fought back with a series of kicks, including a running strike. Michin set up the Long Back Attack and hit a Cannonball and got a two count out of it. The two traded pin attempts until Michin landed Eat Defeat, but Green rolled to the outside. B-Fab rolled Green back into the ring, but Green escaped again, but Michin chased after her. Green kept running away regardless. Green found the kendo stick and hit Michin with it to end the match. After the match, Michin got a hold of the stick and worked Green over with it.

**********

– Saxton interviewed Belair and Naomi backstage. Saxton asked what will happen if Naomi and Belair are the final two in the Rumble on Saturday. They both said they’d support each other, no matter the outcome. Saxton noted how Liv and Raquel have their eyes on the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.

– Another Charlotte Flair vignette aired.

– Stephanie McMahon was shown sitting in the crowd with a child.

The Damian Priest/Jacob Fatu Segment

The future of SmackDown, probably, and it’s hard to be mad at that. Fatu vs. Priest is a nice way to introduce Priest to Fridays – and it’ll be even better if they can figure out how to involve a title with all this. Knight being there makes sense, too. I will now insert the complaint I keep writing each week these days: Why wouldn’t they advertise this tag match ahead of time? It has some of the brand’s biggest star power. Don’t you think people might tune in if they knew this was coming ahead of time? Anyway, Fatu saying he and Tonga run SmackDown now is mighty interesting considering how Solo Sikoa walked out of the entire arena without saying a word the last time we saw him. Something’s going to eventually give with all that … right?

Priest said he wanted to make an impact after coming up to the main roster and he went from a nobody to a heavyweight champion. Priest said he doesn’t want to live in the past, though, because now he’s on SmackDown. Priest said the goal on SmackDown is championships and it will start at the Royal Rumble as he secures his spot at WrestleMania. On cue, Jacob Fatu’s music hit and Fatu walked to the ring.

Fatu screamed into the mic and said he sees Priest and he knows who he is, what he’s done. Fatu said Priest has accomplished so much more than the others in the back. Fatu said they’re alike because they both got out the gutter and they both came from the streets. The difference, Fatu said, was that Fatu spent time in jail. Fatu said he’s all gas, no breaks now, and if Priest thinks he’s going to make a name for himself on SmackDown, that’s not going to happen. Fatu said Priest can lay down or he could “beat his ass down.” Fatu said he and Tama Tonga are running SmackDown now and yelled “Fatu!”

Priest asked Fatu if that was supposed to intimidate him. Priest then spoke in Spanish. Priest said Fatu should know better and asked Fatu why they’re even talking at all. Priest then super-kicked Tonga. Fatu glared at Priest and removed his vest. The two circled each other. A “Holy SH$#@” chant broke out and the two brawled with each other. Tonga got up and inserted himself. The two played the numbers game on Priest until LA Knight’s music hit and Knight ran down to make the save. Knight hit Fatu with a chair and grabbed the mic. Knight challenged Fatu and Tonga to go up against Priest and Knight later in the show. Knight offered up his catchphrase to end the segment.

**********

– Santos Escobar was shown talking to Los Garza backstage. MCMG walked in and Escobar pointed out that MCMG have their opportunity to win gold at the Rumble. Meanwhile, Legado Del Fantasma have to fight for what they have. Alex Shelley said they will have Los Garza’s backs tonight. Angel said if MCMG because #DIY at the Rumble, they want the first shot at the tag titles.

– Footage of the moment HHH was told he’d be inducted into the Hall Of Fame this year from earlier this week aired.

Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) and Los Garza (Angel & Berto) defeated #DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) and Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince & Kit Wilson) [12:08]

This went pretty much as expected, but there’s nothing wrong with that. MCMG getting the win for their team all but promises that they will continue to be in chase mode with #DIY coming out of the Royal Rumble Saturday night. Then again, this is a new era, so perhaps new things can and will happen. I got a kick out of how MCMG kept trying to tag each other in, only to have Los Garza members cut them off. It was a tiny touch, but a necessary one in order to make sure we all know that Los Garza are still heels. Here’s hoping that 2-out-of-3 falls tag match gets at least a half hour at the Rumble Saturday night. Seeing, as always, is believing.

Berto and Prince were the first to lock up. The show almost immediately went to a picutre-in-picture break, but it came right back and Ciampa was the legal man for the heels. Berto landed a rolling moonsault on Ciampa for a two-count. Shelley tried to tag in, but Angel tagged himself in … but Sabin tagged himself in. Gargano was the legal man briefly and things broke down. The babyfaces hit stereo dives on the heels on the outside of the ring and the show went to another PIP break, weirdly.

When the show returned this time around, Prince was working over Sabin. Wilson tagged in and Sabin hit a double clothesline on both Prince and Wilson. Sabin tagged in Angel (who stole the tag from Shelley). Angel fired up and ripped off his pants. Angel went to the top and hit a cross-body on Wilson for a two count. Gargano tagged himself in and things broke down again with all eight wrestlers getting a signature move in, complete with a moonsault from Angel onto Pretty Deadly on the outside.

Berto powerbombed Gargano inside the ring for a nice near-fall. “This is awesome!” chants began. Sabin tagged himself in, but Angel stopped Sabin from entering the ring. Los Garza jawed at Sabin and left ringside, leaving MCMG on their own. Ciampa, meanwhile, worked out Sabin on the outside of the ring, throwing him into the crowd barrier. Shelley popped up on the apron, but Gargano pulled Shelley to the floor.

Ciampa clotheslined the hell out of Sabin. Ciampa accidentally kicked Prince in the head and as a result, Pretty Deadly walked away. Sabin then rolled Ciampa up and got the win for his team.

**********

– Fatu and Tonga were shown walking backstage and saw the tag titles laid out on a road case. Ciampa and Gargano walked up and grabbed them. Tonga “Yeeee Yeeee Yeeee”-ed at #DIY. Ciampa ran into and yelled at Pretty Deadly. Gargano said the tag title match at the Rumble is the biggest match of their lives. Elton Prince told Gargano and Ciampa that tomorrow night, they will be on their own.

– Cole and McAfee were shown at their tiny desk and McAfee introduced Tyrese Halliburton, who joined the two at the tiny desk in the crowd. Halliburton said he was excited to have the Rumble in his town. McAfee noted how it’s Pacers vs. Hawks at 5 p.m. tomorrow and wondered if we could see Halliburton in the Rumble. Halliburton said the plan is to beat the Hawks and then show up at Lucas Oil. Footage of Cole and Cody crowdsurfing earlier in the day aired.

– A vignette focusing on Owens vs. Rhodes aired.

Naomi defeated Liv Morgan [10:21]

Boy, it sure does feel like Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez are going to be the next in line for those WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles, doesn’t it? That’s fine and all, but what about the other end of the equation? At what point does Jade Cargill get re-inserted into the Naomi/Belair circle? And when do we find out about the attacker? All of this feels like it will develop sooner than later, but this viewer is starting to get at least a tiny bit impatient. In the meantime, this was a mildly surprising result and a well-worked match on both ends. Morgan was just one of the biggest champions in the company. Now she’s losing in the second-to-third hour of SmackDown in a match with little stakes. Perhaps there is a plan. There’s always a plan. Right?

The women locked up to begin things. Morgan got the best of it at first, but Naomi came back with an arm-drag and a head-scissors takedown. Morgan rolled to the outside. Back inside the ring, Naomi kicked Morgan a handful of times. Naomi then hit her split splash for a two count. Naomi landed a vertical suplex for a two count. Raquel hopped up on the apron to distract Naomi and Morgan too advantage of that with a backstabber for a two count. The show went to a break.

Back to the show, Morgan pinned Naomi, got a two count and then worked a chin-lock. Naomi Stunned Morgan to even things out. Naomi kicked Morgan in the head and followed up with a clothesline and back elbow. Naomi ran Morgan’s face into the second turnbuckle and went to the top. From there, Naomi landed a cross-body for a two count. Morgan ultimately came back with a running knee and a Codebreaker from the top for a near-fall.

Naomi hit a Rear View out of nowhere and went for the split-legged moonsault, but Raquel distracted Naomi. Even so, Morgan and Naomi traded pin attempts in the wake of the distraction and Naomi got the best of it, rolling Morgan up for the win. After the match, Raquel attacked Belair and Naomi. Morgan joined in on the fun and Raquel powerbombed Morgan onto both Naomi and Belair.

**********

– A video recapping the Fatu vs. Strowman match from SNME aired.

Andrade defeated The Miz [10:02]

The expected outcome in a match that would have gone too long if this didn’t involve a commercial break. I’m a fan of the back elbow being a finisher for Andrade, so here’s hoping that sticks around. Speaking of “here’s hoping,” here’s hoping Andrade gets somewhat of a kickstart in the wake of WrestleMania season. The Melo/Andrade program was filled with fireworks but both guys haven’t really found a safe place to land since then. Facing The Miz in a throwaway third hour of SmackDown proves as much on Andrade’s side. Here’s hoping he gets back to something meaningful sooner than later.

The two locked up and Miz hit an arm-drag before posing. A lock-up happened again and Andrade got the best of that one. The Miz actually landed a flying head-scissors and the crowd cheered as the action spilled outside. Andrade followed it up with a springboard moonsault on Miz and the show went to a commercial break at about the two-minute mark.

Back from the break and Miz was in control, giving Andrade some Miz Kicks. Andrade popped up and chopped the hell out of Miz. From there, Andrade hit a Dragon-Screw Leg Whip and a flying elbow before firing up the crowd. Andrade then landed the double-knees onto Miz in a corner. Andrade booted Miz in the face, but Miz came back with a tilt-a-whirl DDT for a nice near-fall. Miz clotheslined Andrade in a corner and went to the top. but Andrade cut him off. With the two on the top, Andrade pulled off a top rope Spanish Fly for a good near-fall.

“This is awesome!” chants broke out (let’s not get carried away, friends). Andrade missed a moonsault attempt and the two traded rollup attempts, but nothing came of it. Andrade then hit his spinning back elbow and that, surprisingly enough, was good enough to get Andrade the win.

**********

– Priest ran into Escobar backstage. Priest wondered why Escobar was even talking to him in the first place. Escobar told Priest he’d see him around. R-Truth appeared and told Priest they were at Raw. Priest told Truth to never change and turned into LA Knight. Nakamura was standing in the shadows as Knight and Priest talked to each other. Truth hopped in and said “Welcome to Raw!” to both Knight and Priest.

– Tiffany Stratton was shown walking and she ran into Zelina Vega, who said she had her eyes on Tiffy’s title. Tiffy talked down to Vega and it turns out Stratton is going to talk to Cole and McAfee next.

The Tiffany Stratton segment

Nia Jax is working overtime these days between SNME and SmackDown. Good for her. I have to think this means the story isn’t over between Stratton and Jax, no matter how Saturday night turns out. Tiffany, for her part, needs to decide if she wants to be a proper heel or a proper babyface. She heel’d on Vega backstage and then sold like a babyface after Jax attacked her in the ring. We all feel like it’s going one way, but the more WWE denies it, the more unnatural – and more frustrating – her entire presentation feels.

McAfee and Cole were in the ring and Cole introduced Stratton, who made her entrance. Cole asked Tiffy how her life has changed since she won the WWE Women’s Championship. Tiffy said she has always been championship material. Stratton said now everybody knows she’s championship material. McAfee said everybody wants what she has and McAfee listed off wrestlers who might win the Royal Rumble, including Nia Jax. Tiffy said it doesn’t matter who wins because it will always be Tiffy Time.

As Tiffy was talking, Candice LeRae’s music hit and LeRae walked out with a microphone. LeRae called Tiffy pathetic and said Tiffy didn’t deserve to even say Nia’s name. LeRae said Tiffy betrayed both Jax and LeRae. The crowd started the “WHAT?” treatment as LeRae stepped into the ring and called Tiffy jealous. LeRae told Tiffy to enjoy what little bit of Tiffy Time she has left. LeRae said she has entered the Rumble. Tiffy backed LeRae into a corner and Jax tried to attack Tiffy, but Tiffy moved and Jax splashed LeRae. Jax rebounded quickly, and hit a leg drop and her finisher on Tiffy. Jax stood tall to end the segment.

**********

– The commentary team ran down the card for the Royal Rumble.

LA Knight & Damian Priest defeated Jacob Fatu & Tama Tonga [14:44]

A good-enough main event for the Royal Rumble go-home show, but “good-enough” isn’t by much. It’s no secret that SmackDown has lost its luster over the last few months and with Raw On Netflix now the shiny new thing, it was clear that SmackDown was going to be given the short end of the stick. To see it come this early is a little disheartening. You have one of your four (probably three?) biggest shows of the year tomorrow night and your main event is a throwaway tag that has no real implications for anything significant in the immediate future? Or, well, probably more accurate: No Big Time Stars in the last 10 minutes of TV leading up to A Very Important PLE? No Cody? No Roman? No Punk? Not even Owens? Switch out the Monday and Friday shows and you’d have something. Tonight, though? Not so much.

Knight and Priest jumpstarted the match and ran into the ring to attack the heels. Fatu was kicked to the outside and Tonga and Priest turned out to be the legal men. Priest got the best of him and tagged in Knight. Still, Tonga came back, corner Knight and tagged in Fatu. Knight landed a neck-breaker on Fatu and stomped a mudhole in him. Knight then ran into a knee from Fatu, but Knight came back with another neck-breaker.

Priest tagged in and worked over Fatu until Tonga distracted Priest and Fatu capitalized with a hip attack. Tonga tagged in and took some punishment from Tonga. Fatu tagged in and worked Priest’s neck. Priest came back and threw Fatu to the outside. Knight tagged in and Knight went after Fatu, complete with his top-rope elbow. Out of nowhere, Fatu landed a leaping elbow on Knight to settle things down. The show then went to its final commercial break.

The show returned and Fatu went for a hip attack on Knight, but Knight moved. From there, Knight back-suplexed Fatu and ultimately got the hot tag to Priest, who came in and cleaned house. Priest hit a Flapjack on Tonga and fired up the crowd. Priest sent Tonga flying over the commentary table and then planted Fatu on said table. Back inside the ring, Priest walked the top rope, ala Undertaker, and hit a cross-body for a near-fall that the referee kind of/sort of gave away before Tonga kicked out.

Priest set up for a Razor’s Edge, but Tonga countered into a sleeper hold. Priest tried to fire up, but it didn’t really work at first. Eventually, it worked and Priest got out of it. Tonga landed the Hanging DDT on Priest inside the ring and Knight tackled Fatu over into the timekeeper’s area. “This is awesome!” chants broke out. Tonga ran at Priest, but Priest caught him and eventually clotheslined the hell out of Tonga. Priest then hit South Of Heaven on Tonga for the win.

After the match, Fatu ran into the ring and attacked Priest, complete with super-kick, pop-up Samoan Drop and a moonsault. The show barely made it off air before fitting all of this in. Everything ended with a shot of Fatu scowling.

WWE SmackDown live results: LA Knight vs. Tama Tonga

Posted on January 24, 2025January 24, 2025 by Colin McGuire

After a confrontation last week, LA Knight will go one-on-one with Tama Tonga on tonight’s WWE SmackDown.

The Knight vs. Tonga match was set up after a brawl between Tonga, Knight, Jacob Fatu, and Braun Strowman last Friday. Knight was looking to seek revenge for Fatu and Tonga interfering in his match against Shinsuke Nakamura two weeks ago for the United States Championship.

Also slated for the episode, the Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) will take on Pretty Deadly (Kit Wilson & Elton Prince). Pretty Deadly interfered in MCMG’s match last week against Los Garza, but the interference backfired and MCMG still came out on top.

Tonight’s show will serve as the final build for this weekend’s Saturday Night’s Main Event episode. Ahead of his contract signing with Kevin Owens at SNME, Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes will appear tonight for an exclusive interview. It will be conducted by Joe Tessitore.

Rhodes and Owens are set to meet in a ladder match for the Undisputed WWE title at the Royal Rumble on February 1.

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

**********

– Joe Tessitore spoke as outdoor shots of Texas were shown. Footage of Tama Tonga, Jacob Fatu, LA Knight, and Tiffany Stratton walking in various places was shown. Turned out, Tessitore was standing in the middle of the ring and he introduced Cody Rhodes.

The Cody Rhodes Interview

There wasn’t a lot to this. I suppose you couldn’t expect Owens to interrupt because Cody and Owens will be around each other at SNME, but I did kind of think they might set up a proper main event for tonight with Cody involved. Instead, we got three (maybe four?) standard questions from Tessitore and Cody doing his best to be engaging … but truthfully falling a tiny bit short. It felt like the live crowd wanted more – and it felt like more was coming – but the segment just never blossomed into anything of note. Kudos for WWE for trying something different, though. That’s encouraging.

Tessitore started talking and the crowd broke out into “Cody!” chants. Tessitore mentioned how Austin was the hometown of Dusty Rhodes. Tessitore noted how Cody will have his title taken from him to be hung above the ring and asked Cody how he felt about these being the final moments of him having the belt in his possession. Cody said Shawn Michaels knows something about ladder matches (Michaels will host the contract signing for the match at SNME) and reminded everyone that to main event WrestleMania, you have hold the title he holds and he, like everyone else, wants to main event WrestleMania.

Tessitore asked Cody about Kevin Owens and Cody threw the question to the crowd, who booed. Cody said a lot of people have a lot of opinions on Owens and they shouldn’t because he will subvert everyone’s expectations. Cody called Owens a once-in-a-generation superstar and said 10 times out of 10, Owens will always chose the easy way out. Because of this, Cody said, this is why the ladder match is the best way to go because it will simply be about who can climb the ladder and leave Indianapolis WWE Champion.

Following that up, Tessitore said he wasn’t sure if Owens could remain calm at SNME’s contract signing and asked Cody what his final message before the Royal Rumble to Owens would be. Cody said he might appear to be a good guy, but he was the one who defeated the greatest champion of his era, Roman Reigns, and he was also a student of Randy Orton. Therefore, he was and is as mean as people can get. Cody said simply put, he had only one thing to say to Owens: “Good luck.” Cody’s music hit and that was the end of that.

**********

– #DIY and Pretty Deadly were talking backstage and Johnny Gargano told Pretty Deadly they wouldn’t be able to help them later because Gargano has a match against Apollo Crews later. Ciampa told Pretty Deadly to handle their business. Gargano told them they believe in them. This all came after Pretty Deadly tried to see what might happen after tonight. #DIY walked away and Pretty Deadly ran into Legado Del Fantasma, who stared the team down. No words were said. Back in the ring, MCMG’s theme hit for the night’s first match.

Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) defeated Pretty Deadly (Kit Wilson & Elton Prince) [9:55]

A fine TV match, if not a little too predictable. Much like the opening segment, it felt like there was something else that was supposed to happen, but it didn’t happen. In this case, interference from some tag team somewhere felt inevitable, but this was simply a clean win for MCMG. No complaining from me. I enjoy some of the edge that Pretty Deadly is showing, but seeing believing when it comes to if it will mean anything substantial moving forward. Here’s hoping.

Prince and Sabin started the match and Sabin got the best of it briefly, but Prince turned it around. Shelley tagged in, but Wilson soon followed. Sabin quickly tagged back in and MCMG landed a double-team move, but it wasn’t long before Pretty Deadly got aggressive and ran Sabin into a ring post on the outside. Shelley followed the heels and roughed them up. Pretty Deadly posed as the show went to a picture in picture.

The show returned and Wilson was beating down Sabin inside the ring. Prince tagged in and kept the pummeling going. Wilson tagged in, but Sabin fought back and hit a running enziguri on Wilson to then get the hot tag to Shelley. Prince tagged in, but Shelley took care of both of them, complete with a DDT on Prince for a two-count. Pretty Deadly were on the outside and Sabin tagged in to land a suicide dive on Pretty Deadly.

Back inside the ring, MCMG set up for Skull and Bones, but Pretty Deadly worked out of it to take control on both Sabin and Shelley. Prince landed a Bulldog from the top on Shelley for a near-fall. With Wilson as the legal man, MCMG hit their signature double-team moves before ultimately hitting Skull and Bones for the win.

**********

– The Miz was shown meeting with Nick Aldis backstage. Miz said Tessitore does a great interview, but it’s not Miz TV. Aldis informed Miz he is now on SmackDown permanently. Miz noted how the Wyatts are on SmackDown and flipped out. Aldis told Miz he’ll need to make new friends and make them fast.

– A video package/tale of the tape ran on the Braun Strowman vs. Jacob Fatu match for SNME.

The Kevin Owens/Jimmy Uso segment

Kevin Owens appeared out of nowhere as Tessitore and Wade Barrett were talking at the commentary table. Owens berated Tessitore for interviewing Cody and not him. Owens asked why everyone wants to be Cody’s friend because all Cody does is betray his fans. Owens said he will prove at the Royal Rumble that he is the true WWE champion. Matthew McConaughey was in the crowd and started jawing at/with Owens. Jimmy Uso’s music hit and Jimmy walked out.

Jimmy stepped into the ring and Owens asked Jimmy why he was there. Jimmy said it was because Owens “talks too damn much” and then attacked Owens. Jimmy went to the top rope, but Owens rolled out of the ring with his Winged Eagle belt. Jimmy got on the mic and asked Owens where he was going. Jimmy challenged Owens to a match for later tonight. And it appears we have found our impromptu main event.

**********

Carmelo Hayes was shown talking to Aldis in Aldis’s office. Melo was supposed to face Jimmy Uso later, so Melo was angry about it. Aldis said he has an opponent for Melo, but Hayes said he wants to meet his opponent instead of waiting until he gets in the ring because the last time that happened, Strowman came out. Melo said he’d wait to see who shows up.

B-Fab & Michin defeated Chelsea Green & Piper Niven [3:25]

This wasn’t much, either. At least Owens injecting something into the first hour. Sadly, it didn’t carry over into this tag, which was clearly here only to set up the eventual Green vs. Michin rematch. At this point, it would be nice if we got there sooner than later.

Michin and Niven began the match. Michin kicked Niven and Green tagged in. Michin dragged Green into the ring and went for Eat Defeat, but Green countered. The sequence ended up with Green in a corner and Michin twerking. Michin went for a Cannonball, but Green moved and took control. Green suplexed Michin for a one-count. Niven tagged in and went for an elbow drop, but Michin moved. B-Fab received the hot tag while Green tagged in.

B-Fab worked over Green, complete with a DDT and a cover that was broken up by Niven. Niven slammed B-Fab and Michin dropkicked Niven. Somehow, Green and Michin were the legal women (I guess I missed at least one tag) and Michin hit Eat Defeat on Green for the win.

**********

– Melo was still in Aldis’s office and Damian Priest showed up and Aldis asked Priest if he was interested in a one-on-one match with Melo later. Priest said he was there to work and it looks like Priest will be on SmackDown full-time now.

– A Charlotte vignette aired for the second week in a row. This time, Charlotte spoke over the fancy video footage. Charlotte declared for the Royal Rumble.

The Tiffy Time segment

This was fun for what it was and finally threw some energy into the proceedings. We’ll see what Aldis was about to announce before the show went to break.

Stratton said once again she is the center of attention. Stratton said she wasn’t worried about who wins the Royal Rumble because things will still operate on Tiffy Time. Rhea Ripley’s music hit and Ripley walked out to a loud ovation. “Mami!” chants broke out. Ripley said she knew Tiffy was still new there, but she wanted Tiffy to know she was a women’s champion, too. Ripley said she respects what Tiffy did to Nia Jax, but it won’t compare to what she’ll do to her at SNME. On cue, Nia Jax’s music hit and Jax walked out with Candice LeRae.

Jax said she didn’t understand why she was “catching strays,” and that’s a young person’s phrase, so who knows what that means. Jax officially declared for the Royal Rumble match as the crowd booed. Jax looked at a kid in the entranceway and said “Your mom sucks, kid.” Jax said she will beat Ripley at SNME. Jax said she’d take back Tiffy’s title eventually because that title is hers. As Jax stepped into the ring, Bianca Belair’s music hit and out came Belair and Naomi.

Naomi asked Belair if she could believe it. Naomi officially entered the Royal Rumble match. Belair did the same. Belair and Naomi went back and forth on who was going to win. Liv Morgan’s music then hit and Liv walked out with Raquel. While standing in the entranceway, Liv noted how Ripley lost her man “to a real woman.” Live called Tiffy a Liv Morgan wannabe. Liv shouted that she doesn’t care about anybody because the headline news will be all about Liv … because she is also declaring for the Royal Rumble match. Liv also “declared her victory” for the Rumble match. Liv said Raquel will ensure that Liv wins and Ripley headbutted the hell out of Liv. All the women then brawled. Nick Aldis walked out and the show went to a commercial break.

**********

Liv Morgan, Miz Jax & Candice LeRae defeated Bianca Belair, Naomi & Rhea Ripley [12:13]

Lots of star power here and that’s a good thing. The match itself was a bit of a cluster, but what else would you expect? I said this last week, but I’ll say it again: Why wouldn’t WWE advertise a match like this ahead of time? It will most likely end up as the most star-powered bout of the night … why not put it out there to entice viewers to tune in? I digress. Anyway, a fluke win for the heels all but ensures Ripley beats Jax tomorrow night, but we knew that anyway. In the meantime, this was fun for what it was.

Ripley started the match and suplexed LeRae. Naomi and Belair got involved and threw Naomi onto Jax. Morgan tagged in and Naomi took her down before tagging in Belair and hitting a double arm-drag. Belair started pounding on Morgan, but LeRae interfered and Morgan then started pulling on Belair’s braid. Jax tagged in and clotheslined Belair. Jax rag-dolled Belair. Jax set up for her finisher, but Belair pushed Jax over the top and to the outside. The show then went to a commercial break.

The show returned and Morgan had the upper hand on Naomi. Jax tagged in and hit a splash on Naomi. Jax followed that up with a stink face. LeRae tagged in and rolled up Naomi for a two-count. Jax attacked Ripley on the outside of the ring. Morgan did the same to Belair. All of this allowed the heels to triple-team Naomi, but Naomi fought back and landed an X-Factor on LeRae. Ripley hopped back on the apron and received the hot tag. Morgan tagged in and Ripley went to work on Liv.

Belair tagged in and went for a moonsault on Morgan, but Morgan got her knees up. Belair landed a weird spear/tackle. Things broke down and Ripley set up for a Riptide on Jax, but Morgan broke it up. As a result, Ripley hit a Riptide on Morgan, onto Jax. After all was said and done, Belair hit a KOD on LeRae, but Morgan rolled Belair up immediately after that and got the win.

**********

– Chelsea, Piper, Michin and B-Fab were talking backstage. Michin said she got a rematch with Green for the U.S. title next week.

Apollo Crews defeated Johnny Gargano [4:15]

A fun win for Crews, who needs wins. This obviously sets up MCMG vs. #DIY for the tag titles and if anything, I’m hoping they get at least 20 minutes to tell a solid story because we all know these teams can do just that. No nonsense. No limitations. Just let them loose. You won’t be sorry, Mr. H.

Crews had some offense early, but he ran into a super-kick from Gargano for a two-count. Gargano stomped a mudhole in Crews after that. Ciampa and Gargano pat themselves on the back and Gargano ran into a kick from Crews. From there, Crews pressed Gargano and landed his standing moonsault for a two-count. Crews leapt at Gargano, but Gargano moved and followed it up with a back-cracker for a two-count.

Back on their feet, the two traded blows. The sequence ended with Gargano throwing Crews to the outside, where Ciampa hit a running knee on Crews. MCMG walked down the aisle and that distracted Gargano. From there, Crews rolled up Gargano for the win.

**********

– Jacob Fatu said he was both Godzilla and King Kong as he cut a promo on Braun Strowman while walking to the ring. Fatu told LA Knight that Tama Tonga was coming for him. Fatu then accompanied Tonga through the entranceway and to the ring for the next match.

– Comedians Shane Gillis and Fluffy Iglesias were shown in the crowd.

– LA Knight had a microphone before his match and said “Let me talk to ya!” Knight talked about he got his ass kicked last week, but it was worth it as long as he got a shot at Tonga tonight. Knight mouthed off to Fatu and did his catchphrase with the crowd. The match between Tonga and Knight then began.

LA Knight defeated Tama Tonga [12:07]

This was pretty good despite the fluky (but expected) finish. Knight is low-key getting better in the ring and Tonga is … well … Tama Tonga. This all but ensures that Fatu gets the win over Strowman tomorrow night, but that’s the right call. Of note: Where is Solo Sikoa again? With all of these things happening, all we get is a mic-drop moment last week and that’s it?

Knight had control early and the action spilled outside, where Tonga threw Knight into the crowd barrier. Tonga walked the crowd barrier and clotheslined Knight off the barrier. The two got back into the ring and Knight hit a springboard shoulder block for a two-count. Knight landed a back-body-drop and clotheslined Tonga over the top to the outside. Knight followed him out there and and Tonga rammed Knight into the corner of the ring steps. The show then went to a commercial break.

The show returned and Knight hit a neck-breaker inside the ring for a two-count. Tonga came back with a dragon-screw leg-whip. Tonga then went to work on Knight’s leg. Tonga went for a vertical suplex and Knight countered into a neck-breaker. Tonga cut off a comeback attempt with a knee to the gut. Knight worked his way back and cut off Tonga off as Tonga went to climb the ropes. Before long, Knight hit Tonga off the apron and onto the commentary table. Knight rolled Tonga back into the ring and lifted him, but Tonga countered into his DDT finisher, but Knight kicked out at two.

Tonga placed Knight on the top and the two traded blows. Knight threw Tonga off the top and executed his step-up elbow from the top. Fatu climbed onto the apron and that allowed Tonga to get in a rollup. In the end, though, Knight hit a BFT on Tonga for the win. Immediately after the match, Fatu dropped Knight onto the commentary table and placed Knight on the table. Braun Strowman’s music hit and Strowman stomped to the ring to stop the carnage. Fatu and Strowman stared each other down and Fatu tried to go after Strowman, but Tonga stopped Fatu … until Fatu punched Tonga away and stepped in the ring with Strowman. Fatu and Strowman circled each other. Strowman tore off his shirt and the crowd poped. Tonga hopped on the apron, but Strowman clotheslined Fatu over the top. Tonga then stopped Fatu from getting back into the ring as the segment ended.

**********

– The Miz was shown talking to Austin Theory and Grayson Waller backstage. The Miz pitched “The Marine 7” and they all said they’d be rich. Aldis walked in and told Waller and Theory they were going to Raw for good. The Miz was upset and confused.

– A Nakamura vignette aired.

Damian Priest defeated Carmelo Hayes [10:48]

Melo got in a lot of offense here, which is good for Melo, but is that a great way to debut Priest, who is a former WWE Heavyweight Champion, on the Blue Brand? These are the things that can be debated in the current wild world of professional wrestling commentary. In the meantime, Melo came out of this looking better than he did going in, even though he lost. I wonder what happens with Priest moving forward. Does he get into the world title mix once things settle in, roster-wise? Is he somehow defined down on SmackDown? I hope not. There’s so much equity in Priest these days and he’s earned that; I hope the WWE booking minds don’t take that away from him.

Melo had the upper hand early … until he ran into an elbow from Priest. Priest walked the top rope ala Undertaker and came down in a cross-body for a two-count. The action spilled outside and Priest tried to run Melo into a ring post, but Melo countered and kicked Priest repeatedly. Melo posed on the second rope and the show went to a break.

The show returned and Melo continued to work over Priest. Melo landed a dive onto Priest on the outside. Back in the ring, Melo hit a cross-body from the top for a two-count. Melo went to work on Priest’s arm. Melo chopped Priest and Priest fired up. Priest followed up with a Broken Arrow and a front-face slam for a two-count. Outside the ring, Priest shoulder-blocked Melo into the time-keeper’s area. Back in the ring, Melo went for a springboard move, but Priest caught him … but then Melo came back with a First 48 for a nice near-fall.

Melo went to the top, but Priest moved when it came to a Nothing But Net attempt. Priest clotheslined the hell out of Melo and set up for his finish. From there, a South Of Heaven went down and that earned Priest the win.

**********

– MCMG and #DIY were backstage arguing around Nick Aldis. Turns out, it will be MCMG vs. #DIY for the tag titles at the Royal Rumble in a two-out-of-three falls match. Next week on SmackDown, #DIY will team with Pretty Deadly to face MCMG and Los Garza. Also, Liv Morgan will go one-on-one with Naomi. Plus, Jimmy Uso vs. Carmelo Hayes and Chelsea Green vs. Michin for the Women’s U.S. title.

– Michelle McCool was shown in the crowd. Ditto for Mark Henry.

– Priest was shown walking backstage and he ran into Cody Rhodes. Cody shook Priest’s hand and walked away. Priest said, “See you soon, champ.”

– The Miz was talking to Andrade backstage, sucking up to him. Andrade walked away and Jimmy Uso came into the picture. Jimmy walked past Melo and Jimmy taunted Melo on his way to the ring. Melo followed Jimmy and attacked Jimmy on Jimmy’s way to the ring. Officials ran out and tried to break things up. Jimmy smiled and Melo was escorted to the back. Jimmy made his way to the ring for the main event.

Kevin Owens defeated Jimmy Uso [13:46]

Jimmy got in a lot of fury here, but you knew KO wasn’t going into SNME a loser. As such, this worked well and I have to think an Owens vs. Jimmy Uso rematch (perhaps with Owens as the Undisputed Champion?). Both guys worked hard and Jimmy, especially, kept his string of strong performances up. Don’t look now, but he’s accruing a solid resume of wins/matches on WWE TV now that the Bloodline stuff has died down a bit. With Jey’s recent singles run in mind, you have to think a proper tag run for the two could work out awfully well, but that’s for another day. In the meantime, this was a worthy main event.

The match started outside and Jimmy punched Owens a bit. Back in the ring, Owens took control back with a Swanton. Owens ran Uso into the second rope turnbuckle and posed. Owens threw Uso into another corner and pummeled Uso. Uso turned the tables and the action spilled outside, where Uso slammed Owens on the commentary table. Things briefly made their way back into the ring, but it went right back outside and Owens hit a frog splash from the apron onto Jimmy. The show then went to its final commercial break.

Back from that break, Owens was working Uso’s arm in the ring. Jimmy tried to work his way out, but Owens countered with a side slam, which was good enough for a two-count. Owens went back to Jimmy’s arm. Owens went to the top and Jimmy cut him off to go for a super-plex, but, as is always the case, Owens fought back and fought Jimmy off. Owens then went for a Swanton, but Jimmy got his knees up and then followed that up with a hip attack. Both wrestlers were down to reset the match.

With everyone on their feet, Jimmy took control with a Samoan Drop and a two-count. Owens ran the ropes, which led to Owens running into a super-kick, which got Jimmy a two-count. Owens popped up and landed a Blue Thunder Bomb for a two-count (hi, Sami Zayn!). Owens jawed at Jimmy and went for a Stunner, but Jimmy countered and hit a super-kick for a two-count. Jimmy went to the top, but missed an Uso Splash and Owens landed a super-kick as a follow-up. Jimmy came back with one of his own and that resulted in a good near-fall.

Jimmy ran at Owens and Owens kicked Uso, but Uso came back with a spear. Jimmy went to the top, but Owens cut him off and pulled him down. Owens ran Uso into a ring post and hit the pop-up powerbomb for the win. After the match, Owens went to piledrive Jimmy on the commentary table, but Cody’s music hit and Cody ran out for the save. Cody and Owens brawled in and out of the ring. The credits rolled in the midst of this and that ended the show.

WWE SmackDown live results: Women’s title match, Solo Sikoa returns

Posted on January 17, 2025January 17, 2025 by Colin McGuire

After winning a fatal four-way last Friday against Naomi, Nia Jax & Bianca Belair, Bayley gets her WWE Women’s Championship shot versus Tiffany Stratton on tonight’s SmackDown.

Stratton won the title two weeks ago after betraying Nia Jax and cashing in her Money in the Bank briefcase. This will be Stratton’s first title defense since winning the belt.

Bloodline member Solo Sikoa will return to television after he lost a Tribal Combat match to Roman Reigns on Raw two weeks ago. Not only did Sikoa lose the match, but he lost the Ula Fala to Reigns as a stipulation of the bout.

Los Garza (Humberto & Angel) will be in action against Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin). The former defeated Pretty Deadly while the latter beat A-Town Down Under last week to set up tonight’s match.

Also on tap, Jax will team with Candice LeRae to take on WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Belair & Naomi. Plus, Carmelo Hayes goes one-on-one with Jimmy Uso.

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

**********

– Joe Tessitore welcomed everyone into the show. Tessitore was shown walking through the crowd with Wade Barrett as he spoke about the history of the building. Barrett then yelled that it is Tiffy Time because she will make her first title defense tonight. Stratton was then shown walking in the parking lot earlier in the day. Bayley was shown walking backstage. Jimmy Uso and Carmelo Hayes were featured in similar spots. Tessitore then said there was only one person deserving of opening the show. Barrett called him the Hometown Hall Of Famer himself. Rey Mysterio’s music hit.

The Rey Mysterio/Kevin Owens segment

The Big Royal Rumble Declaration Announcement was cute the first few times WWE did it on SmackDown and Raw, but can we please agree it has run its course by now? Rey Mysterio is a legend by every metric fathomable, but this didn’t do much for me – not even the delusional Kevin Owens could make it compelling. Nobody actually thinks Mysterio can win the Rumble (and, for that matter, nobody actually thinks Owens is WWE’s current Undisputed Champion, either). The hometown pop was nice, and it’s always welcome to see Mysterio not have to spin his wheels in the midcard, like he’s been doing for months on WWE TV, but this fell a bit flat.

Rey stood in the middle of the ring while the crowd cheer. He soaked in “619!” chants. Rey formally welcomed everyone to Friday Night SmackDown and said it was the home of the 6-1-9. Rey said it was good to be home in front of his people. Rey said he requested to be out there because he wanted to declare his entry into the 2025 Royal Rumble. Rey noted how in 2006, he entered at No. 2 and became the winner of the Rumble match that year. He followed that up by reminding everyone how he became a world champion at WrestleMania 22.

Rey said the competition is heavy for this year’s Rumble match. He cited Drew McIntyre, CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and John Cena. Rey reflected on the fact that when he won in 2006, he did it for a friend and the crowd went bonkers with “Eddie!” chants. Out of nowhere, Kevin Owens’s music hit and Owens walked out with the Winged Eagle belt. Owens stood in the entryway with a microphone.

Owens said he was sorry for interrupting Rey, but he had to go out there because he heard Rey talk about how he was going to win the Rumble. Owens said he doesn’t respect many people more than he respects Mysterio. Owens touted how he main evented ‘Mania with Stone Cold Steve Austin and won the tag titles with his then-best friend at a WrestleMania. Owens said he stood there as the true, rightful WWE champion.

Owens said there was one thing left for him to accomplish and that was step into the ring with Rey Mysterio. Owens said he will root for Rey to win the Rumble match, but he wants Rey to promise to pick Owens as his champion to face at ‘Mania after Owens beats Cody and Rey wins the Rumble match. Rey told Owens he wasn’t the champion – with all due respect. Rey said if he goes on to win the Royal Rumble and Owens beats Cody, Rey would be more than happy to face Owens. Owens yelled at Rey, saying he is the champion and he earned it and he deserved it.

Mysterio tried to calm Owens down. Mysterio told Owens he was acting delusional – like Owens was his son Dominik. Owens tried to attack Rey with the Winged Eagle, but Rey thwarted the attempt and ran Owens out of the ring. Rey’s music hit to end the segment.

**********

– Naomi and Bianca were talking backstage and they talked about how they still didn’t have any leads on who attacked Jade Cargill forever-and-a-day ago. Naomi said they need to focus on tonight and getting their get-back against Jax and LeRae. Naomi told Belair to wrap her braid so they don’t repeat what happened last week when there was some miscommunication in the fatal four-way.

– Nick Aldis was shown talking to Mysterio backstage and Aldis told Rey that he will face Owens later on in the episode. Cody Rhodes walked into the shot and Rhodes told Aldis he had been cleared with a clean bill of health. Aldis said he had an addendum for the ladder match at the Rumble contract and he’d need Cody to sign it. Cody said he’d sign it once Owens signed it.

Bianca Belair & Naomi defeated Nia Jax & Candice LeRae [10:35]

A fine television match. Nothing special, but not necessarily because of the women’s work, but because these four have been stuck in a SmackDown vortex for what feels like years. Either singles or tags. Throw in Cargill, whenever she was around. Add Bayley and Tiffy every now and then. Nothing about this felt fresh. It was even kind of surprising that Jax and LeRae took the clean loss because Jax went from being Women’s Champion to losing in non-title tag matches in a matter of weeks. SmackDown’s women’s division needs a shot of life. Here’s hoping slotting Tiffy as its champion will provide that, but only time can tell.

Jax attacked Naomi to start the match. LeRae took out Belair. Jax and Belair ended up being the legal women and the heels had control. LeRae tagged in and Belair gained the advantage over LeRae. Jax interfered, but it didn’t sway Belair, who pressed LeRae out of the ring and onto Jax. Belair posed for the crowd and the show went to a commercial break.

The show returned and the heels had control. LeRae went to the second rope and went for a cross-body, but Belair rolled through and lifted LeRae for a slam, but LeRae grabbed Belair’s braid to take Belair down. It looked like Belair would tag Naomi, but Jax pulled Naomi off the apron and Belair was stuck with LeRae in the ring. LeRae kicked Belair and tagged in Jax, who Samoan Dropped Belair.

Jax ran at Belair, but Belair moved. LeRae intervened and it was enough for Jax to get to the second rope and lift Belair. Belair fought off Jax and landed a cross-body on Jax from the top rope. Naomi then received the hot tag and kicked Jax in the head before she planted Jax for a two-count. Naomi hit a split-legged moonsault on Jax, but LeRae broke up the pin. Belair tagged in, but Jax fired up against the two and dropped them both.

LeRae tagged herself in as Belair landed a spear on Jax. Belair went for a springboard move, but LeRae cut her off with a basement dropkick. Jax hit a Senton on Belair and LeRae covered Belair for a good near fall. LeRae ran at Belair, but Belair threw LeRae into a corner. Belair covered LeRae, but Jax tried to break it up with a leg drop. Belair moved and the leg came down on LeRae. Naomi then tagged in and hit her finisher on LeRae to get the win for her team.

**********

– Byron Saxton interviewed Bayley earlier in the day. Saxton asked Bayley what the match against Tiffy means to her. Bayley said the night will be huge for her and reflected on last year around this time when she won the Royal Rumble and beat IYO SKY at ‘Mania. Bayley said she felt like she could have done better as WWE Women’s Champion and her reign was cut short because of Tiffany Stratton. Bayley noted how Tiffy turned on her best friend and that makes her want to beat Tiffy that much more.

– Michin was shown talking with B-Fab in the locker room. B-Fab told Michin to keep her head up because Michin will eventually take Chelsea Green down. Piper Niven and Green entered the shot and Green correctly pointed out that she is the only women to successfully defend the Women’s U.S. title in history. B-Fab stood up and Niven got in her way. B-Fab said she was going to talk to Aldis about getting a match with Niven later tonight.

– Jimmy Uso was walking backstage and towards the ring. Jimmy said his brother is getting a title match, so it’s time for Big Jim to step up and try to get his. Jimmy’s music hit and the camera followed Jimmy through the entranceway and into the ring.

– Carmelo Hayes made his entrance with a microphone. Hayes walked out and said Roman is going to the Rumble while Jey has a world title shot, but Jimmy has nothing going. Melo asked Jimmy how he could take shots at him while he’s sitting on the bench. Melo told Jimmy he’d show him why Melo don’t miss.

Jimmy Uso defeated Carmelo Hayes via DQ [11:53]

This was better than I thought it would be and it’s a shame the finish was nonsense. Then again, you had to think it would be, what with Sikoa’s return advertised and Jimmy not having enough of a story with Melo to warrant a match just yet. Some of those near-falls towards the end of the match had me and they did a great job of grabbing the live crowd, too. Or, at least, the “This is awesome!” chants suggested as much. Fatu looked almost stand-offish as Sikoa made his entrance, so this next segment should be interesting to digest.

Jimmy jumpstarted the match when Melo stood on the apron and Jimmy threw Melo into the ring. Jimmy unloaded on Melo briefly, but Melo came back and stomped on Jimmy. Melo chopped Jimmy before running into an arm-drag neck-breaker combo that Jimmy hit. Jimmy went for a hip attack, but Melo moved. It didn’t matter much because Jimmy punched Melo and then suplexed Melo on the apron. Jimmy followed that up with a dive on Melo on the outside. The show then went to a commercial break.

The show returned and it was just about 9 p.m. EST. Hayes had control, as is typically what happens when babyfaces have the upper hand and the show goes to break – the heels turn it around by the time the program comes back. Anyway, Jimmy attempted to fired up and went a splash, but Melo moved and hit Jimmy with a springboard reverse DDT for a two-count. Melo ran the ropes and both guys hit clotheslines on each other at the same time. Both wrestlers were down to reset the match.

Jey took control when the two re-engaged, but Melo came back and planted Jimmy for a two-count. Melo ran the ropes and that brought into a tall pop-up Samoan Drop from Jimmy, which led to a good near-fall. Jimmy fired up the crowd and went to the top rope, but he jumped into a First 48 from Melo and that resulted in a great near-fall. “This is awesome!” chants from the crowd broke out. Melo went to the top rope, but Jimmy moved out of a Nothing But Net attempt. Jimmy followed it up with a super-kick and that led to an even better near-fall.

Jimmy landed a hip attack and lifted Melo, but Melo rolled Jimmy up for a two-count. Jimmy then speared Melo and went to the top, but Jacob Fatu appeared and stood on the ring apron. Tama Tonga then pushed Jimmy off the top rope to earn Jimmy the DQ win. After the match, Fatu hit a hip attack on Jimmy while Tonga DDT’d Jimmy. Fatu and Tonga stomped on Jimmy and Melo got to his feet to congratulate Fatu, but Fatu clotheslined Melo. Fatu then hip attacked Jimmy. Solo Sikoa’s music then hit and Sikoa walked to the ring.

**********

The Solo Sikoa/Jacob Fatu segment

Oh, boy, I loved the Fatu portion of this. He showed excellent fire and even though the crowd tried to hit him with the dumb “What?” treatment, he pushed through to prove his point. This was a much more grounded Fatu, too, and not just a blind follower who yells about his love for his Tribal Chief. The more serious he is, the better, and this was the most serious we’ve seen him on the mic in WWE. Anyone who has seen his work in MLW knows he has a lot more to offer than “I love you Solo!” and this was the first time WWE fans got to see that – even if it was a tiny example. As for Sikoa dropping the mic and saying nothing … I love that, too. The more open-ended things are with that side of the Bloodline 2.0, the better.

Sikoa stood in the ring and Fatu handed Sikoa a microphone. The crowd booed the hell out of everything. Before Sikoa said anything, he dropped the mic, took off his red jacket and left through the crowd. Fatu stared at Sikoa as he walked away. Fatu didn’t look happy (but when does he?). Fatu picked up the microphone Sikoa dropped. Fatu screamed, “So, this is what it comes to, huh?” Fatu said he was tired of the disrespect and the hate and the envy. Fatu said even on a bad day, nobody could touch him. Fatu said he could give a damn if anyone cheers or boos him, but one thing he won’t do is let people think he never got his.

Fatu asked if people thought he was losing it and was crazy. Fatu said the craziest thing about the situation is that he’s just getting started. LA Knight’s music then hit and Fatu squared up, but Knight ran in from the crowd and took out Fatu and Tonga. Or, well, he tried to, at least, until Fatu got the upper hand. Braun Strowman’s music then hit and Braun walked out. Tonga tried to hit Strowman with a splash, but Braun caught Tonga and disposed of him. Fatu and Braun engaged in a stare down, but Tonga pulled Fatu out of the ring to end the segment.

**********

– Los Garza were shown backstage and Santos Escobar walked up to them. Escobar was happy they exposed Pretty Deadly as liars last week. Escobar said Los Garza will take a tag title opportunity away from Motor City Machine Guns tonight. Escobar said if they want respect, they must take it. The LDF members came together as the scene ended.

Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) defeated Los Garza (Angel & Berto) [11:57]

This was another better-than-expected special. It’s easy to forget that Angel and Berto can work, and you had to know that MCMG would bring out the best of them, anyway, and that’s what happened here. All told, it was probably one of the better MCMG matches in WWE (save for the Pretty Deadly silliness at the end here). This presumably sets up a rematch between MCMG and #DIY, but we’ll see (Saturday Night’s Main Event, perhaps?). It’s happening slowly, but it’s also happening surely: The crowds are responding more and more to MCMG each week. It’s encouraging, even if it feels like baby steps.

Shelley and Angel started the match. They traded a series of quick moves until Angel choped Shelley and tagged Berto in and he landed a rolling moonsault on Shelley. The move was good enough for a two-count. Shelley came back with a series of chops and things broke down between the four wrestlers for a brief minute. Ultimately, Sabin and Berto were the legal men and Sabin worked a head-lock. Berto caught Sabin eventually and spin him around until Angel kicked Sabin and pulled off his rip-away pants. Berto and Angel landed kicks to the front and back of Sabin and the show went to a commercial break.

Back from break, Berto landed a wild double-team roll-over face-buster on Sabin. Angel tried to keep Sabin from gettin the hot tag to Shelley, but it didn’t work and Shelley took the heels out after becoming the legal man. Sabin tagged in and and the two hit dragon-screw leg whips on Berto multiple times for a two-count. Shelley tagged back in and worked a figure-four on Berto. Angel tried to run in, but Sabin caught him and put him in a figure-four, too. Berto got to the ropes for a break and things calmed down.

Shelley was pushed into the second rope turnbuckle via Berto and Berto followed it up with a fallaway slam for a two-count. With all four wrestlers in the ring, Los Garza hit some type of odd double-team move on Shelley (and Sabin, I guess?) to get a near-fall. “This is awesome!” chants broke out. Los Garza lifted Shelley, but Sabin saved the day and cleared the ring. Sabin hit a suicide dive on Angel and Berto on the outside. Back insdie the ring, MCMG set up their finisher, but Pretty Deadly intervened. The interference didn’t work and MCMG hit Skull and Bones on Berto for the win.

**********

– Aldis was walking backstage and ran into Kevin Owens. Aldis needed Owens to sign the addendum to the world title match at the Royal Rumble, but Owens said he wouldn’t sign it until Cody signed it. Owens told Aldis to stop trying to distract him as he prepares for his match against Rey Mysterio.

Piper Niven defeated B-Fab [2:18]

A glorified squash to keep the story between Michin and Green going, so it’s hard to be too mad at it. As a bonus, B-Fab got some TV time out of it, too, which is always good because as I said earlier, the SmackDown women’s division needs a freshening up and putting faces on TV that we don’t see each week is a way to do that. Let me guess: A tag involving these four wrestlers that leads to a rematch between Michin and Green for the U.S. title? You heard it here first.

Niven ran at B-Fab, but B-Fab moved and Niven ran into a corner. B-Fab planted Niven for a one-count. B-Fab ran at Niven, but Niven caught her and slammed her. With the two back on their feet, B-Fab DDT’d Niven for a two-count. B-Fab kicked Niven to the outside. B-Fab rolled Niven back into the ring and clotheslined Chelsea Green on the outside. B-Fab rolled back into the ring and Niven hit a Senton and Piper Driver for the win. After the match, Green and Niven attacked B-Fab until Michin’s music hit and Michin ran out with a kendo stick. Michin worked over Niven. Green and Niven retreated to end the segment.

**********

– Tessitore led a tribute to Bob Uecker, who died this week.

– Saxton interviewed Tiffany Stratton backstage. Saxton said Bayley was extremely driven to win the WWE Women’s Championship. Tiffy said Bayley has had a career of big moments, but Tiffy has had big moments, too. In fact, Tiffy said, she is a Big Moment and now it’s Tiffy Time. Tiffy said toodles and left Saxton standing in the hallway.

Kevin Owens defeated Rey Mysterio [15:33]

So … what’s this addendum Nick Aldis is adding to the contract for Cody v. Owens at the Royal Rumble? I thought this match was going to set up that reveal, but all we got was yet another brawl between Cody and Kevin. In the meantime, the match was pretty good, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel like Rey going 15 minutes doesn’t seem like the best idea these days. He held his own for the most part – and Owens made sure to take care of him – but this lost some steam as it wore down and I’m a little surprised we got a kick-out of the Stunner. So much for that move being protected to the millionth degree on WWE TV anymore. Still, it was nice to see Rey out there and even better to see a (semi) clean finish. The post-match stuff was fairly boilerplate.

Both wrestlers tuned into the crowd after the bell rang and let things simmer. Rey got the best of Owens once the two engaged. Owens threw a fit. Owens eventually knocked Mysterio to the outside. Mysterio returned to the ring and took down Owens before he tried again and Owens caught Mysterio for a slam. Owens followed it up with a Senton. Owens ran Mysterio chest-first into a corner. Owens hit a knee on Mysterio and the action spilled outside. Mysterio did the 619 spot on Owens and sent Owens into the barrier on the outside. From there, Mysterio landed a sliding splash under the bottom rope. Both guys sold pain outside the ring as the show went to a commercial break.

The show returned and Owens had the upper hand inside the ring, throwing Mysterio into a corner chest-first. Owens ran at Mysterio, but Rey moved and Owens ran into the ring post. Mysterio went to the top and hit a splash on Owens before landing a bulldog for a two-count. Rey set up for a 619, but Owens got back to his feet and super-kicked Mysterio. Owens went for a pop-up powerbomb, but Mysterio turned it into a tilt-a-whirl DDT for a two-count.

Owens was perched on the top rope, but Owens headbutted his way out of it. Owens then hit a frog splash for a near-fall. The crowd launched into “Eddie!” chants. Owens set up for a super-plex, but Rey turned it into a sunset flip from the top and he followed that up with a modified Destroyer for a near-fall. Mysterio went for a springboard splash, but Mysterio missed. Owens followed up with a Stunner and Mysterio actually kicked out of it at two.

Owens went to the top rope and went for Swanton, but Rey got his knees up and hit the 619. Mysterio went to the top, but Owens stumbled into the referee, which knocked Mysterio off the top rope. From there, Owens landed the pop-up powerbomb to get the win. After the match, Owens threw his belt aside and pulled Mysterio up to shake his hand. Owens bowed at Mysterio and set up for a package piledriver, but Cody’s music hit and Cody ran out to attack Owens. Tons of officials ran out to break the brawl up to varying degrees of success. Owens stood in the crowd and posed with his belt. Cody looked angry in the ring and the show went to a commercial break.

**********

– Aldis was shown talking to Cody backstage. Aldis said Cody and Owens are out of control. Aldis said next week at Saturday Night’s Main Event, Owens and Cody will relinquish their belts and sign the contract with the addendum (whatever that is), with the special enforcer for the signing being Shawn Michales. Also at SNME, Braun Strowman will take on Jacob Fatu.

– Next week on SmackDown, LA Knight will take on Tama Tonga. Also worth noting, Pretty Deadly will go head-to-head with MCMG.

– Pretty Deadly were walking and ran into #DIY. Ciampa was angry that Pretty Deadly “handed” the victory to MCMG earlier in the night. Ciampa said Pretty Deadly were a joke and everyone was laughing at them. Ciampa left and Gargano told Pretty Deadly it was tough love and they truly believe in Pretty Deadly. Gargano said they want to make life better for Pretty Deadly and walked away. Apollo Crews then walked in and told Pretty Deadly working with #DIY has gotten them nowhere. Gargano ran in and attacked Crews by throwing him into a road case.

– Bayley made her entrance for the main event and the camera showed Roxanne Perez sitting in the crowd. So. Well. Angle alert.

– A Charlotte Flair vignette aired. It almost looked like a set-up package for a “Love Is Blind” story. To be fair, it was a mildly different vibe for the former champ.

Tiffany Stratton defeated Bayley to retain the WWE Women’s Championship [20:03]

Eh. Underwhelming. The women worked hard, but this crowd decided early it wasn’t going to do its part and that hurt the match. There were a few clunky spots and the Bayley/Perez story didn’t really advance outside of a quick exchange of glares towards the end of the thing. It’s kind of tough throwing Stratton – who is still very young and very much a rookie(ish) – into a 20 minute match, even if Bayley is the sort of gatekeeper these days in the women’s division, what with Charlotte out, and Sasha and Becky gone. I was hoping for more, but it just never kicked into another gear. Even so, it’s a credibility-building win for Stratton and that can’t hurt.

The match started with about 20 minutes until the top of the hour. The two locked up repeatedly, but no one got the better of it. They traded pin attempts to no avail and locked up again. Tiffy posed a few times and Bayley set up for a Bayley-To-Belly, but Stratton blocked it. Bayley clotheslined Stratton over the top and with Stratton on the outside of the ring, the show went to a commercial break.

Back from the break, Bayley hit a draping neck-breaker and the action spilled outside. Bayley went for some dropkicks, but Stratton telegraphed it and ran Bayley into a ring post. Back inside the ring, Stratton went to work on Bayley’s arm. With Bayley on the apron, Stratton took out Bayley’s legs two times to plant Bayley on said apron. Stratton ran around the ring – but it only led to Stratton running into a forearm from Bayley.

Bayley rolled Stratton back into the ring and the two traded forearms. Stratton clotheslined Bayley and went for a running hip in the ropes, but Bayley moved. As a result, Bayley went for a suicide dive, but Stratton caught Bayley and trapped her between the ring and the ring curtain. Stratton then hit a hip attack of her own. Bayley tried to get back into the ring, but Stratton hit a knee to keep Bayley on the outside. Stratton went for a splash on the outside, but Bayley caught her and landed a Bayley-To-Belly. Both wrestlers were down on the outside of the ring and the show went to its final commercial break of the night.

Back to the action, Bayley hit a suplex from the second rope (sorry, but a super-plex comes only from the top rope, damn it) for a two-count. Bayley went back to the top, but Stratton cut her off and went to the top herself. Stratton landed a Senton and a powerbomb for a good near-fall. Stratton worked a version of an arm-bar, but Bayley rolled out of it and threw Stratton to the outside. Bayley slammed Stratton onto the announce desk and then suplexed her before she jawed at Roxanne Perez in the crowd.

Bayley went to the top rope and connected with the flying elbow for a nice near-fall. Bayley worked a cross-face until Stratton got out of it and hit a spine-buster for a two-count. Bayley hit a Bayley-To-Belly on Stratton after a few seconds of nothing for a near-fall. The crowd was nearly silent for all of this. Stratton set up for Prettiest Moonsault Ever, but Bayley cut her off and sunset-flipped her into a corner for a two-count. Bayley slammed Stratton for a near-fall, but Stratton came back and got a two-count from a backslide. Stratton finally hit her Alabama Slam and followed it up with the PME for the win. Stratton quickly walked up the aisle as the credits rolled to end the show.

WWE SmackDown live results: Two title matches, Tiffany Stratton appears

Posted on January 10, 2025January 10, 2025 by Colin McGuire

WWE is at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, tonight for the second SmackDown of 2025.

Both the men’s and women’s United States Championships will be on the line on the three-hour show. After dropping the men’s U.S. title to Shinsuke Nakamura at last November’s Survivor Series, LA Knight gets his rematch.

In another rematch, Chelsea Green defends the women’s U.S. title against Michin. Green defeated Michin in a tournament final at last month’s Saturday Night’s Main Event to become the inaugural champion. This is her first title defense.

Also set for tonight, new WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton will appear. Stratton will address her betrayal of Nia Jax from last week when she finally cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase to become champion. The cash-in happened after Stratton helped Jax defeat Naomi in last week’s main event.

Join us for live coverage starting at 8 PM Eastern time.

**********

– Joe Tessitore welcomed everyone into the show as outdoor scenes of Portland, Oregon aired. Wade Barrett was Tessitore’s broadcast partner and the two stood at ringside. Footage of Nakamura and Tiffany Stratton from earlier today aired. Paul Heyman was shown making his way to the ring for the opening segment. A video recap of Raw then aired.

The Paul Heyman/Cody Rhodes segment

This was good. And for the second week in a row, I don’t know why they don’t advertise these types of things beforehand. A Paul Heyman/Cody Rhodes segment would have been noteworthy and maybe even drew some more eyeballs to the show; is there a reason we can’t know this is going to happen ahead of time? Anyway, Roman entering the Royal Rumble is mildly intriguing because that notion isn’t one that’s been talked about much when it comes to all the fantasy booking scenarios involving Cody, Roman, about a dozen other people and WrestleMania. Heyman put Cody over pretty well here – to the extent that it looked like Cody was genuinely choking up for a second. The Owens touch was nice because everybody has been whining about The Rock and Cody’s interaction on Monday and someone needed to say it out loud. Also, and finally, did that final sequence mean Cody vs. Fatu is on the horizon? Lots of stuff here to open the show. I like it.

Paul Heyman walked into the ring and did the “My name …” bit. Heyman said he was excited to be there and announced that there is only one reigning, defending undisputed Tribal Chief of the WWE Universe and the entire Island of Relevancy and that Tribal Chief is Roman Reigns. The crowd cheered and “OTC!” chants broke out. Heyman said Reigns authorized Heyman to tell everyone what Roman intends to accomplish next. Heyman said he wanted to share the news with one man in particular – and that man is Cody Rhodes. Cody’s music hit and Cody’s entrance began.

Cody and Heyman shook hands once Cody entered the ring. Heyman said Cody deserved the response he received from the crowd and Cody has done something few have ever done, which is earn the respect of Roman Reigns. Heyman talk about how great of a champion Cody has been. Because Cody has been a great champion, Reigns told Heyman to go out there and tell Cody that Roman wants his title back. Heyman said Reigns wanted Cody to know how he intends to get his title back. Heyman declared that Roman Reigns will be in the Royal Rumble this year to earn his way into a match against Cody for the Undisputed WWE Championship. Heyman then asked Cody what he wanted to talk about, which was funny.

The crowd chanted Cody’s name as Cody fetched a microphone for himself. Before Cody could speak, Kevin Owens’s voice was heard and it turned out that Owens was in the crowd with a microphone. Owens said just when he thought it couldn’t get worse, it did get worse because Cody went and shook hands with The Rock on Monday. Owens brought up how Heyman just mentioned how Roman Reigns wants his title back. Owens said he should have let the Bloodline rip Roman to shreds. Owens kept rambling and Cody ran out of the ring and brawled with Owens in the crowd.

With Heyman alone in the ring, Tama Tonga and Jacob Fatu showed up. It looked like they were going to attack Heyman, but Jimmy Uso’s music hit and Jimmy ran out for the save. Jimmy grabbed a chair and hit Fatu and Tonga with it, but all it did was wake Fatu up. Fatu hit Jimmy with a flying elbow and the two worked Jimmy over. Fatu kicked a referee in the face, which made the rest of the referees scared to enter the ring. Cody made his way back through the crowd and towards the ring. Cody threw Tonga out of the ring and Fatu and Cody faced off. Cody clotheslined Fatu over the top and to the outside. Cody’s music hit to end the segment.

**********

– Fatu and Tonga were shown being thrown out of the building by officials. Fatu fought back and started yelling at them. LA Knight showed up and threw Fatu out of the building himself, saying he has a title to win later. So … um … oh no, LA Knight?

Chelsea Green defeated Michin to retain the Women’s United States Championship [8:42]

I was surprised they went back to this match so quickly, but I’m also happy that it doesn’t appear as though Green and Michin’s story is over, considering the holding of the tights and the post-match developments. In some ways, I feel like these two could work together through the Royal Rumble and it would still be entertaining each week. Green is impossible not to like and she has great, worn-in ring chemistry with Michin, so their matches rarely disappoint. As such, this match didn’t disappoint. Are we in for Dumpster Match Part Two? Or is there another stip out there with which these two could have fun?

Green went for a kick and Michin moved. Michin then held control of the match early, complete with a dropkick and a pin attempt. Michin stretched Green over the top rope, but it wasn’t long before Green fought back and threw Michin to the outside. Green threw Michin into the crowd barrier, but Michin made it back into the ring to beat a count out. Green kept her offense up as the show went to a commercial break.

Back from break, Green had the upper hand and worked a chin-lock. Michin got out of it via a back suplex. Michin landed a shotgun dropkick and danced before hitting a Cannonball on Green in a corner for a two-count. Michin went to threw Green, but Green countered by planting Michin face-first. Green went to the top, but missed a dropkick and Michin took control with a running knee. Michin went on the apron and kicked Piper Niven in the face. Michin then went to the top and hit a cross-body, but Green rolled through and held Michin’s tights to get the win.

After the match, Michin tried to attack Green, but Niven interfered and hit a Senton on Michin, allowing Green to get away.

**********

– Footage from last week’s tag title match aired. Motor City Machine Guns were shown complaining to Nick Aldis earlier today. Pretty Deadly, A-Town Down Under and Los Garza were in the shot, too. Aldis told everyone to shut up. Pretty Deadly and Los Garza will face each other while MCMG and A-Town Down Under will square off with the winners potentially wrestling each other for a shot at the tag titles.

Los Garza (Angel & Humberto) defeated Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince & Kit Wilson) [8:56]

So this is why SmackDown went to three hours, eh? Give some folks some TV time and grant the viewing audience that Los Garza vs Pretty Deadly bout they’ve been craving for months now? Cool. This match was just kind of there despite everyone’s efforts to heat up this mini feud last week. My biggest problem? Since when did Los Garza or anyone in Legado Del Fantasma start working as babyfaces? The crowd cheered them here (or at least crowd sounds, wherever they did or did not come from, cheered them here), but I can’t really figure out why they’d do that other than they played the role of Not Pretty Deadly. But even then – even then! – wouldn’t Pretty Deadly be better babyfaces in this scenario because of their silly, comedic musical skits that have popped up through the weeks? My head is spinning. Either way, the match was harmless.

Los Garza jumpstarted the match and Humberto hit a suicide dive on Wilson on the outside. Back inside the ring, Humberto hit a standing moonsault for a two-count. Angel tagged in and the two hit Wilson with a double super-kick for a two-count. Humberto tagged in and landed a dropkick for a two-count. Prince got a blind tag and dragged Humberto over the top and to the outside via a gnarly neck-breaker. The show went to a commercial break.

Back from break, Humberto was doing his best to turn things around against Prince, but couldn’t do so. Wilson then tagged in and missed a splash immediately, which allowed Humerto to get the hot tag to Angel, who fired up and landed a cross-body from the top rope for a two-count. Angel did the take-his-pants-off spot, which hasn’t been shown on WWE TV in ages. He threw the pants at Wilson and kicked him for a two-count. Prince reasserted himself and planted Angel while the referee was distracted. With the ref still distracted, Santos Escobar crotched Prince. From there, Los Garza hit their finisher on Prince for the win.

**********

LA Knight defeated Shinsuske Nakamura via DQ [14:06]

This was much better than their Survivor Series match and it would have been even better if we got a clean finish out of it, but after Knight went and gave an f-word when it wasn’t his turn to give an f-word (to, in a censored way, quote “The Wire”) with Fatu earlier in the show, you could see this finish coming from a million miles away. I hope Nakamura and Knight get to run it back at some point (I still think Knight gets that belt back sooner than later) because this proved that they could go deep and it could work. I’m as entertained by Knight as anybody, but he isn’t typically considered as one of the best in-ring fellas in the game. Here, though, he went into deep waters and it worked. Good job from both guys.

The match started slow with neither wrestler getting the upper hand for long. Nakamura eventually got control and hit a running knee on Knight, who was draped over the ring apron. Knight tried to fight back, but Nakamura cut him off and went to work on Knight’s knee. Knight found himself on the outside of the ring and ultimately clotheslined Nakamura and sent him to the floor. Knight followed that up with a baseball slide and proceeded to repeatedly pound Nakamura’s head on the commentary table. Back inside the ring, Knight clotheslined Nakamura over the top to the outside again. Nakamura ran Knight into the ring post twice and the show went to a picture-in-picture break.

The show returned and the two traded blows until Knight took over and slammed Nakamura before hitting an elbow for a two-count. Knight lifted Nakamura, but Nakamura worked his way out of it. Nakamura pulled the turnbuckle pad off the second rope and followed it up with a sliding German Suplex. With Nakamura on the top, Knight ran up the ropes and super-plexed Nakamura for a good near-fall. Knight sunk in a weird version of a reverse Boston Crab (surely, Excalibur knows the name of the move), but Nakamura made it to the ropes for a break.

Nakamura went for an arm-bar, but Knight rolled Nakamura up for a two-count. Nakamura popped up and kicked Knight. Knight went for a BFT, but Nakamura countered with a back elbow. Nakamura followed that up with the Kinshasha, but Knight got his leg on the bottom rope to break up the pin attempt. Nakamura put Knight’s head on the exposed turnbuckle, but Knight moved and Nakamura ran into the exposed turnbuckle. Knight then hit the BFT but Tonga and Fatu showed up and attacked Knight to end the match.

Fatu hit all his greatest hits on Knight until Cody and Jimmy ran back out. This time, Cody was dressed in wrestling attire. They double super-kicked Fatu and Fatu and Tonga retreated through the crowd. Cody grabbed a mic and yelled for Nick Aldis to make a match between Cody and Jimmy and Fatu and Tonga. Aldis made the match.

**********

Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) defeated A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory & Grayson Waller) [12:06]

A solid match, and a much better tag match than the other tag bout on this show earlier. MCMG seem to be kind of/sort of finally clicking in WWE Land, and I hope whatever that is continues to grow. Meanwhile, Theory and Waller looked pretty good holding their own against the veteran former tag champs. In fact, Waller and Theory were given a lot of offense here and they made the most of it, which doesn’t always happen in these scenarios. Does this mean we get Los Garza vs. MCMG soon? Or does MCMG skip the line and head right back to #DIY?

Shelley and Waller began the match. Waller had the upper hand and Theory tagged in. Theory threw Shelley chest-first into a corner and followed it up with a clothesline. Sabin tagged in and gave MCMG control briefly until Waller tagged in and hit a series of knees to Sabin’s head. Waller then landed a spinning right hand for a two-count. Waller then went to work on Sabin’s arm. Sabin ran the ropes and Shelley bling-tagged himself in. MCMG kicked and clotheslined Waller over the top rope. Sabin went for a splash, but Theory tripped Sabin. From there, Waller hit a rolling Flatliner on Shelley inside the ring for a two-count. The show then went to a commercial break.

Back from the break, Waller and Theory stayed on top of Shelley. Theory worked a chin-lock on Shelley. Waller tagged in, but Shelley ran Theory into Waller and super-kicked Theory. Shelley rolled and tagged Sabin, who landed a series of punches on Waller. Sabin went to the second rope and hit a missile dropkick on Waller. Shelley tagged in and the two landed stereo baseball slides on Theory and Waller. MCMG followed that up with Sabin’s suicide dive through the top and second ropes.

Inside the ring, Shelley tagged in Sabin and while Waller ran the ropes, Theory tagged himself in. The action spilled outside and Sabin ran at Waller, but Theory cut Sabin off with an elbow. Waller tagged in and the heels hit a double punch to Sabin’s head for a two-count. Shelley eventually tagged in as things broke down and all four wrestlers were down. Sabin tagged in and took Waller out. Shelley and Sabin singled Theory out and hit Skull & Bones on Theory for the win.

**********

– Ciampa and Gargano were shown upset backstage. They ran into Pretty Deadly, who asked #DIY why they didn’t help them out earlier. Gargano said Pretty Deadly will get their title match eventually and Pretty Deadly need to trust them. Apollo Crews walked into the scene and if they were dumb enough to believe #DIY, they’ll deserve everything coming their way.

– Nia Jax and Candice LeRae were talking in the locker room. Jax wondered what Tiffany Stratton would say later. Jax then walked to the ring and said she was going to congratulate Stratton herself.

The Tiffy Time segment

Wow. And speaking of not advertising things that should have been advertised … . My goodness. A Fatal Four-Way for a shot at Stratton seems like a thing they could have announced ahead of time, but again, what do I know? Nothing. That’s the answer. Nothing. Anyway, everyone here showed good fire, most of whom was Jax, who really seemed really pissed and sold it really well. Bayley and Naomi, meanwhile, had good logic. And Tiffy is settling in nice into her spot as a sort of pesky tweener champion (make her an official babyface already!). This upcoming four-way should be fun.

Stratton came out to a big positive reception from the crowd. Byron Saxton was in the ring and reminded Stratton that she became the new WWE Women’s Champion last week. Saxton congratulated Stratton and Stratton yelled “It’s Tiffy Time!” She also called it a “tiffy-turn-of-events.” Stratton then recapped her run so far on the main roster and said she is better than “your favorites.” The crowd cheered her. Saxton started talking about Jax bullying Stratton, but Stratton cut off Saxton. Stratton said she got JAx to trust her and Jax thought Stratton was just a dumb blonde and Jax let her guard down. As a result, Stratton said, she stole Jax’s most prized possession. Stratton yelled to put respect on her name and to tell her what time it is.

On cue, Jax’s music hit and Jax walked out with a microphone. Jax looked angry. Jax called Stratton and “ungrateful little s-@#.” Jax said she could kill Stratton. Jax said Stratton would be nothing without Jax because Jax made Stratton. Jax said it took Stratton long enough to take advantage of her. Jax walked onto the ring apron and then into the ring. The crowd chanted “Tiffy Time” and Jax said “Time’s up,” before telling Stratton to give Jax her title back or Jax said she’d take it back. Out of nowhere, Bayley’s music hit and Bayley walked out with a microphone.

Bayley told Jax to shut the hell up and told Stratton she always thought Stratton was stupid. Bayley recalled how Jax took Stratton under her wing and Stratton still outsmarted Jax. Bayley stepped into the ring and said the only reason Jax had her title was because Jax had Stratton’s help. Bayley said it was only fitting that Bayley takes Stratton’s title from her. Naomi’s music then hit and Naomi walked out with a microphone and Bianca Belair.

Naomi said everyone knew Naomi had Jax beat last week. Naomi said if it wasn’t for Stratton, Naomi would be holding two titles. Naomi said Jax has to see her first before going after Stratton. Jax said nobody cares about Naomi. Jax attacked Belair and Naomi. As Naomi, Bayley, Belair and Jax were fighting, Stratton hit the Prettiest Moonsault on everyone and left them lying as she walked away with her title.

Aldis showed up with a microphone and said he had an idea. Aldis announced that there will be a Fatal Four-Way right now to determine who will be the No. 1 contender for Stratton’s title.

**********

Bayley defeated Nia Jax, Naomi & Bianca Belair to become the No. 1 Contender for the WWE Women’s Championship [17:16]

An unexpected outcome, but a welcome outcome nonetheless. Bayley and Stratton should have a quietly very good-to-great match and I’m looking forward to that. I was convinced Jax would win to get her rematch, but that next beat in the Jax/Stratton program will clearly come at a later date. I’m a fan of this being the longest match on the show and even more a fan of how much space these women were seemingly given when it comes to putting this match together. It was almost like an AEW match – move after move after move after move with bouts of little-to-no-selling until the match reset itself a couple times. Lots of fun stuff in here and maybe – just maybe – this will win Match Of The Night honors after it’s all said and done.

Naomi and Belair teamed up on Jax early until Jax tried to suplex both at the same time and barely got them over. Bayley returned to the action and pounded on Jax until Jax threw Bayley away. The babyfaces went after Jax, but Jax pushed them all away. Naomi, Bayley and Belair stared each other down and Jax pulled Belair to the outside. Bayley and Naomi then locked up inside the ring and Naomi got the best of it early until Bayley came back and the two traded pin attempts. Bayley was pulled to the outside by Jax and Jax threw Bayley into the crowd barrier.

Inside the ring, Naomi landed a chin-breaker on Jax. Naomi leapt at Jax, but Jax caught her and slammed her for a two-count. Belair tried to lift Jax, but Jax stopped her. In all, it turned into a dropkick from Belair into Jax. Belair pounded on Jax in a corner. Jax powerbombed Belair, but Bayley broke up a pin attempt. Bayley suplexed Jax and went to the top, but Jax cut Bayley off. Jax lifted Bayley for a Samoan Drop, but Naomi and Belair ran in and slammed Jax, who slammed Bayley, and all four wrestlers were down. The show then went to a commercial break.

Back from break, Jax slammed Naomi, but Belair and Bayley broke up a pin attempt. Bayley and Belair took turns punching Jax. Bayley and Belair sent Jax to the outside and then went after each other. Bayley rolled up Belair for a two-count. Bayley rolled Belair up again, but Jax broke that up. Naomi returned to the action and kicked Jax before landing a Russian Leg Sweep. Naomi hit a Split-Legged Moonsault on Jax for a near-fall.

Bayley came form the top rope and hit an elbow drop on Jax for a two-count. Belair then came off the top and hit a 450 splash on Jax, but Bayley broke that pin attempt up. The babyfaces tried to pin Jax at the same time and it didn’t work. LeRae then walked down to the ring and Naomi and Belair worked some double-team moves on Bayley. That left Naomi and Belair alone to fight each other. Instead of going at it, they went at Bayley and Jax on the outside. Jax caught Naomi and ran her into the ring apron.

Jax returned to the ring and was the recipient of a shoulder-block from Belair. Bayley then hit Bayley-To-Belly on Belair, btu Naomi broke it up. Naomi hit a Rear Vew on Bayley, but Jax broke that up. Jax dropped Naomi and Belair broke up that pin attempt. The match reset again with all four wrestlers down in the middle of the ring. Belair planted Bayley and hit a moonsault on her for a two-count. Belair lifted Bayley for a KOD, but LeRae broke it up by pulling on Belair’s braid. Belair then accidentally hit Naomi with the braid.

Jax and Belair took each other over the commentary table. Inside the ring, Bayley hit the Rose Plant on Naomi and that was good enough for the win.

**********

– Cody and Jimmy were shown talking backstage and Cody said he knew Roman would want his title back so all was good. Cody walked away and Carmelo Hayes walked up to Jimmy and half-threatened Jimmy. Jimmy talked about how Melo shoots nothing but bricks and then half-yeeted.

– Bayley was walking backstage and ran into Byron Saxton, who said Bayley’s match against Stratton will take place next week. Bayley said she’s grown up in this business and she pointed out that Stratton has never beaten Bayley. Also set for next week, MCMG will take on Los Garza. Solo Sikoa is set to return to SmackDown next week as well.

– Jacob Fatu was yelling while walking backstage and towards the ring with Tonga. Fatu’s tone has shifted from crazed Solo Sikoa follower to a more serious approach and it’s great.

Tama Tonga & Jacob Fatu defeated Cody Rhodes & Jimmy Uso [13:18]

I love it. I love Fatu getting the win, even if that means it was because Cody was taken out of the match. Keep that version of The Bloodline strong, even after Solo’s loss and let’s get some heat for the eventual Solo vs. Jacob showdown. If Jimmy and Cody would have won, this would have felt like a regular dark match that was designed to send the live crowd home happy; instead, we further the strength of Fatu – and even Tonga, to a degree. Really good booking here, at least in terms of WWE (yes, I know you hate WWE, but be reasonable). On the other hand, that weird final spot with the makeshift spear that Cody just kind of leaned into felt a little odd. But we got to where we needed to go. A very good way to end an unusually better-than-solid SmackDown these days. Let’s see how next week goes.

Cody and Tonga started the match and Cody dropped Tonga. Cody went to Tonga’s arm and tagged in Jimmy, who went to the top and came down on Tonga’s left arm. Tonga fired up and beat Jimmy into a corner. Fatu tagged in and Fatu went to work on Jimmy. Fatu landed his pop-up Samoan Drop on Jimmy and the show went to a PIP commercial break.

The show returned and Tonga tagged in to dropkick Cody and work Jimmy’s leg and yell odd things. Fatu tagged in and landed a Senton on Jimmy after hitting Cody off the apron. Fatu landed a hip attack on Jimmy. He did that two times over. After the second time, Fatu got a two-count out of it. Fatu placed Jimmy on the top rope and screamed “I love you Solo!” Jimmy then fought back and knocked Fatu off the ropes. Jimmy eventually hit a spinning splash on Fatu and Cody received the hot tag.

Cody snap-powerslammed Tonga, who also tagged in. Tonga received a Disaster Kick. Cody lifted Tonga, but Tonga got out of it. Fatu and Tonga were on the outside and Cody landed a suicide dive on both heels. Back in the ring, Cody did the Dusty punches/elbow on Tonga for a two-count. Cody set up for a CrossRhodes on Tonga, but Tonga countered into a DDT for a two-count. Cody lifted Tonga and perched on on the top while Jimmy tagged in. Cody and Jimmy did a variation of the Power And Glory finisher, but Fatu broke things up. As a response, Cody hit a Cody Cutter on Fatu and Jimmy sent Fatu over the commentary desk.

Kevin Owens walked down the aisle. Cody saw him and Cody and KO brawled to the back. Inside the ring, Jimmy hit a spear on Tonga and went to the top and hit the Uso Splash, but Fatu pulled Jimmy to the outside. Fatu then tagged in and slammed Jimmy’s head on the commentary table before rolling himi back into the ring. Fatu hit an Impaler and his moonsault and that got him the win.

Meanwhile, Owens and Cody brawled back into the arena and onto traveling equipment. Owens set up for a powerbomb, but instead the two traded punches. From there, Cody speared Owens and the two went through two tables in the crowd. Both guys sold pain and that’s how the show went off the air.

WWE SmackDown live results: Nick Aldis addresses Kevin Owens

Posted on December 27, 2024December 27, 2024 by Colin McGuire

The final WWE SmackDown episode of 2024 takes place live tonight from Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.

A six-woman tag match has been announced for the show with WWE Women’s Champion Nia Jax set to team with Tiffany Stratton & Candice LeRae against Bianca Belair, Naomi & Bayley. Naomi recently replaced Jade Cargill as Belair’s Women’s Tag Team Championship partner after Cargill was forced out of action following a mystery attack.

Also set for tonight, SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis will address Kevin Owens’ assault on Cody Rhodes that took place after their match at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Rhodes has yet to appear on WWE television since that attack. We’ll see if that changes tonight.

Women’s United States Champion Chelsea Green will hold a celebration on SmackDown. Green won the title after beating Michin in the finals of a tournament to crown the inaugural champ.

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

**********

– Video of Cody calling out Kevin Owens from last month opened the show. From there, the video extended to the high points of their ongoing feud.

– Nick Aldis spoke backstage. Aldis said Owens is not a champion, but Owens is in possession of the Winged Eagle Belt. Aldis said the belt represents greatness and Owens has no claim to the belt. Aldis said Owens has until the end of the night to relinquish the belt or he will face severe consequences that will effect his future in WWE.

– Cathy Kelley was shown in guerrilla interviewing Naomi and Bianca Belair. Naomi said she was grateful to hold the tag titles with Belair. Belair said they won’t forget about what happened to Cargill. Bayley stepped in and asked Belair if they were good. Belair said they were and then her music hit. The three walked out for the first match.

– Nia Jax made her entrance with a microphone and reiterated that they didn’t mess with Cargill. Jax half made fun of Stratton and called out Belair for doing fine without Cargill. Jax said she thinks Belair is trying to avoid suspicion on Belair. Jax said Belair couldn’t stand the share the spotlight with Cargill because Cargill is better than Belair. Jax said Belair snapped. Jax told Belair to own up to what she did or Jax will make Belair own up to it.

Naomi, Bianca Belair & Bayley defeated Tiffany Stratton, Nia Jax & Candice LeRae [16:10]

A fine six-woman television tag match. We’ve officially reached The Point Beyond when it comes to Stratton teasing cashing in her MITB briefcase because this is far past old these days. It’s to the point where you almost think it will be one of those cash ins that are called ahead of time and it turns into a regular planned match and that’s never fun. We’ll see. As for the match, there were some fun spots and I can’t say Jax didn’t say the things a lot of us are thinking about Belair as we watch the fallout of the Cargill attack unfold. Again, we’ll see.

Stratton and Belair started the match. Belair had control early. With the heels outside of the ring, Belair, Bayley and Naomi all took them out with various mistimed splashes. The show then went to a quick commercial break. The show returned and Jax was taking punches from Belair inside the ring. Naomi gave Jax a stink face after tagging in. Jax came right back and planted Jax and got a two-count out of it. LeRae tagged in and kept control for the heels. Naomi made a brief comeback and Belair tagged in to hit a pair of splashes on LeRae.

Belair pounded on LeRae until Stratton distracted Belair and Jax tagged in. From there, Jax hit a leg drop on Belair and earned a two-count. LeRae tagged in and then Stratton hit a splash from the top rope after a blind tag. Stratton yelled at LeRae about not being tagged in enough and it ultimately leg to Belair tagging in Bayley. LeRae tagged in and was the recipient of a back suplex. Bayley went for a dropkick through the turnbuckles onto LeRae, but LeRae ran Bayley’s head into a ring post. LeRae planted Bayley face-first on the ring apron and the show went to another commercial break.

The show returned and Bayley and LeRae were down in the ring. Stratton tagged in and Naomi tagged in, too. Naomi kicked Stratton in the head and followed it up with a Mule Kick and a Bulldog for a near-fall. Things broke down and everyone traded power moves. Jax found herself on the second rope and Naomi pulled her off with her legs before hitting a split-legged moonsault, but Stratton broke a pin attempt up. With Jax down, Stratton teased cashing in her briefcase, but LeRae pulled the briefcase away from Stratton. LeRae tagged herself into the match and fit a full-nelson slam on LeRae for the win.

**********

– Grayson Waller and Austin Theory were talking to Aldis backstage and Sami Zayn walked in. Zayn told Aldis they should talk. The show then went to a commercial.

– Back from that break, Zayn was still talking to Aldis and said he thinks it’s only fair he gets his crack at The Bloodline. Carmelo Hayes walked into the room with Christmas cards to hand out and Zayn told Melo to wait his turn. Zayn crumpled up a card and threw it in Melo’s face. Melo told Zayn to stay off Melo’s show. Zayn told Aldis that The Bloodline stuff could wait and instead, he wanted to face Melo later. Aldis said, “Consider it done.”

Braun Strowman defeated Austin Theory [7:26]

A result that was never in doubt. In fact, this was probably a little more competitive than it should have been. That said, I also understand they needed this to fill a space that included a commercial break, so as always, television rules all. Still, I wonder if Theory was actually supposed to land his finisher on Strowman near the end and the two stumbled, of if what we got was what the plan was supposed to be. Either way, this amounted to nothing more than a long squash that cements Strowman in the middle of the card, which is a bit of a shame, but that’s a conversation for another day.

Strowman face-palmed Theory out of the ring to start. Strowman followed that up with a series of strikes and eventually, after Strowman threw Theory, Theory rolled out of the ring. The show went to a commercial break after that. The show returned and Theory hit a DDT on Strowman. Theory chop-blocked Strowman and punched Strowman for a one-count. Strowman dropkicked Theory and Theory rolled to the outside. Strowman pulled Theory up to the apron and eventually threw Theory onto Waller on the outside.

Strowman clotheslined Theory on the outside of the ring and threw Theory back into the ring. Strowman then went to the top rope, but Waller stalled Storwman and Theory went for an A-Town Down, but Strowman stumbled out of it and landed a running powerslam on Theory for the win.

**********

– Owens cut a car promo and said he heard what Aldis said. Owens said he deserves to have the winged eagle belt because he is the true WWE Champion. Owens said he think he and Aldis need to have a discussion and he’ll come into the arena on only his terms – no security guards or office people, with just Aldis and Owens. In that case, they can talk.

The Chelsea Green Celebration

Meh. I was hoping this would be better, but a lot of this felt forced. It just wasn’t as witty or as funny as you could tell the people who wrote it thought it would be and the crowd didn’t help matters. Even so, it was entertaining enough. I have so much hope that Michin and Green can get their program over – especially with a brand new title involved – but we’ll see. It should be interesting to see how things shake out as WWE gets a mild reset with the Netflix premiere and a new calendar year on the horizon.

Piper Niven stood in the ring behind a podium that looked like it could be used for an American president. Niven introduced Green. The crowd cheered when Green’s music hit and Green walked out dressed as the Statue Of Liberty. Green stepped to the podium and thanked the crowd. Green said she wanted to address the people of the WWE universe and said they have officially turned the blue brand into the green house. Green called herself the most glamorous, most … you get it … Women’s United States Champion. Green walked over to Niven and teased giving Niven credit, but instead gave herself the credit for helping herself.

Green spoke to Michin and said she had two words for her: Good riddance. Green said she’d say Michin could be a champion, but she doesn’t want to say that because she doesn’t lie. Green challenged the crowd to ask themselves not what Chelsea Green could do for them, but what they could do for Chelsea Green. She said 2025 will be the year of Red, White and Green. Michin’s music hit and Michin walked out with a kendo stick. Michin said she’d introduce Green to her little friend – her kendo stick – and walked to the ring. Michin hit Niven a bunch with the kendo stick. Michin entered the ring and went after Green, but Green got out of it. The segment ended with Niven carrying Green to the back.

**********

– #DIY and The Street Profits were shown talking to Aldis backstage and Aldis asked #DIY who attacked The Profits a couple weeks ago. Pretty Deadly walked in and it turns out, they were witnesses to the attack. Pretty Deadly tried to bribe everyone and nobody bit. They said it was Garza who attacked the Profits and the Profits went looking for Garza and Berto. They found them and brawled. Aldis then made a match for the teams after the break.

The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) defeated Los Garza (Berto & Angel) [11:04]

Another weirdly overly competitive match for acts that just aren’t on the same level, speaking in terms of the booking these teams have received in the recent past. In some ways, good for Berto and Angel because they have been throwaway characters for so long; on another level … yeah, if I’m Montez Ford, I’m probably a little fed up with the irrelevant booking his team has been receiving for a long time now. As such, the match was pretty good and I like the edge that the Profits continue to show. In fact, I’d like to see more of it, going forward, but seeing is believing.

The match was joined in progress and the four wrestlers fought in and out of the ring. Ford and Berto ended up alone in the ring and Ford clotheslined Berto. Dawkins tagged in and the two hit a double flapjack on Berto. Angel tagged in and the two worked over Dawkins. Angel pummeled Dawkins and tagged in Berto. Dawkins fired up and took Berto down. Ford tagged in and things broke down between the four wrestlers. They brawled outside of the ring and the show went to a commercial break.

Back from the break, Angel had control over Ford, complete with a spinebuster. Berto tagged in and kept the momentum up. Angel tagged in and before long, Ford hit a DDT to even things out. Ultimately, Dawkins received the hot tag and Dawkins came in to take out both heels. Ford tagged in and Berto was on Dawkins’s shoulders, but Angel broke things up. Berto and Angel threw Ford off the top and Berto landed a moonsault on Ford for a nice near-fall.

Angel tagged in to become the legal man, but it wasn’t long before Dawkins tagged in to take care of the heels. With Berto and Angel on the outside, Ford landed a splash and then the Profits set up for their finisher and this time they hit it for the win.

**********

– An Andrade vignette aired during which Andrade was taking aim at Nakamura. Next week, Naomi will face Nia Jax for the WWE Women’s Championship and Andrade will take on Nakamura for the U.S. title.

– Pretty Deadly were shown walking backstage and ran into #DIY. Pretty Deadly said they scratched #DIY’s backs, so they hope they can scratch theirs. The Profits walked in and B-Fab told Pretty Deadly they were thankful they told them the truth. The Profits started walking and ran into Motor City Machine Guns, who said they deserve a title shot. Apollo Crews walked in and told the Profits that it was #DIY who attacked the Profits. Crews then walked away as everyone looked confused.

Sami Zayn defeated Carmelo Hayes via DQ [11:34]

A good match and a worthy main event, match-wise. The smoz finish was expected, but it’d be nice to see Zayn get a clean win sometime soon, considering how many loses he’s been taking from Drew McIntyre. The Strowman wrinkle was fun and I hope we see more of that moving forward (as referenced above). Kevin Owens appearing to get involved in Sami Zayn business – even if it’s just his music hitting after an unrelated angle is show – is always a nice way to get people to wonder about what might happen next, so kudos to the cleverness of those involved.

The two locked up to begin things and “Sami Uso!” chants broke out in the crowd. Zayn chopped the hell out of Melo until Melo came back with a dropkick for a one-count. Melo found himself on the outside of the ring and Melo dragged Zayn to the outside. Ultimately, Zayn landed a moonsault off the crowd barricade onto Melo and then the show went to a break.

The show returned and Melo had control. Melo landed a springboard splash onto Zayn and worked a ground and pound. Zayn fired up and hit a clothesline to reset the match. Zayn went to the second rope and hit a double axe-handle. Zayn hit his Blue Thunder Bomb for a good near-fall. Zayn went to the top and missed a splash, which turned into a First 48 from Melo for a very good near-fall. Melo landed a springboard DDT on Zayn and went to the top, but he leapt into a clothesline from Zayn, who then fired up.

Zayn landed an Exploder on Melo into the corner. Zayn set up for the Helluva Kick, but Melo rolled to the outside and started to walk to the back, but Strowman appeared and Melo ran to the back. Out of nowhere, The Bloodline appeared and attacked Zayn, so Zayn got the DQ win. Strowman was shown bringing Melo back to the ring and saw what was happening and threw Melo down to walk to the ring and battle Solo Sikoa. Strowman shoulder-blocked Sikoa to the ground and Jacob Fatu stared down Strowman. The crowd went wild. Tama Tonga cho–blocked Strowman before anything could happen and Sikoa hit a Samoan Spike on Strowman. Zayn came back into the fold, but the Bloodline took Zayn out all over again.

Kevin Owens’s music hit and Owens walked out with the winged-eagle belt. He walked slowly, so his entrance didn’t really have much to do with the carnage in the ring.

**********

The Nick Aldis/Kevin Owens segment

A good segment to end the show. Cody showed great fire and Owens keeps trying to get heat as a heel, but these crowds are slowly but surely rallying behind him and it will be very fun to see how this all shakes out by the time the Rumble comes around. At some point, we should pay attention and give credit to the fact that Owens and Cody have managed to work a program that keeps people interested all these months into it. The ladder match should be very good, but it’s going to have to be the end of the road for these two … maybe? … Hopefully?

Aldis told Owens to do the right thing and hand over the winged eagle belt. Owens told Aldis to explain why he’d give the belt back because it’s the only bargaining chip he has. Owens said he’d give the belt back if he can get a rematch with Cody. Owens said he had Cody beat and everyone knows it. Aldis noted how he said it’s not a negotiation and because of that, Owens needed to hand the belt over or Owens would never step in a WWE again. Cody’s music hit to a huge pop. Cody walked out with a microphone and Aldis told Cody to turn around and let Aldis handle it.

Cody said he wasn’t going to walk away and he didn’t want Owens to be a martyr. Cody brought up how Owens claims Cody teamed with Reigns and that’s why Cody is a bad person. But, Cody argued, Owens attacked Cody at SNME like Reigns would have. Cody listed off all the people for whom he does what he does. Cody said it’s his responsibility to take the winged eagle back. Cody said he wanted a match with Owens and entered the ring. Cody challenged Owens to a ladder match and to put the winged eagle up there with the Undisputed Championship. Aldis announced that at the Royal Rumble, it will be Cody vs. Owens for the Undisputed WWE Championship in a ladder match. Owens stuck out his hand and said he’d see Cody there. Cody didn’t shake it and Owens attacked Aldis before attacking Cody. Owens eventually walked away and yelled that he was the true champion. The show ended with Owens holding up the winged eagle and walking to the back.

WWE SmackDown live results: Cody Rhodes appears, MCMG vs. Street Profits

Posted on December 6, 2024December 6, 2024 by Colin McGuire

With just over a week until his next title defense, Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes will kick off tonight’s SmackDown from Minneapolis, Minnesota.

After weeks of going back and forth, Rhodes will defend against former ally Kevin Owens at the return of Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 14.

WWE Tag Team Champions Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) have a title defense against The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) tonight. The match was made despite protests from Tommaso Ciampa that DIY are more deserving of a title shot.

The next match in the inaugural Women’s United States title tournament will take place as Naomi, Tiffany Stratton, and Elektra Lopez will battle to see who takes on Michin in the second round.

Following their WarGames loss at Survivor Series, Solo Sikoa’s Bloodline is slated to make an appearance to address what’s next.

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

**********

– A video recap of what happened at Survivor Series opened the show. Michel Cole and Corey Graves checked in from ringside and explained that Bronson Reed suffered a broken foot at Survivor Series. In other injury news, Tonga Loa suffered a torn bicep and Jimmy Uso came out of War Games with a broken toe. Video of all three injuries was shown.

– Apollo Crews was entering the building and it just so happened Solo Sikoa’s Bloodline was entering the venue at the same time. Jacob Fatu kicked Crews in the head and then beat up the security crew. Back at ringside, Cody’s music hit.

The Cody Rhodes Segment

This was a pleasant surprise. I’m not a fan of making a mockery out of the phoney baloney brand split, but WWE has done it so often, so shamelessly through the years, that it’s hard to get as annoyed as I once did (and, as Cole explained, we are getting into the season where brand loyalty is all but gone). Cody showed good fire and Gable felt like he belonged in there with one of WWE’s biggest attractions, so this was a win for everybody involved. The match between Gable and Cody screams “KO interference,” but it should be fun while it lasts.

Cody yelled into the microphone, “So, Minneapolis, what do you want to talk about?” The crowd cheered. Cody touted the return of Saturday Night’s Main Event. Cody said it’s the honor of a lifetime just to compete on SNME, but it’s not that simple for him because of Kevin Owens. Out of nowhere, Chad Gable’s music hit and Gale made his entrance flanked by American Made.

Gable spoke in the entranceway and called himself the greatest athlete to ever come out of Minnesota and the crowd responded favorably. As it goes, Gable said there is a transfer window and Gable and his crew may come to SmackDown permanently. Gable then called everyone in the crowd simple minded and gullible. Gable entered the ring and loud “You suck!” chants broke out for Gable. Gable said Cody was once the beacon for what Gable wanted to be – unmatched work ethic, dressing the part, etc. Gable said that’s easy, but what’s not easy is being a good friend, and Cody has not been a good friend to Kevin Owens.

Gable said Cody isn’t who he thought he was. Gable called Cody superficial because all Cody cares about is what everyone thinks about Cody. Gable mentioned how Cody went so far as to team with “the one guy who made Kevin Owens’s life a living hell.” Gable said whatever Cody has coming to him, Cody deserves it. Cody asked the crowd if they’d be his friend and the crowd cheered. Cody said he’s disappointed that Gable said what he said because he sees a lot of himself in Gable. Cody said Gable has taken things not special and made them special and maximized his minutes. Cody brought up “Shorty G” and the crowd promptly started a “Shorty G!” chant.

Cody said, “Shorty G, you’re looking at Stardust.” A “Stardust!” chant ensued. Cody said he knows all about what Gable is going through and he said Gable probably thinks he has nothing to lose, but Cody asked Gable what happens when he fails again. Cody referenced losing at WrestleMania 39 and asked Gable about being the leader of American Made. Cody put over everyone in American Made until Gable cut Cody off. Gable said if he didn’t have a suit on, he’d whoop Cody’s ass. Cody asked Gable if he really said what he said. Cody asked Gable to talk to Nick Aldis about going one-on-one with him tonight. Cody threw the mic at Gable to end the segment.

**********

– Cole, from ringside, explained how wrestlers will move from show to show in the coming weeks.

– Backstage, Naomi and Bianca Belair were shown talking. Belair wished Naomi good luck in her triple threat match. Chelsea Green and Piper Niven walked into the frame and mocked Belair for looking into who attacked Jade Cargill. Belair wondered if Niven was the one to attack Cargill. Belair went after Green and Niven, but Green and Niven fought back and Belair sold pain from War Games as well as the attack.

– Jesse Ventura was shown in the front row as Cole touted Ventura joining the broadcast team for SNME.

Tiffany Stratton defeated Naomi and Elektra Lopez to advance in the Women’s United States Championship Tournament [7:16]

A feel-good win for Stratton, who should settle in nicely as a full-time babyface sooner than later. No better place to test the waters than her home state and the proof of concept worked here. Of the four first-round matches, this result felt the most predictable, but the women did a good job making sure the match didn’t suffer because of that. This was a fine end to the beginning of the tournament.

Naomi and Tiffy started brawling to beign the match. Lopez inserted herself and threw Naomi out of the ring, but Naomi came right back and Stratton then attacked Lopez, with a ton of support from the live crowd (Stratton is from Minnesota). Stratton kicked Lopez and shoulder-blocked Lopez to the canvas. Stratton then landed a basement dropkick on Lopez for a two-count. “Tiffy Time!” chants broke out. Stratton posed for the crowd and Naomi re-inserted herself in the match with a cross-body on Stratton. Naomi nearly fell over the top rope, but caught herself and the match got back on track as Naomi slammed Lopez.

Stratton pounded on Naomi until Naomi fought back and hit a double Stunner on Stratton and Lopez all at once. Naomi then landed a splash on Lopez and went for one on Stratton, but Stratton got her elbow up. Stratton then double-stomped on Naomi on the apron. Stratton turned her attention to Lopez and landed a snap suplex on Lopez. Before long, Lopez sank in a half-crab on Stratton. Lopez rolled Stratton up for a two-count. The women all traded multiple pin attempts to no avail. Lopez caught Naomi when Naomi leapt at Lopez and Lopez slammed Naomi. Lopez hit a version of a Blue Thunder Bomb on Naomi, but Stratton broke up the pin attempt and all three women were down.

Everyone got to their feet and brawled and Naomi got the best of it, complete with a Rearview on Stratton. Candice LeRae showed up and distracted Naomi. Lopez briefly took advantage of that, but Naomi hit a split-legged moonsault on Lopez. Stratton came back and took care of Naomi before hitting the Prettiest Moonsault Ever on Lopez and pinning her for the win.

**********

– Cole threw to the backstage area, where Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins were shown laid out. Nick Aldis was there and said they both needed medical attention badly. Aldis then ran into MCMG and told them the Profits got attacked. Johnny Gargano showed up and said if Aldis needs a title match, #DIY can step in. Shelley said if Gargano wants their match, they got it. Aldis made the match for later on.

Bianca Belair defeated Piper Niven [12:17]

This was very good. SmackDown does this more often than it gets credit for: throws an unannounced match out there and said unannounced match ends up kind of/sort of stealing the show. If I’m not mistaken, this is how the Andrade/Carmelo Hayes saga began. Anyway, it was great to see Niven wade into the deepest television waters she’s ever been in on the main roster, going nearly 15 minutes, and even better yet, holding her own against one of WWE’s most established women. It felt like this might be a good spot to give her a big win, with Belair still selling injuries from Survivor Series, but it was not to be. Still, Niven earned a lot in defeat here and Belair deserves a good amount of credit for that – to take nothing away from Niven’s effort, too.

Belair had control early and the two fought over Belair’s braid. Niven won that battle and hit a splash on Belair to gain the advantage. Niven worked over Belair in a corner and lifted Belair for a slam, but Belair countered with a kick. Belair ran the ropes and Green caught Belair’s foot. Niven followed that up with a sidewalk slam for a two-count. The show then went to its first commercial break about 38 minutes into the program.

The show returned and Niven still had control. Belair tried to fire up, but Niven cut her off with a running Senton, two times over. That was enough to earn Niven a two-count. Niven worked a waist-lock, which turned into a bearhug. Belair fought her way out of it and eventually tried to choke out Niven, until Niven shook Belair off and went for a splash, but Belair moved. Belair ran between corners and smashed Niven’s face off the turnbuckles. Belair went to the top and hit a cross-body for a nice near-fall.

Belair punched Niven repeatedly and before long hit a spear for a two-count. Belair tried to lift Niven for her finisher, but that didn’t work and Niven countered with a Saito belly-to-back suplex. Niven ran at Belair and Belair countered with a spinebuster. Belair went for a moonsault, but Niven got her knees up. Niven then went for a Cannonball, but Belair moved and Niven tumbled into a corner. Belair ran at Niven, but Niven caught Belair for a Piper Driver, which is really just a stiff powerbomb. “This is awesome!” chants began.

Niven went to the second rope, but Belair cut Niven off. Green hopped onto the apron and Belair dragged Green into the ring. Belair then successfully lifted Niven and hit a KOD on Niven, slamming Niven onto Green. That was enough to earn Belair the win.

**********

– A video package on Nakamura winning the U.S. title aired.

– Belair was shown walking backstage and ran into Naomi. Belair apologized for Naomi losing earlier. Byron Saxton showed up and told the two that he knew Piper Niven didn’t attack Cargill because he saw where Niven was during the attack. Naomi listed off all the women who could have done it. Belair said when she finds out who did it, it will be “on site.”

The U.S. title/Bloodline segment

I really like the unexpectedness of a lot of what’s happened so far tonight. Knight and Andrade being involved with Solo Sikoa’s Bloodline? I’m all for it. Nakamura barfing up black ooze and not going to battle with Sikoa and his fellas? Even better. The best parts of SmackDown these days are the parts where things seem fresh and this felt fresh in its own way. Does this mean we get a triple threat between Knight, Nakamura and Andrade for the U.S. title? Or, perhaps, will Fatu be inserted into that mix as well? Maybe none of this interaction matters in the long run, but even if that ends up being the case, it made for a welcome change of pace on an early-December episode of SmackDown.

Shinsuke Nakamura made his entrance for … reasons unknown? … because as Nakamura posed in the ring, LA Knight’s music hit and Knight walked out with a microphone. Knight correctly noted that he was “in the building in Minneapolis.” Knight said Nakamura isn’t the real deal and Nakamura was holding something that belonged to Knight. Knight said he wanted his rematch and he wanted it right away (despite Knight not being in his wrestling gear). Nakamura did and said nothing. Knight put on his “LA Knight mist-blockers” (sunglasses) and walked into the ring … or at least tried to because Andrade’s music hit and Andrade walked out with a microphone.

Andrade hopped onto the ring apron and Tama Tonga attacked Andrade. Jacob Fatu then attacked Knight. Nakamura just sort of stood around and eventually, black goo came out of Nakamura’s mouth. Nakamura then left the ring and Solo Sikoa went for a Samoan Spike on Andrade, but Knight made the save. It was only for a short moment because Sikoa went through with the spike on Knight. Sikoa grabbed a microphone.

Sikoa said to anyone who thinks they aren’t The Ones anymore, he dares them to step up because The Bloodline will lay everyone out every single time. Sikoa said he’s tired of people not taking him serously and that he’s a joke. Sikoa said everyone can laugh all they want because he’s still their Tribal Chief. Sikoa said he is still the head of the table. Sikoa said he still has the Ula Fala. Sikoa said if anyone comes down to the ring, they will do what everyone else has to do – acknowledge him. The segment ended with Fatu, Tonga and Sikoa’s fingers raised in the air.

**********

– Ciampa and Gargano were shown talking backstage and Ciampa was still ornery about Gargano. Ciampa said he’d see Gargano out there and left the scene.

– Kevin Owens cut a promo in his car. Owens said it sucked to be told to be in Minneapolis for a Michael Cole interview. Owens said he’s been showing up to SmackDown for weeks and if Cole wants to interview Owens, Cole would have to go out to the parking lot and find Owens in his car because Owens was not going to come inside the building.

#DIY (Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano) defeated Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) to win the WWE Tag Team Championship [10:39]

I have mixed feelings on this. Sabin and Shelley simply were not getting any reactions any time they appeared on WWE TV, but I was hoping the powers that be would see it through a little longer to see if perhaps the crowds could come around. Either way, it’s really neat to see them in WWE and was even neater to see them hold gold in WWE. The turn here was very well done and I’m into a heel #DIY running a smug ruckus on the SmackDown tag division. The match told a great story, with Ciampa showing fire and us all (or, well, at least me) being convinced that this would end in a manner we’ve seen a million times in WWE: Ciampa and Gargano break up and MCMG retain their titles. The swerve here was warranted and welcome. My only fear is that we never see MCMG come close to WWE gold again, no matter the brand. Time will tell.

Ciampa jumpstarted the match and attacked Sabin. Sabin came right back with a pair of arm-drags and a knee to Ciampa’s midsection. Shelley tagged in and the two hit a fury of moves on Ciampa before Shelley worked a head-lock. Ciampa worked out of it and tagged in Gargano, who worked Shelley’s arm. Ciampa tagged himself in and chopped Shelley repeatedly. Ciampa yelled at Gargano to “pay attention.” Shelley elbowed Ciampa and Sabin tagged in to take out Ciampa on the outside. The show went to a commercial break as MCMG posed on the apron.

The show returned and Ciampa had the upper hand on Shelley, working a head-lock. Shelley worked out of it with a chin-buster and then when Ciampa went to give Shelley a boot, Shelley moved and Ciampa kicked the hell out of Gargao. Ciampa yelled at Gargano that he was stupid. Ciampa went for a Fairytale Ending, but Shelley countered it and got the hot tag to Sabin, who cleaned house, complete with a cross-body from the top on Ciampa for a two-count.

Shelley tagged in and MCMG worked over Ciampa. Shelley went for a pin after they planted Ciampa and got a two-count. Gargano was still down at ringside. Ciampa got in some strikes on Sabin and Shelley and ultimately landed a twisting neck-breaker for a two-count. Gargano reappeared on the apron. Ciampa threw Shelley to the outside and tagged Gargano in. Gargano rolled Shelley back into the ring and Ciampa confronted Gargano for doing that. Gargano and Ciampa traded shoves. Gargano told Ciampa to leave and Ciampa stormed off to grab a chair. As MCMG set up their finisher, Ciampa distracted the referee and Gargano hit a low blow on Sabin. Gargano then super-kicked Shelley and Ciampa smiled. Gargano tagged in Ciampa and hit Meet In The Middle on Sabin to win the titles.

Gargano smirked a knowing smirk after the match and ran around the ring, Young Bucks style.

**********

– Gargano and Ciampa were shown celebrating backstage. Candice LeRae showed up and was super pumped about the whole thing.

The Kevin Owens/Michael Cole interview

This was sort of fun in a Carpool Karaoke kind of way (mind you, I never liked Carpool Karaoke, but the game is the game). Silly. Moved Owens’s frustrations forward. Made Cole look dumb. I half expected Owens to attack Cole to write him off SmackDown so Cole can reunite with his buddy Pat McAfee on Raw, which became a headline this week. But instead, we got innocent fun – with a new batch of very reasonable complaints from Owens, even. My only complaint is that I could have used another three to five minutes of it.

Cole walked outside and Owens invited Cole into his car. Owens noted how many times he’s been told he wasn’t allowed to come inside the arena in recent weeks. Cole said he wanted to do an unbiased interview and Owens mocked him for that idea. Cole cited their friendship and how he’s been a big supporter of Owens. Owens said he doesn’t understand how Cole doesn’t see things the way Owens sees them. Owens ran through his grievances about Cody and Roman Reigns again. Owens mocked Cody for leaving WWE in 2016. Owens then mocked Cody’s pyro for his entrances.

Cole said everyone thought it was good to help Roman. Owens said that Jimmy and Jey were always pawns for Roman anyway and one day, he’ll catch up with Sami Zayn. Owens said Cody stabbed Owens in his back. Cole told Owens he was being petty and Owens should look in the mirror. Cole said Owens is the problem. Owens yelled at Cole and told him to get out of his car. Owens called Cole back to his car, only to roll up the window on Cole. Owens drove off in his rental car.

**********

– Next week, Bayley will face Chelsea Green and Michin will take on Tiffany Stratton in the semifinals of the women’s U.S. title tournament.

– Gunther was shown talking to Aldis backstage and Carmelo Hayes walked in. Melo was mad at Aldis for not talking to him and Melo wanted to know where he fit in. Melo said “Monday Night Melo” sounds good and Aldis said that would be good for Aldis because Melo is such a headache. Aldis said he has someone special in mind for Melo and walked away.

Cody Rhodes defeated Chad Gable [12:27]

Good storytelling here. Gable softens Cody up for his match with Owens. And maybe – just maybe – Owens gets the upset at SNME because of Cody being banged up? It’s probably wishful thinking, but in the meantime, this was a very good match and one of the better SmackDown main events in recent months. We all know Gable can go and all told, Cody benefited the most from that reality in this match. Nothing against Cody, but Gable seemed to bring out something more in Cody, enough to take what could have been a fine-enough main event and turn it into a very good main event. Here’s hoping Gable gets a true reboot and/or push sooner than later. It felt like he was on that track for a minute, but that momentum has subsided recently. Maybe 2025 will be his year. This performance alone proves more than anything that he deserves it to be.

The two felt each other out to start the match. There was some fine capital “W” wrestling and then Gabel took Cody down, but Cody kicked his way out of it and the match reset. Cody went on the offensive from there and landed the drop-down punch, followed by a suplex with a sustained vertical hold. Cody went to run the ropes and Ivy Nile hopped on the apron to stop Cody. Gabe went right to work on Cody’s ankle/leg with a dragon-screw leg-whip. Gable slammed Cody’s leg on the ring post and the show went to its final commercial break.

The show returned and Gable kept his focus on Cody’s leg. Angle went for an ankle lock, but Cody sent Gable into the second rope. It didn’t matter much because Gable dropkicked Cody’s leg. Gable then roughed Cody up with a ton of chops to the chest. Gable hit a flying headbutt from the top rope for a two-count. Gable went to the top rope, but Cody cut him off and landed an inverted super-plex, which proved to be a wild spot.

The two got to their feet and traded blows. Gable ran at Cody and Cody turned that into his snap powerslam. Cody hit a Disaster Kick despite selling leg pain. A Cody Cutter followed that. Julius Creed pulled Gable to the outside and the referee sent all of American Made back to the locker room as a result. Gable took Cody’s boot off and worked an ankle lock. Cody countered by sending Gable into the second rope turnbuckle. Cody went to the top and hit a Cody Cutter from the top rope. With one boot on, Cody went for a Cross-Rhodes, but Gable countered into an ankle lock until Cody made it to the ropes for a break. Gable German Suplexed Cody and went to the top rope, but missed the moonsault and then finally, Cody landed the Cross-Rhodes and got the win.

After the match, Kevin Owens appeared and stomped on the ankle that had no boot on it. Officials quickly ran out and separated Owens and Cody …. until Cody leapt at Owens and the brawl continued with a suicide dive from Cody onto Owens. The two kept going at it on the outside of the ring. The show went off the air as Cody broke through the officials and the two went back to brawling. “Let them fight!” chants echoed throughout the arena.

WWE SmackDown live results: Final build to Survivor Series

Posted on November 29, 2024November 29, 2024 by Colin McGuire

With just one day left before Survivor Series, CM Punk and Roman Reigns are slated to talk tonight on WWE SmackDown.

Punk joined team Bloodline OG last week when Paul Heyman returned to WWE TV and announced him as their final member for WarGames. Punk and Reigns engaged in a brief stare down before posing as the show went off the air. We’ll see if they are on the same page ahead of teaming up at Survivor Series.

Speaking of the men’s WarGames match, Jey Uso and Jacob Fatu will square off tonight with the advantage on the line.

After interacting backstage last week, Cody Rhodes goes head-to-head with Carmelo Hayes tonight. Rhodes does not have a match at Survivor Series but is slated to defend his Undisputed WWE Championship against Kevin Owens at the return of Saturday Night’s Main Event next month.

The Women’s United States Championship tournament continues tonight with Michin, Piper Niven, and Lash Legend competing in a triple threat to see who advances to the next round.

Tonight’s episode was taped last week in Salt Lake City, Utah. Join us for coverage starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

**********

– A video recapping last week’s Bloodline developments opened the show.

The Women’s War Games Promo

This was pretty basic. Nothing wrong with that, of course. I’m just not all that sure there’s much they could do to heat the women’s War Games match up. As I keep saying, it’s a War Games that needs some wrestlers, and not some wrestlers that need a War Games. Ripley and Liv have their blood feud, but everything else here seems secondary. My hope is that the payoff to the Cargill angle will eventually make Saturday’s match mean more than it looks like it will, but seeing is believing. For now, I’m more interested in what comes next for everyone involved after this weekend.

In the arena, the babyfaces in the women’s War Games match made their entrance. Inside the ring, Rhea Ripley spoke first and said friendship doesn’t matter because tomorrow, they’ll all step into War Games. Ripley said they all have someone they want to get their hands on. Ripley said nobody will be able to stop her team from brutalizing their opponents. Ripley listed their opponents by name and Naomi chimed in.

Naomi said Nia Jax and “her lapdogs” will get what they deserve. Belair took her turn and said all five of their opponents can “get it.” Ripley said Liv Morgan will wish she never met Ripley. IYO SKY they would destroy them and Morgan’s music hit. The women’s War Games participants made their entrance. Morgan said it’s funny how confident the babyfaces are. Jax mentioned how Bayley and SKY tortured Bianca for years and SKY turned her back on Bayley earlier this year. Jax said they’re going to implode before they get to the ring.

Naomi told Jax to shut up. Bayley noted how Jax is manipulating Stratton and Jax might not have any friends coming out of War Games. Morgan said they are a united front. Morgan followed that up by pointing out how Cargill got attacked and it is suspicious that Bayley is not on the War Games team. Ripley said Morgan will soon not be able to hide behind anyone because there is nowhere to run inside the cage.

Morgan responded by saying she’s going to break Ripley’s face on the steel cage. Ripley laughed and said she’s cave Morgan’s face in so bad that Dirty Dom won’t even want to look at Morgan. The heels teased rushing the ring, but Morgan held everyone back. The babyfaces then ran after the heels and the two teams brawled in the entranceway. Eventually, officials broke it all up and Ripley’s music hit to end the segment.

**********

Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Andrade [10:32]

For whatever reason, I couldn’t get the end of the Carmelo Hayes/Andrade series out of my mind while watching this. So, they have this series of matches that over-performs on every level, get it to 3 wins apiece, and … that Game 7 LA Knight nonsense is really going to be all we get by way of resolution? Did nobody want to do a job? Is there a bigger story being told? If it’s the latter, then I don’t know what that story could be because now Andrade is back to taking losses to the type of wrestler who was out for seven months, just returned and now randomly gets a U.S. title shot. Not a fan. The match itself was fine. Andrade was given a lot of it and his offense looked good, which was encouraging, but there was no way Nakamura was losing this, heading into his (rushed) showdown with Knight tomorrow. It all adds up to a bad taste in my mouth, and I’m not even the one with black goo inside of it.

Nakamura made his entrance to a slowed-down, more ominous rendition of his signature song. Nakamura had control early, until Andrade came off the top with a cross-body. Nakamura came back with a series of shoulder-blocks and strikes. Nakamura ran at Andrade, but Andrade rolled Nakamura up. With Nakamura on the outside, Andrade ran into a boot from Nakamura. Back inside the ring, Andrade dropkicked Nakamura over the top, back to the outside. Andrade then went to the top and hit a moonsault onto Nakamura on the outside. The show then went to a commercial break.

Back from the break, Nakamura had control briefly, but Andrade fought back, complete with a dragon screw leg whip. Andrade ran at Nakamura, but Nakamura countered and the two ended up on the second rope, where Andrade elbowed Nakamura to the mat. Andrade went to the top and hit his second-try moonsault for a good near-fall. Andrade set up for The Message, but Nakamura worked out of it and went for a knee, but Andrade countered with a back elbow for a two-count.

Andrade executed the first two of the Three Amigos and for the third go-around, Andrade suplexed Nakamura into the corner turnbuckles. Andrade went for the double-knees, but Nakamura moved and took a turnbuckle with him, so Andrade ran into an exposed turnbuckle. Nakamura finished Andrade off with the Kinshasa.

After the match, LA Knight ran to the ring, but Nakamura spit black mist in Knight’s face. Knight sold the hell out of it.

**********

– Solo Sikoa’s Bloodline were backstage and Nick Aldis walked in. Aldis said everybody is banned from ringside for Jacob Fatu’s match against Jey Uso later. Sikoa said they understood.

– Ciampa was shown yelling at Gargano backstage. Ciampa brought up how Gargano’s family thinks they’re losers and Ciampa’s family thinks they’re losers. Ciampa called out Alex Shelley and said his friendship with Gargano means more to Gargano than getting their titles back. Ciampa said Gargano has one week to figure it out, and if Gargano doesn’t, it’s all going to happen Ciampa’s way.

– A Kevin Owens video aired. Owens explained why he’s right. January 1, 2021, Roman Reigns threw Owens off a 15-foot-high scaffolding. From there, at the Royal Rumble, Reigns ran Owens over with a golf cart. Owens went to the 2023 Royal Rumble, where Reigns ordered for Owens to get super-kicked over and over again. Cody was at the arena that night, Owens said, but he didn’t help. Those are just three examples of what Reigns has done to Owens and those are among the reasons Owens says he’s right about everything. Owens said he will turn the American Nightmare into the Canadian Dream.

Cody Rhodes defeated Carmelo Hayes [11:14]

A typical television match for the world champion – though I would argue that perhaps it went a little too long. Melo hasn’t proved much on the main roster, story-wise, so I don’t know why it would take the company’s top guy almost 12 minutes to get through him, but the other side of that conversation says that Melo gained something in defeat here and that’s probably not wrong. I couldn’t have been the only one waiting for Owens to attack Cody after the match, right?

Melo made his entrance with a microphone in his hand. Halfway down the aisle, Melo said Owens was right – Cody did turn his back on Owens. Melo said, “Who needs enemies when you got friends like Cody Rhodes.” This must have been thrown in solely to explain to the live crowd why the match was booked in the first place. The two traded strikes and reversals to start things. Melo then slapped Cody and worked a side head-lock. Cody clotheslined Melo over the top rope and hit a suicide dive on the outside.

Back inside the ring, Cody stepped into the ring and Melo kicked Cody’s knee. Cody came right back with a Disaster Kick and the show went to a commercial break. The show returned and Cody cut Melo off as Melo went to the top. Cody lifted Melo and held him there for a while before suplexing Melo from the second rope. Melo came back and landed a tilt-a-whirl facebuster before attempting to lift Cody, but Cody countered with a running powerslam. Cody then worked a figure-four. Melo got to the ropes for a break.

The two got to their feet and traded blows. Cody went to the second, rope, but Melo cut Cody off and kicked Cody in the neck. Melo suplexed Cody and that was good enough for a two-count. Melo went to the top rope, but Cody ducked a splash attempt. After a few failed attempts at moves, Cody landed a Cody Cutter. Cody then hit the Cross-Rhodes for the win.

**********

The CM Punk-Roman Reigns sit down

Ahhh, the cinema-ification of WWE continues. This was pretty good. Punk, Reigns (outside of his weird forced scowl he went to one too many times) and Heyman all played their parts very well. I’m intrigued by the idea that Heyman now owes Punk a favor … because wasn’t it Punk who owed Heyman a favor at one point? Is this just a never-ending trading of favors? Is Heyman the one who gives Seth to Punk to finally set that program up? Whatever it is, they have my attention.

Paul Heyman sat between Reigns and Punk. Punk was late and Reigns was annoyed. As Reigns was about to get up and leave, Punk walked in and said he didn’t have a lot of time. Reigns called Punk out for being late and Punk said he didn’t show up for Reigns; he showed up for Heyman. Reigns told Punk he didn’t need his help. Punk said he figured Roman would feel that way. Punk reiterated that he wasn’t there for Roman; he was there for Heyman. Roman said he didn’t like Punk’s tone or attitude or him. Reigns said he doesn’t want to team with Punk at War Games.

Heyman chimed in and said Sikoa has had them at check mate since the Friday after WrestleMania. Heyman said if they don’t take the help, it’s over. Heyman told Punk that if they don’t win War Games, Solo’s Bloodline will come after Punk because he knows Punk is a threat. Heyman said “divided, we all fall to Solo; united, at best, we survive.” Punk said he didn’t care if Roman doesn’t like his attitude and asked Roman if he wanted his Ula Fala back. Punk said if they survive War Games, they can revisit the conversation. Roman said one time. Punk said, “one time, one favor.” Punk called Heyman “our wise man” and said Heyman will now owe Punk a favor after War Games.

Reigns asked Heyman what the favor is that Punk will want. Heyman told Roman they need to get through War Games and after that, they will have all the time in the world to talk about it. Roman looked pissed; Heyman looked intimidated. The scene faded to black.

**********

Michin defeated Piper Niven and Lash Legend to advance in the Women’s U.S. Title Tournament [10:16]

This turned out better than I expected it to turn out as the requisite throwaway first-round match, considering how its initial star, Jade Cargill, wasn’t in it anymore. Michin getting the win is a nice development, though, and when you consider how both her and Chelsea Green advanced to the second round, you have to be at least a little excited to see how this tournament ends up. Legend continues to hold up her end of the bargain each time she’s called upon to perform on the main roster, so I can’t see how they justify keeping her in NXT for very long, but there’s never any real rhyme or reason to the things pro wrestling bookers do. Still, this was another good showing for her, and that deserves to be noted.

Michin hit Legend to start things and then Niven planted Michin. Niven hit a splash on Michin, but Legend broke up the pin attempt. Legend caught Niven, but Michin dropkicked Legend to complete the splash attempt. Michin and Legend battled and the action spilled outside, where Michin kicked Niven. Michin hit a moonsault on Niven and Legend on the outside and then Michin rolled Niven back into the ring. Michin tried to get back into the ring, but Chelsea Green cut Michin off. B-Fab ran out and fought Green to the back. Niven ran into a pump kick from Legend inside the ring as Green disappeared to the back. The show then took a break.

The show returned and Niven hit her finisher on Michin inside the ring, but Legend broke up the pin attempt. Legend lifted Niven – or at least tried to – because Niven worked out of it and tackled Legend. Niven landed a Vader Bomb on Legend, but Michin broke up that pin attempt. Legend caught Michin and hit a back-breaker on her before Niven returned to the mix. Legend choke-slammed Niven for a nice near-fall. Legend was arguing with the referee and Michin kicked Legend, but Legend then powerbombed Michin for a two-count. All three women were down.

Niven was the first to her feet and landed a running Senton on both women. Niven ran into a boot from Michin, but Niven then cut Michin off when Michin went to the top. Niven set up for a Piper Driver from the top, but Legend broke the spot up. Niven headbutted Legend and went for a splash on Legend, but Legend moved and Legend hit her Lash Extension finisher on Niven, but Michin came out of nowhere to land a Senton on Legend to get Legend off Niven. As a result, Michin stole the win.

**********

– LA Knight was shown backstage being tended to after Nakamura’s mist. Byron Saxton walked in and interviewed Knight. Knight said he could barely see. Knight noted how Nakamura has been gone for a little bit, but now, Nakamura has a big problem. Knight said he’s going to thrive and continue to be the U.S. Champion. Knight said he’ll drop Nakamura on his head and did his catchphrase the end the segment.

Jacob Fatu defeated Jey Uso to gain the advantage for War Games [13:48]

Hey, that’s a big win for Jacob Fatu. Jey Uso is a former multi-time champion in WWE and this was clean (if we count slamming someone on a commentary table clean, but Randy Orton does it weekly and nobody seems to blink an eye). I love it. Keep building Fatu. Keep throwing obstacles in the original Bloodline’s way. War Games makes the most sense, historically, when the heels had the advantage, so this made all the sense in the world; Jacob going over in that fashion, though, took things to a higher level. Good stuff from both guys.

The two circled each other to start things and then locked up. Fatu pushed Jey and Jey came right back and worked a head-lock until Fatu shot Jey off and hit a shoulder-block. Fatu choked Jey and yelled, “I love you Solo!” Jey clotheslined Fatu over the top before long and went for a suicide dive, but Fatu caught him and threw Jey into the ring post and over the commentary table. The show then went to its final commercial break.

The show returned and Fatu had control. Fatu stomped on Jey and worked Jey’s neck. Jey eventually ran Fatu into the ring post and Fatu ran at Jey, but Jey moved and Fatu ran into the ring post. The two got to their feet and Jey punched Fatu a handful of times. Jey kicked Fatu, which finally put Fatu to the mat. Jey followed that up with a hip attack and that got Jey a two-count. Jey came off the second rope, but Fatu caught him and slammed Jey before hitting the springboard moonsault for a two-count.

Fatu hit Jey with a hip attack in a corner. Fatu yelled “I love you, Solo!” again. Jey landed a super-kick out of nowhere, but Fatu answered that with a pop-up Samoan Drop for a near-fall. Fatu went for a moonsault off the top, but Jey got his knees up and hit a spear before heading to the top and landing an Uso Splash, but Fatu kicked out at two. “This is awesome!” chants began. Fatu went to the outside and Jey landed a suicide dive on Fatu, to crashed into the commentary table.

Jey ran towards Fatu, but Fatu super-kicked Jey. From there, Fatu Samoan Dropped Jey on the commentary table, which did not break. Fatu rolled Jey back into the ring and hit a DDT, followed by his step-up moonsault. That was good enough to get the pinfall victory. After the match, Solo’s Bloodline showed up and Solo hugged Fatu. The show ended with Solo and his faction holding up their acknowledging fingers.

WWE SmackDown live results: Cody Rhodes & Kevin Owens face-to-face

Posted on November 22, 2024November 22, 2024 by Colin McGuire

Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens are set to go face-to-face on tonight’s WWE SmackDown. The altercation will take place two weeks after Owens hit Randy Orton with a piledriver, leading The Viper to be stretchered out of the ring and taken to an ambulance, where Rhodes joined Orton in his ride to the hospital.

Rhodes called Owens out last week and told SmackDown GM Nick Aldis that he would handle Owens, even if he won’t be allowed to do so in a WWE ring. Aldis then invited Owens to tonight’s show — and he accepted via a remote promo.

Also tonight, the women’s United States Championship tournament continues as Bianca Belair, Chelsea Green and Blair Davenport square off. Last week, Bayley defeated Candice LeRae and B-Fab to advance in the tournament to crown the first-ever champion.

The men’s United States title is scheduled to be defended tonight as Santos Escobar challenges LA Knight. Plus, Bayley & Naomi team up against Tiffany Stratton & Candice LeRae.

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

**********

– Michael Cole welcomed everyone into the show as Salt Lake City scenery was shown. A video recapping last week’s Bloodline developments was shown. Solo Sikoa’s music hit back inside the arena and Sikoa make his entrance with his War Games team.

The Bloodline 2.0 segment

Not much to this. I wonder if there was a travel issue or something of the sort that actually did lead to Reigns not being in the building yet because this segment felt incomplete. Either way, it’s a good hook for the rest of the show to see what happens once Roman comes around.

Loud “OTC!” chants broke out. Sikoa had a microphone and told Salt Lake City to acknowledge him. The crowd instead booed. Sikoa said he and his crew are ready to dominate War Games. “OTC!” chants broke out again. Sikoa said Roman Reigns isn’t ready because he wasn’t even in the building. Sikoa said when Roman gets there, he wants Roman to meet him in the middle of the ring later to accept his terms of surrendering. Sikoa said once Roman surrenders, Roman and his crew will acknowledge him.

**********

Chelsea Green defeated Blair Davenport and Jade Cargill to advance in the women’s U.S. title tournament [9:50]

And so that’s how you protect Belair but give the beloved Green a welcome win in an important spot on television. Kudos to the production team because it really did look like a crime scene backstage with Cargill laid out on top of the hood of a car. I didn’t know someone in WWE cannon hated Cargill so much that they would attempt to actually kill her, but here we are. Back to the match. It was good and I was glad to see the under-used Davenport get some time to enjoy a spotlight here and there. Green going over was the right call; my only fear now is I’m not sure she actually wins the whole thing, and it’ll be quite the disappointment when she loses, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, this was a good, action-packed 10 minutes.

Green made her way to the ring without Piper Niven. Green rolled up Davenport to start the match, but Belair rolled up Green and then Green rolled up Davenport and then Belair rolled up Green. None of the pin attempts resulted in a win. Obviously. Davenport was on the outside and Belair hit a standing moonsault on Green for a two count. Davenport reasserted herself, but it wasn’t long before Belair landed a splash on Green, who was on the outside. Davenport then landed a double stomp on Belair on the apron. The show then went to a commercial break.

The show returned and Belair had control over both wrestlers. Belair was working over Davenport, but Green broke it up and hit a Rough Rider on Belair. Davenport followed that with a double stomp on Green. Belair went for a moonsault, but Davenport got the knees up. Green then dropkicked Belair and landed on Davenport for a two count. Belair came back and landed a German Suplex on Davenport and Green at the same time. Belair got a two count out of it.

Belair ran at Green, but Green moved and Belair hit the ring post. Davenport climbed to the top, but Green cut Davenport off and landed a super-plex from the second rope. Belair hit a 450 on Davenport and went for the pin, but Green pulled Belair off Davenport. Belair returned the favor and got a good near-fall on Davenport. Video then cut in to show Jade Cargill on top of a car with a cracked windshield. Belair left ringside to tend to Cargill. Back inside the ring, Green hit her finisher after a Davenport rollup and Green got the win.

**********

– Belair was shown hopping in an ambulance with Cargill right before the ambulance sped away. Naomi and Bayley were also shown showing concern.

LA Knight defeated Santos Escobar to retain the United States Championship [8:13]

A fine-enough match, even if the shadow of Nakamura hung over the entire thing, between his physical presence at the end of the bout and the opening-match video. Escobar was given a ton of offense, which was a little surprising, considering Knight’s standing in the WWE food chain. I’m all for this mini reboot for Nakamura and I continue to be intrigued by his pairing with Knight. The clash in styles should be something to watch, for better or perhaps for worse. Here’s hoping this doesn’t end up being a quick three-to-four week arc for Nakamura and then he quickly gets defined down for the 59th time. I’d love to see him be a main player each week.

Before the match began, the lights went out and a Nakamura video aired. Nakamura said he had been watching LA Knight and now knows Knight better than Knight knows himself. Nakamura said Knight is insecure and consumed with fear. Nakamura said Knight’s fears are justified because this is the beginning of Knight’s end. The lights turned back on and Escobar attacked Knight, who was befuddled. Escobar hit a splash on Knight, who was on the outside. The show then went to a commercial break.

The show returned and Escobar continued to have control inside the ring, chopping Knight. Finally, Knight fought back for a few seconds, but Escobar cut Knight off and landed a Senton for a two-count on Knight. Escobar stretched Knight until Knight fought out of it. With Knight on the apron, Knight hit a slingshot shoulder tackle on Escobar. Knight punched Escobar repeatedly. Knight landed a neck-breaker for a near-fall.

Escobar came back and perched Knight on the top. Knight headbutted Escobar away and was going to try his elbow drop, but Nakamura appeared and distracted Knight. Escobar took advantage and hit a frog splash from the top. Escobar set up for his finisher, but Knight countered out of it into a BFT for the win. Nakamura immediately hit the ring and attacked Knight, throwing Knight into the ring post repeatedly. Nakamura then landed a running knee to the back of Knight’s head and left the ring.

**********

– Johnny Gargano was seen talking to Motor City Machine Guns backstage apologizing for Ciampa’s actions last week. Gargano wanted a tag title match, but MCMG said the next shot goes to the Street Profits. The Profits then appeared for a quick second, said a few words, and Gargano kept talking as a shot of Roman Reigns and his Bloodline walked backstage.

– Nia Jax and Nick Aldis were talking backstage. Aldis asked if Jax knew what happened to Cargill. Jax laughed and said she wants to take Cargill out at War Games. Aldis ran away to stop Cody from going to the ring. Aldis said he didn’t think Owens was in Salt Lake City and Cody said he didn’t think so because he didn’t think Owens would miss the opportunity. Cody then continued his trek to the ring as his entrance music hit.

The Cody Rhodes/Kevin Owens segment

Lots and lots and lots and lots of fire here. Cody has really showed up for this program with Owens, albeit for only a couple weeks at this point, but there is a noticeable difference in Cody’s delivery, passion, focus – all of it. The logic here is a little bit flawed, but there’s no use in being that picky. There is a reason Owens is often looked at as the only reasonable wrestler in pro wrestling with the things he says in promos, babyface or heel, and this was no exception. For years, he did take on Roman Reigns. For years, Roman Reigns was trying to kill his career. For years, he supported Cody in his fight against Roman Reigns. Then, at the drop of a dime, Cody forgives and forgets Roman Reigns in the name of a tag team match? As one of Owens’s (not so) favorite people has been known to say, tell me where Owens is telling lies. Either way, this was really inspired on both ends. Good stuff.

Turns out, Cody will be a guest on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Thanksgiving night next week. The crowd showered Cody with loud “Cody!” chants. Cody noted how Randy Orton wasn’t there. He also said he didn’t believe that Owens wasn’t there. Cody then begged Owens to come to the ring. Cody kept shouting and Owens’s voice could be heard as Owens walked through the crowd with a microphone.

Owens said he was summoned to be on SmackDown because “The Great Cody Rhodes wanted me here.” Owens noted how Owens was wearing his best tuxedo t-shirt while Cody didn’t even wear one of his suits. Cody yelled about Owens coming to the ring and Owens said he doesn’t get what he wants because he wants it. Cody hopped out of the ring, but officials stopped Cody from going into the crowd. Owens asked Cody what has him so upset because what’s happened to everybody has been Cody’s fault. The two yelled over each other and Owens walked to ringside.

Owens stood on the commentary table and said for four years, he fought the Bloodline and they tried to end his career. Owens said Roman Reigns tried to end Owens’s career, but Owens kept fighting and then Cody came back and Owens stood by Cody to fight the Bloodline. Owens noted how he celebrated with Cody when he beat Roman Reigns and finished his story. But then when Roman needed a partner “because he’s pissed off everyone around him,” Cody agreed to be Roman’s partner. Owens said Roman tried to take Owens’s life and yet Cody still teamed with Roman.

Cody screamed “enough!” and told Owens that if Owens wants to justify his actions because Cody teamed with Roman, that’s fine, but in reality, Owens always has to be a victim. Cody said nobody holds Kevin Owens down more than Kevin Owens. Cody said Owens’s self-sabotage is next level and Owens is obsessed with being the No. 1 guy and he doesn’t realize it’s a team effort. Cody said Owens is a Grand Slam Champion and one of the best superstars in recent memory. Cody said everyone knows that except Owens.

Cody said at Bash In Berlin, Owens didn’t pull the trigger on Cody and if he did, he could have become Universal WWE Champion. Cody said Owens eventually did pull the trigger – but not on Cody and instead on Orton. Cody said Orton didn’t deserve was Owens did to him. Cody said Owens crossed every line he possibly could. Cody said this lesson won’t happen in a promo; instead, Cody will have to beat it in Owens. Cody said wherever it is, it’s coming, and the ball is in Owens’s court.

Owens grinned and asked Cody if he wanted to fight him. Owens said Cody will get his match when Owens says it’s happening. The crowd booed and Owens said it’s definitely not happening tonight now. Owens said when it does happen, he’ll just be doing his job. Owens said he loved Randy Orton, but he hates Cody Rhodes. Owens walked back through the crowd as Cody shouted at Owens. Cody said he didn’t think Owens hates Cody and instead, Owens hates himself. Now that he knows the lengths to which Owens will go, Cody said there isn’t a single line he won’t cross, either. Cody’s music hit and that ended the segment.

**********

– Roman and his Bloodline were shown sitting around backstage. They were tossing around ideas for a fifth man. Someone suggested Cody, but Roman said no because Cody is old news and he’s moved on. Sami Zayn suggested Seth Rollins and Roman gave Zayn a nasty look, so that idea was out. Roman said he didn’t think they needed anyone else because if they go out there together, they’re good. And if they die, they die together, too. Jey, Jimmy and Sami agreed and Sami asked Roman what the plan would be. Roman thought about it and said, “I don’t know.”

– Cody was shown walking backstage and Carmelo Hayes it was about time someone told the truth about Cody. Cody pushed Hayes and Aldis quickly appeared to break things up. Cody told Aldis he should evaluate his first-round draft pick. Cody looked angry and the show went back to the ring for the next match.

Naomi & Bayley defeated Tiffany Stratton & Candice LeRae via DQ [7:48]

Not much to this. A standard match with the expected bickering between Stratton and LeRae. The most interesting thing to me was to see if Bayley and SKY would have a tiny reunion after the post-match attack angle, but the show didn’t stick with things long enough to see if that was a thing either way. They are doing their best in trying to heat up the women’s War Games match, but I just don’t think they can get there in time. This wasn’t a feud that needed a War Games; it’s a War Games that needed a feud, and as such, it just doesn’t feel imperative.

Naomi went after Stratton to begin the match. Naomi kept control until Stratton rolled to the outside. Naomi followed Stratton and the heels hid behind Nia Jax. The heels took advantage and attacked Naomi and Bayley. Back inside the ring, LeRae tagged in, but Naomi quickly fought off both heels. Bayley tagged in and hit a suicide dive on Stratton on the outside. Bayley hit a dropkick on LeRae between the ropes and Bayley and Naomi posed as the show went to a commercial break.

Upon return, Stratton had the upper hand on Bayley inside the ring. LeRae tagged herself in while Stratton was posing and the heels bickered. LeRae still stopped Bayley from tagging in Naomi, completely with a moonsault from the second rope. Stratton tagged herself in and hit a boot to Bayley’s face for a two-count. Naomi took out LeRae on the outside and Stratton missed a splash in the corner. When Bayley went to tag Naomi, Jax pulled Naomi off the apron to give Naomi and Bayley the win.

After the match, the heels were beating down the babyfaces, but IYO SKY’s music hit and SKY ran out for the save. SKY hit a springboard dropkick on Jax, but out of nowhere, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez showed up and joined in the fun. Rhea Ripley’s music hit and Ripley ran to the ring with a kendo stick. Ripley took everyone out with said kendo stick.

**********

Montez Ford defeated Tommaso Ciampa [7:49]

These guys worked hard for the time they were given and I like the attitude that both Ciampa and Ford has developed in recent weeks (Dawkins, too, but he didn’t show up until the post-match stuff). It’s odd in that I was convinced the Profits were turning heel after last week and this week, the crowd was behind Ford and they kind of managed to keep the heel intensity while keeping the babyface ethos. How long can they successfully walk that line, only time will tell. I applaud all the teams involved in this. That tag division needed a kick in the nuts, and these three teams – MCMG, #DIY, Street Profits – are doing their best to give it just that.

Ciampa walked to the ring slowly and in an ominous way. Ciampa ran at Ford to start the match, but Ford moved and stomped Ciampa. Ford landed a nice dropkick and kicked Ciampa’s back for a quick pin attempt. Ciampa chopped Ford’s throat to get control, but it didn’t last for long because Ford clotheslined Ciampa before landing a step-up enziguri, which took Ciampa to the outside. Ford followed it up with a flip onto Ciampa, but Ciampa came right back and kneed Ford from the apron into the commentary table. The show then went to a commercial break.

Back to the action, Ford powerbombed Ciampa from the top to reset whatever happened during the break. Ford hit a back elbow, clothesline and back suplex to take control. Ford added a standing moonsault for good measure. The two traded blows until Ford kicked Ciampa’s midsection. Ciampa landed a spinning neck-breaker for a two-count. Ciampa set up for a Fairytale Ending, but Ford countered with a knee. It wasn’t long, though, before Ford ran into a knee from Ciampa. Ciampa went for his finisher again and Ford instead rolled Ciampa up for the win.

After the match, Ciampa attacked Ciampa until Dawkins ran out and took care of Dawkins. Gargano then showed up to pull Dawkins off Ciampa. Gargano and Ciampa bickered and Ciampa pushed Gargano to the mat. MCMG then joined the party and Ciampa left the ring as MCMG helped Gargano to his feet. Ciamped yelled “Whose team are you on?” at Gargano as he retreated up the entranceway.

**********

– Next week, Cody will take on Carmelo Hayes. The women’s U.S. title tournament will continue featuring a match between Michin, Piper Niven and a mystery third competitor, who was supposed to be Jade Cargill.

The Bloodline(s) segment

I love it. I whined last week about Seth Rollins potentially being the fifth guy and even followed that up by whining some more about it in a column and a podcast appearance for another website this week. I knew the possibility of Heyman returning to call in a favor from Punk would be on the table, but these types of things often get leaked these days and the piss is taken out of it before it’s even revealed. Not this time. And hat’s off to Punk, who somehow finds a way to consistently make impactful returns to whatever company he’s in after he goes away for a tiny bit. We know he’s around and he’s back in the wrestling business. And we also knew, going into Survivor Series, there was a chance something like this could happen. But once it finally happened, even here, it somehow felt jarring in a good way. This sets up so much coming out of Survivor Series and into next year. What a fun wrinkle.

Solo’s version of the group entered first. Roman’s music then hit and his group walked out. The teams stared at each other inside the ring and Soo had a microphone. The crowd erupted in “OTC!” chants. Solo told Roman he wasn’t there to fight him and in fact, Solo said he still loves all four of this counterparts. Solo said he wanted Roman to understand that if Roman and his team joined Solo’s team, they could run the company for decades. Solo said Roman doesn’t have a fifth man, a wise man and no choice, so Roman should surrender and join his team – or Roman and his guys will die where they stand.

Solo gave Roman the microphone. The crowd returned to its “OTC!” chant. Before Roman could speak, Paul Heyman’s voice was heard saying, “Ladies and gentlemen!” The crowd went nuts as Heyman walked to the ring. Heyman noted how he was put through a table, so perhaps his math was off, but he knew there was no way to do War Games four vs. five. Heyman said that math didn’t make sense to the wise man. So, Heyman said, it won’t be four vs. five. Instead, Heyman said it will be five vs. five and from there, CM Punk’s music hit. Punk walked to the ring with purpose and all 10 men brawled in the ring.

With everyone else down, Roman and Punk were the two left standing inside the ring. “CM Punk!” chants erupted. Punk and Roman shared a moment and Heyman hopped up on the apron. “This is awesome!” chants began. Heyman grinned as Punk and Roman stared at each other. The rest of the Bloodline hopped in the ring. Punk’s music hit and Punk pointed at Heyman, signaling he was there for him. The show just kind of ended as the Bloodline stood on one side of the ring and Punk stood on the other.

WWE SmackDown live results: Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa go face-to-face

Posted on October 18, 2024October 18, 2024 by Colin McGuire

After standing tall to end last week’s episode, Solo Sikoa will have a face-to-face confrontation with Roman Reigns on tonight’s edition of WWE SmackDown.

Reigns, along with Jimmy Uso, suffered an attack from Sikoa and his version of The Bloodline last week. Jimmy tried to convince Reigns they needed help against Sikoa, but Jimmy was rebuffed by his brother Jey on Raw.

Also set for tonight is an appearance from the Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. He will address his upcoming match against Gunther at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, November 2. The winner of that match will become the first-ever Crown Jewel Champion.

Motor City Machine Guns — Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin — have officially signed with WWE and will make their debut tonight, facing Angel & Berto and Austin Theory & Grayson Waller in a triple threat match. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa vs. The Street Profits vs. Pretty Deadly is also taking place tonight. The winning teams will meet in a WWE Tag Team title number one contender’s match next week.

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

**********

– The show opened with important-looking people carrying a case with the Crown Jewel Championship into the building. Shots of Columbia, South Carolina, were shown while Corey Graves set up a video package recapping what happened last week. A recap of what happened between Jimmy and Jey on Monday’s Raw was part of the recap.

– Back in the arena, Solo Sikoa’s music hit and The Bloodline walked out. The announce team was Corey Graves and Wade Barrett. Graves said Michael Cole was “out on special assignment.”

The Bloodline segment

This was pretty good and both Jey and Solo used good pro wrestling logic to explain what they are doing and where they are coming from (“pro wrestling logic” because no, this isn’t Shakespeare, and if I never hear the phrase “this is cinema” in a pro wrestling context again, it will be too soon). We all know it can’t possibly go in this direction (can it?), but I actually kind of root for Jey to swerve everyone and join up with Sikoa just to spice things up. It’s wishful thinking because this exchange all but cemented Jey is here to help Jimmy and Roman despite his initial reaction on Raw. The line Jey had about Fatu raised my eyebrow, at least, because I whined and wondered aloud for years about why WWE didn’t sign Fatu forever ago, and the dialogue gave the confrontation between Jey and Fatu a lot more intensity than I would have anticipated otherwise. Good stuff.

Sikoa stood in the ring with a microphone as the crowd chanted “OTC!” Sikoa said what we all knew he’d say: “Columbia, South Carolina, acknowledge me.” He received a ton of boos in response. “Solo sucks!” chants then broke out. Sikoa told the crowd they were looking at the present and the future, the Bloodline and the Tribal Chief. Sikoa said he created a bigger and stronger family, a bigger and stronger Bloodline.

Sikoa said Roman Reigns can’t do anything about that. Sikoa said Jimmy Uso can’t do anything about it, either. Sikoa said Jey Uso doesn’t want anything to do with him. The crowd chanted “Yeet!” and Sikoa said “No yeet.” Sikoa said the beatdowns will continue unless Reigns comes down to the ring by the end of the night and acknowledges Sikoa. On cue, Jey Uso’s music hit and Jey appeared in the crowd yeeting along with the rest of the fans. Jey walked to the ring and boy that crowd loved him.

Jey grabbed a microphone and asked Solo, “What’s up, little brother?” Jey said it’s been a minute. Jey said he wasn’t out there to fight Sikoa because he still cares about him because Sikoa is his little brother. Jey said he was out there to talk Uce-to-Uce. Jey told Sikoa to think about what he was doing to his family and the Bloodline. Jey said he still has issues with Roman, but dividing the family isn’t the way to go. Jey said he left the family, went to Raw and became the Intercontinental Champion. Jey said fighting over the Ula Fala “is not it” because it’s earned, not taken. Jey pleaded with Sikoa to not divide the family.

Sikoa asked if Jey was done wasting his time. Sikoa said he wasn’t trying to divide the family, he was trying to unite the family. Sikoa told Jey not to call him his little brother because he is Jey’s Tribal Chief now. Sikoa said he will always have a place for Jey and Roman in his Bloodline – all they have to do is acknowledge Sikoa. Sikoa asked Jey if he was in or out. Jey asked if what Sikoa said was true, why did Sikoa have to go get Tama, Tonga and Jacob. Jey said there was a reason they stayed away from him and if Jacob kept staring at Jey, Jey would “knock his ass out.” The crowd erupted.

Jey said the next time he sees Sikoa, it’s going to be different, whatever that means. Jey said “yeet,” threw down the mic and left the ring to his music playing.

**********

#DIY (Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano) defeated The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) & Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince & Kit Wilson) to advance in the No. 1 contender’s tournament for the WWE Tag Team Titles [8:11]

Lots of action – and the type of action that has a fairly large audience these days. The guys worked hard, but it is suspect to put together an eight-minute match that has all this stuff crammed into it … and still take two minutes away via a commercial break. My prediction was #DIY going over because MCMG vs. #DIY feels like an indi-rific fever dream in WWE in the year 2024, but they did a nice job protecting the Profits with the creative finish. Also worth asking: Does this mean Pretty Deadly is back now? Consistently? Maybe?

Only The Street Profits’ entrance was televised. Ciampa, Ford and Prince started the match, but Prince retreated to the outside and Ciampa and Ford took the first 30 seconds of the match. Prince thought he had a chance to get some offense and lured Ciampa to the outside, where Wilson took Ciampa out. Things broke down from there and bunch of dives and blind shots occurred. It resulted in Ford leaping from the top toward Ciampa, but Ciampa hit Ford with a knee and got a two-count out of it.

Pretty Deadly took control and hit a double-team move that included a Codebreaker on Ciampa for a two-count. Pretty Deadly posed in the middle of the ring and the crowd booed. Ford rolled up Prince during the pose and that earned him a quick two-count before the show went to a picture-in-picture break.

The show returned and Ciampa hit an Air Raid Crash on Prince, but Ford landed a Frog Splash on Ciampa for a near-fall. All six men traded moves while an announcement regarding the main event for next week’s Dynamite … er … just kidding. Anyway, Ford went back to the top, but Prince cut Ford off and Pretty Deadly went for something on Ford, but Dawkins appeared and hit the Doomsday Blockbuster on Prince. #DIY followed that up with a Meet In The Middle on Wilson. Ford covered Prince and Ciampa covered Wilson. They got simultaneous pinfall wins, but because Wilson was the legal man, #DIY was ruled the winners of the match.

**********

– An SUV pulled up backstage and out of it came Roman Reigns and Jimmy Uso. It wasn’t long before they ran into Jey, who glared at Roman and walked away. Roman pulled at Jey and Roman told Jey, “I’m proud of you. We all are.” Jey said, “Man, no yeet,” and walked away, and buddy, it’s hard to take a single person in this world seriously if they say “No yeet,” but Jey sure tried to do just that.

– Nia Jax was shown talking on the phone in Nick Aldis’s office. Jax said Tiffany Stratton was sick and therefore wasn’t there. Jax tried to say her tag match was canceled as a result of that. Aldis said the match wasn’t canceled because Jax needed to find someone else. Candice LeRae walked into the frame with Indi Hartwell. LeRae offered her services and Aldis booked the tag match. It will be Jax and LeRae vs. Bayley and Naomi later in the show.

Lash Legend defeated Piper Niven [3:01]

This was all right. Sort of in the middle (how much can two people really do in three minutes … unless you’re booking a squash, but this wasn’t a squash). That said, it’s good to see Niven and Green on WWE TV each week because they work their asses off in every aspect of the pro wrestling game and it’s good to see that rewarded. Better yet, Legend got somewhat of a surprise win here and that suggests Jackson & Legend might be here to stay when it comes to the main roster, and good on them for it. Legend’s finisher is a lot of fun to watch on whatever show she’s on, but this time around, it was mighty impressive and Niven took it fantastically. Credit to both women.

Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair were shown in the crowd, watching the match. Legend pushed Niven to begin the match. Niven returned the favor. Legend hit the ropes, but ran into Niven, who didn’t move. Niven then ran the ropes and took Legend down. Niven went for a splash, but Legend moved and hit Niven with a Pump Kick and a splash on her own for a one-count. Niven caught Legend and slammed her before landing a running Senton for a two-count.

Niven went for a Cannonball, but Legend moved and hit a few strikes on Niven. Legend tried to lift Niven, but she couldn’t and Niven headbutted Legend, but Legend ultimately bodyslammed Niven to a pop from the crowd. Chelsea Green and Jakara Jackson brawled outside, which distracted Legend enough for Niven to briefly get the upper hand. Niven went for a splash, but Legend moved and hit her finisher on Niven, which was very impressive, and got the win.

**********

– Roman Reigns was shown backstage and Jimmy impersonated Paul Heyman for a second, which was funny. Jimmy tried to convince Roman to talk to Jey. Roman said if the Wiseman was there, it would have already happened. Roman said he’s going to fix it later tonight. Jimmy asked Roman how he’d do that. Roman said he’s going to acknowledge Solo Sikoa and things got serious for a second as the segment ended.

– The Crown Jewel Championship was shown and Graves talked it up, saying it has something like a trillion diamonds and 900 pounds of gold in it. Ish. Cody’s theme played and out walked the American Nightmare.

The Cody Rhodes segment

There was a little bit of heel Cody in this. His slow delivery almost never translates into seriousness and instead, it indicates he might be up for being a bad guy for a little bit. Perhaps that’s foreshadowing. Perhaps it’s nothing. Either way, this probably didn’t inspire the reaction that WWE or Cody wanted from the live crowd, who largely sat on their hands for this. Cody has his tropes, no matter the company, and the notion that he’s the only wrestler that ever does anything for his child has run its course for this viewer. I understand how and why he tried to make it seem like this match with Gunther has higher stakes than normal via said tropes, but I’m not buying it. Next week will hopefully be better with Gunther able to respond and (probably) troll Cody in real time.

The crowd chanted “Cody!” loudly and Cody soaked it in. Cody said it was an “unbelievably sized crowd this evening.” Cody noted how someone told him that “the next one doesn’t look like the last one,” when it comes to who leads the company. Cody said about the Crown Jewel Championship isn’t about the next one or last one; it’s about the first one. Cody referenced Harley Race, Ric Flair, Nick Bockwinkel, Goldberg and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Cody said at the end of Crown Jewel, there will be a definitive Crown Jewel Champion. The crowd was flat.

Cody said he wouldn’t disparage Gunther. Cody said Gunther is respected by everyone and could chop a tree down with his hand. Cody said everyone is terrified of Gunther, but he is not. Cody said he wouldn’t bet against him and he thinks he will leave Crown Jewel as the Crown Jewel Champion. Cody talked up the Crown Jewel title. Cody said in the last two years, he and the pro wrestling audience has gotten to know each other, and as such, he wanted to take the John Cena schedule/model, and Cody said he has done just that. Cody said the real reason he thinks he’s leaving Crown Jewel as champion is because he needs to do it for his daughter (in so many words).

Cody invited Gunther to SmackDown next week. Cody said he wants to know what Gunther’s reasons for all this are. Cody said he wants to look in Gunther’s eyes and say, “Hey champ. What do you want to talk about?” And that was the end of the segment.

**********

– Video of the Kevin Owens attack on Cody at Bad Blood aired. Footage of Owens’s run-in last week then aired. The social media video that Owens posted earlier on Friday then aired. In short, Owens is mad that officials told him to stay home because he feels it’s unfair and ridiculous because we see ambushes every week on TV. Owens mocked the fact that he “dropped their golden boy outside a stupid bus,” and let’s be honest: He wasn’t wrong. Owens questioned how much he’s valued in WWE. Above all, he’s mad that Randy Orton betrayed him. Owens said he thought their friendship was different from the other friends he’s had and he said Orton picked Cody over Owens. The final seconds of the promo featured Owens saying he doesn’t know if or when he can come back.

– Randy Orton walked into Aldis’s office. Orton said he needs to get his hands on Owens and it needs to be at Crown Jewel. Aldis said it wasn’t something he could do. Aldis said it wasn’t that he won’t; it’s that he can’t. Orton screamed, but Aldis cut him off and said the order was coming “from up above.” Orton said he then knew who he was going to have to talk to.

Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) defeated A-Town Down Under (Grayson Waller & Austin Theory) & Los Garza (Angel & Berto) to advance in the No. 1 contender’s tournament for the WWE Tag Team Titles [8:35]

Hey. You have to start somewhere. I’m a proponent of wrestlers who you think should go to AEW actually going to WWE because it’s simply more interesting. No shade on AEW – I love AEW as much as you do, I promise – but Shelley and Sabin in AEW would be a tag team that looks a whole lot like a lot of other tag teams on that roster. In WWE, they can stand out and see if it works. Maybe it will. Maybe it won’t. The reaction to them here wasn’t lighting the world on fire, but Shelley, especially, worked the crowd into a position that was advantageous to both the match and his tag team by the end of everything. You can tell how hard they tried and how much it meant to them and that really does say something in such a jaded world of pro wrestling these days. There’s still work to do, but it was a fine enough WWE debut.

Sabin started the match and the heels worked him over – the heels in this case being Waller and Angel. Shelley tagged in and basement dropkicked Berto & Angel. Sabin took everyone except Waller out and Waller went after Shelley, but Sabin helped Shelley out to regain control. “Motor City” chants broke out. Shelley went after Waller, but Waller hit a forearm on Shelley and tagged in Theory. From there, the show went to a picture-in-picture break.

The show returned and Los Garza worked over Shelley. Waller tried to intervene and Angel and Berto hit dueling moonsaults on the outside. Waller took care of Los Garza outside the ring. Waller set up for a rolling move, but Shelley countered and took out A-Town, but Angel hopped back into the picture and Los Garza took control. Berto and Theory battled it out briefly, but Sabin took a blind tag from his partner and the Guns instantly had the upper hand. Shelley and Sabin hit their splash/neckbreaker finisher on Berto to get the win.

**********

– Byron Saxton interviewed Carmelo Hayes and Andrade backstage. Immediately Andrade and Hayes brawled. Next week will be Game 7 for their series. Aldis showed up to yell and look important.

Nia Jax & Candice LeRae defeated Bayley & Naomi [7:34]

Look at that! I love it. You can’t change until you change and LeRae is long overdue for some booking love. Who knows what the story behind Stratton not being there is, but LeRae stepped up and LeRae is now kind of/sort in the women’s title picture. Good for her. And hats are off for Bayley, who probably was thrilled to take the pin, knowing how supportive she seems to be backstage of her coworkers. This was a nice, fun surprise.

Jax and Bayley started the match and Jax attacked Bayley quickly. LeRae tagged in and Bayley took control. Naomi then tagged in and LeRae rushed to tag in Jax. Jax ran at Naomi, but Naomi moved and stood on Jax’s back and danced a little. Jax came back and face-planted Naomi for a two-count. Jax hit a spinebuster and a Senton for a two-count. The show went to a commercial break.

The show returned and Bayley got the hot tag and Bayley came in to clean house with LeRae getting the worst of it. Naomi hit a splash on Jax on the outside, but Bayleu ran into a forearm from LeRae. LeRae tried to climb the ropes, but Bayley cut of her off. With the referee’s back turned, Hartwell attacked Bayley and rolled Bayley into the ring. LeRae then landed a moonsault on Bayley and actually got the win for her team.

**********

– Next week, Melo/Andrade Game 7 happens. MCMG vs. #DIY is also on tap. And Gunther and Cody will go face-to-face.

– Saxton interviewed Aldis backstage. Aldis named LA Knight as the special referee for Game 7 for Melo/Andrade next week. Knight came in and said he will call it down the middle.

– Roman Reigns’s music hit and the crowd instantly stood up. The show went to a break as Roman made his entrance.

The Roman Reigns/Bloodline segment

Maybe Roman Reigns needs to start yeet-ing and this could all go away. Whatever it is, another week, another show-ending segment with Roman being left for dead as Solo Sikoa and his faction stand tall. You have to appreciate the long-term approach, but the ending here did fall a tiny bit flat if only because we all knew Jey was in the building and we all probably thought this would be where Jey saves the day. But it was not to be. The slow walk continues. Even so, good promo work from both Sikoa and Reigns to end the night.

The crowd chanted “OTC!” and Reigns soaked it in. Reigns looked tired and fired himself up when he said, “Columbia, South Carolina … maybe for the last time, acknowledge me.” The crowd did their part. Solo Sikoa’s music hit and Sikoa walked out alone in wrestling gear. Sikoa and Reigns circled each other inside the ring. “OTC!” chants broke out. Reigns said that earlier tonight, Sikoa told Jey that their family is strong now. Reigns said Sikoa told Jey that the Bloodline was stronger now. Reigns said he doesn’t see it and he doesn’t see anything that tells him the family is better off now. Reigns said the family is divided and broken.

Reigns talked about everything they lost in the spring and summer and wondered how they stand like they do now. Reigns said he told his father that he could fix it. Reigns said all he wanted to do is put them back in the promised land. Reigns said he wanted titles around their waist and money coming in from everywhere. Reigns asked Sikoa what he has to do to fix it. Sikoa said all Roman has to do is acknowledge him. The crowd booed and started back in on the “OTC!” chants. Reigns took a minute and actually said, “I acknowledge you.” Roman asked if that made Solo feel better and Solo said that wasn’t good enough.

Instead, Solo said that he needs Roman to acknowledge Solo as his Tribal Chief … or else. Roman yelled “Or else what?!” The crowd blew up. Solo said he knew it – Roman never changed. Solo said since Roman never changed, Solo will never change, either, and Solo snapped his fingers. Tonga, Tama and Fatu walked out with a beaten up Jimmy Uso. Solo tried to attack Roman, but Roman got the best of Solo at first. Roman then tried to battle all of the Bloodline. Roman hit a Superman Punch on Solo and the Ula Fala fell off. Roman grabbed it and tried to put it on, but Solo low-blowed Roman.

The Bloodline beat up Reigns, complete with a suplex from Jacob Fatu. The four Bloodline members were yelling at Roman and set Roman up for a Samoan Spike, which Solo then delivered. Solo jawed at the crowd and hit another Spike on Roman. For the second week in a row, the Bloodline stood tall above Roman Reigns as the show ended.

WWE SmackDown live results: Two title matches, Roman Reigns speaks

Posted on October 11, 2024October 11, 2024 by Colin McGuire

Following his return to the ring at Bad Blood, the Original Tribal Chief is set to appear on tonight’s WWE SmackDown.

Roman Reigns teamed with Cody Rhodes to defeat Solo Sikoa & Jacob Fatu last Saturday night. After the match, The Rock made a surprise return and stood in the entrance way, staring down both Reigns and Rhodes. We’ll see if Reigns has a message for The Rock when he speaks tonight.

Also tonight, LA Knight is set to defend his United States title against Carmelo Hayes. Hayes is coming off a win over AJ Styles last week. Hayes also recently evened his series with Andrade at three victories apiece.

The WWE Women’s Tag Team titles are being defended as well. Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair are facing off against the NXT team of Jakara Jackson & Lash Legend, who challenged the champions in a backstage segment on Tuesday.

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

**********

– Michael Cole welcomed everyone in as shots of Greenville, South Carolina, were shown. Cole then set up a video package recapping the Bad Blood main event.

– Jimmy Uso’s music hit and Jimmy walked out. It turns out, he will be wrestling Solo Sikoa later in the show.

The Roman Reigns/Jimmy Uso segment

This was weird. They clearly worked in spots where they expected the crowd to respond a lot differently than the way the crowd actually responded in real time. No real reaction to the Paul Heyman reference. A anticlimactic end to the segment. This was kind of a mess, which is very unusual for any Roman Reigns segment over the last few years. I almost blame the crowd as much as I blame the writing, but maybe the live feed just doesn’t have the crowd mic’d up all that well. Whatever it is, this was the logical next move. Jimmy was right when he said Roman is a chief without a tribe; it’s clearly time to get the band back together.

The crowd chanted “Uso!” before Jimmy spoke. Jimmy then welcomed everyone into SmackDown. Jimmy said he had been out of action for six months because he put on the shelf by Solo Sikoa. Jimmy noted how Solo jumped him from behind. Jimmy said tonight will be about big bro vs. little bro and he plans on kicking Sikoa’s a … Jimmy was interrupted by Roman Reigns’s music. Reigns walked out.

The crowd chanted “OTC!” Once in the ring, Reigns put up his finger and the crowd followed suit. Jimmy gave Roman his microphone. Roman walked around the ring and the crowd cheered for him before offering up more “OTC!” chants. Roman said tonight he was going to change things up a little bit and told Greenville to join him in acknowledging Jimmy. The crowd cheered. Reigns asked them again to acknowledge “Big Jim.” The crowd cheered louder.

Jimmy grabbed a microphone of his own and Roman said he understood where Roman was coming from. Roman said he’s not an older brother, so he doesn’t understand revenge. Roman also said he’s not a wise man, paused, and it weirdly got little to no reaction. Roman said he is a Tribal Chief and that means he takes what is his. Roman said they had it all – the money, power and respect – not that long ago. Roman recalled how he once told Jimmy to buy all the houses. Roman said he doesn’t like where they are at right now – being out of position, being out of control. Roman said he is the greatest of all time and he wants everyone to know that when they step foot in the ring, “The GOATs are here.” Roman said they were “the ones.”

Jimmy chimed in and said they aren’t, though. The crowd chanted “Yes, you are.” Jimmy said he sees a chief with no tribe when he sees Roman now. Jimmy said he came back because Roman needed him. Jimmy said he and Roman need help and the crowd chanted “Yeet!” Jimmy said he knows one person they can get help from and the crowd continued its “Yeet! chant. Roman said “No yeet,” and it was funny. Jimmy said Roman will forever be his Tribal Chief, but Jimmy is the only one in the family who still acknowledges Roman. Jimmy then left the ring while Roman looked dejected in the center of the ring. That was the end of the segment and it fell flat.

**********

– Cole touted the WWE legends in the crowd at Bad Blood.

LA Knight defeated Carmelo Hayes [9:01]

This was fine for what it was, albeit predictable. With Hayes and Andrade tied at 3 victories apiece in their series, there was no way Melo was going to get the win – especially after Andrade already took a loss to Knight. But Hayes and Knight worked hard and Hayes continues to feel more and more like a lasting fit on the main roster with each passing week. Does this lead to a triple threat for the U.S. title? Or does this lead to the ultimate series-ended between Hayes and Andrade?

Knight had the upper hand early, complete with a clothesline over the top rope. With Hayes on the outside, Andrade showed up at ringside and Hayes argued with Andrade. Knight took advantage with a dropkick through the ropes. The two battled on the outside as the show went to a commercial break. The show returned and Hayes was working a headlock inside the ring until Knight suplexed Hayes to even things out.

Knight hit an inverted atomic drop followed by a clothesline, a pop-up powerslam and an elbow for a two-count. Knight stomped on Hayes, but Knight then ran into a super-kick from Hayes. Even so, Knight backdropped Hayes and the two traded pin attempts before Knight landed a neck-breaker. Knight went to the second rope and jumped to the top to then hit an elbow from the top for a nice near-fall. Knight went for a BFT, but Hayes countered with an axe kick and a pop-up cutter for a near-fall.

Hayes went to the top rope and briefly hesitated while looking at Andrade, but he still went for Nothing But Net. It didn’t matter because Knight moved and the two traded move attempts. Ultimately, the sequence ended with a BFT from Knight and that was good enough to get the win. After the match, Andrade said something to Hayes before leaving ringside.

**********

– Jimmy Uso and Cody Rhodes ran into each other backstage. Cody thanked Jimmy for last Saturday. Jimmy said he respected Cody for handling business on his own and walked away.

– A video package for Jakara Jackson and Lash Legend aired.

– Jackson and Legend tried to make their entrance, but Kevin Owens, complete in a Dusty Rhodes shirt, ran out from the crowd and grabbed a microphone, trying to tell the crowd that Cody turned on Owens and not the other way around. They cut off Owens’s mic so Owens went to a broadcast headset, but they cut that, too. Cody then walked with purpose to the ring. Officials ran out to separate everyone and included in that was Randy Orton. Orton got inside the ring, where Owens was, and Owens shoved Orton. Orton then hit Owens and the two looked unhappy with each other. Cody, meanwhile, was still in the entranceway. Owens left through the crowd.

– The show went to a commercial break, but luckily for Jackson and Legend, they were still in the ring and the women’s tag title match was still on. Trick Williams, meanwhile, was shown in the crowd. Chelsea Green and Piper Niven were also shown, just sort of hanging out at ringside.

Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair defeated Jakara Jackson & Lash Legend [2:11]

I have to think this had time cut from it (probably because of the opening segment running long – great to have you back, Roman!) because they sure did pack a lot into this in a short amount of time. So much so, in fact, that it was quite impressive. Set up the Meta Girls and Green/Niven. Give the Meta Girls some shine, hitting all their biggest and best moves on the champs. Offense looked great from the Meta Girls. Ultimately, tag champs retain. A very good showing for Jackson and Legend and I hope they stick around, if only because they deserve more than the two minutes they got here. Good stuff, even if it was laughably short.

Legend and Jackson jumpstarted the match and Legend worked over Belair for a pin attempt. From there, Jackson flipped off Legend’s shoulders onto Belair for a two-count. Jackson then hit a running neck-breaker on Belair for a two-count. Cargill and Legend had a brief moment, but Cargill was disposed to the outside. The rest of the action spilled outside and Legend kicked Green over the commentary table. Belair got a hot tag to Cargill after this and the champs hit their finish on Jackson for the win.

**********

– Cody was shown by his bus with Nick Aldis and Orton. Orton told Cody to leave because he was going to talk to Kevin and everyone needed to calm down. Aldis talked about how he needed Cody to beat Gunther at Crown Jewel. Orton said he’ll fix it as Cody got on his bus. Aldis said, “Randy Orton, voice of reason. Who would have thought?”

The Nia Jax/Naomi segment

Jax opened the segment by saying Bayley put up one hell of a fight at Bad Blood. Jax got the “What?” treatment from the crowd as she said nobody on the planet could beat her – especially Liv Morgan. Jax called Morgan a “little girl.” Jax said she will annihilate Morgan at Crown Jewel and become the first-ever Crown Jewel Champion. Jax said after all that, Tiffany Stratton, who was out there with Jax, will be able to cash in on Liv Morgan. Naomi’s music hit and Naomi made her entrance. Naomi said they all know the only reason Jax is still the champion is because the “Brokedown Barbie” helped, referring to Stratton.

Naomi entered the ring and Jax said it took two to pin Jax the last time, referring to her match with Naomi and Bayley. Naomi said she doesn’t need anybody to help her beat Jax. Jax said she was sick of Naomi’s face. Naomi said she could beat Jax right here, right now. Jax asked for a referee and it appeared as though a match was on the horizon. A referee ran out … but Liv Morgan’s music hit and Morgan walked out with Raquel and Dirty Dom. Morgan said they came to make an example out of Jax, but instead, they are going to watch along as Jax loses to Naomi – just like Jax will lose to Morgan at Crown Jewel. Jax pushed Naomi and the show went to a commercial break.

Naomi defeated Nia Jax in a non-title match [9:49 of TV time]

Good for Naomi. That was fun. Once Cole noted heavily that it wasn’t a title match, it felt like Naomi was going over, but no matter the shenanigans, it’s still a big win for Naomi. My opinions on brand interactions change by the minute, but I kind of like the surprise of Morgan, her crew and Ripley showing up on SmackDown. Since we’re combining brands for Crown Jewel anyway, why not have fun with that in the walkup to the event? Naomi now has wins over Stratton and Jax – and both matches were very good, to boot. You love to see it. As for the LDF/Aldis segment … this means Shelley and Sabin are showing up next week, right?

The match was shown in progress and Naomi was kind of toying with Jax until Jax overpowered her and worked Naomi’s back. Jax ran Naomi into the ring post and posed on the apron before running Naomi’s head into the ring post. Jax then worked a chin-lock. Naomi worked out of it and planted Jax, but Jax rolled under the bottom rope, where Naomi hit her split-leg-drop. Jax walked on the outside of the ring and Naomi dropkicked Jax into the ring post. Naomi hopped onto the barricade, but Jax caught her and hit a Samoan Drop on Naomi on the outside. Jax then told Morgan and Dom they were nasty and the show went to a commercial break.

The show returned and Jax had control until she missed a Senton. Naomi followed up with a series of kicks and a running bulldog into the second turnbuckle. Naomi then landed a cross-body from the top for a good near-fall. Naomi hit a springboard kick to the head and then landed a corkscrew plancha on Jax, who was on the outside of the ring. Stratton tried to attack Naomi, but Raquel stopped Stratton and Naomi kicked Stratton. Naomi went to the top, but Jax cut her off and set up for her finisher. Raquel distracted the referee and Morgan hit Jax with the MITB briefcase. From there, Naomi hit a running powerbomb on Jax and got the win.

After the match, Rhea Ripley’s music hit and Ripley attacked Raquel. Morgan retreated into the ring, where Jax grabbed Morgan. Ripley took out Jax and Morgan and Dom and the heels retreated back up the entranceway.

**********

– Carmelo Hayes was walking backstage with an ice pack and ran into Aldis. Melo said Andrade screwed Melo out of the U.S. title. Aldis brought up Game 7 between Andrade and Hayes with the winner getting a U.S. title shot. Legado Del Fantasma showed up. Santos Escobar told Aldis that Melo and Andrade seem to have a permanent spot in his title lineup. Aldis said Escobar came up short in his shot at the U.S. title. Aldis said next week, Los Garza will face a special team and if Los Garza win, they will receive a tag title shot.

– Solo Sikoa was shown in a dark room and said Jimmy might be big brother, but tonight, Sikoa is his Tribal Chief and Jimmy will acknowledge him.

– Cole reminded everyone that in two weeks, WreslteMania tickets will go on sale.

– A video package highlighting last week’s tag-team triple threat match aired.

– The Street Profits and #DIY were shown talking to Aldis backstage. Aldis said a new team will be in next week and all the members of the teams yelled. Out of nowhere, Aldis looked concerned and Aldis ran over to Kevin Owens, who was stomping on Randy Orton outside of the venue. Officials ultimately broke things up, but Orton sold the attack.

– Cole mistakenly called Kevin Owens Kevin Dunn while talking from the desk. So, there’s that. Cole then set up a video recap of the Punk/McIntyre Hell In A Cell match from Bad Blood.

– A recap of Sikoa turning on Jimmy from April aired before the main event.

Solo Sikoa defeated Jimmy Uso [13:57]

Well, in terms of Uso brothers matches in the year 2024, this was certainly a step up from Jimmy vs. Jey at WrestleMania. It was good to see Jimmy back and it looked like he didn’t have too much rust – especially for someone who hasn’t wrestled in six months. They told a very good story with Jimmy being unsettled at how outnumbered he was and the Bloodline ultimately getting the best of the situation because of it. Who do we think is the person Jimmy is talking about? Jey? Sami? Maybe even Heyman? It should be fun to see how it plays out. Meanwhile, what, exactly, is up with The Rock?

The bell rang and Jimmy looked to the outside of the ring, where Sikoa’s Bloodline stood. Jimmy looked concerned and Sikoa told Jimmy he is his Tribal Chief. Jimmy looked flustered. Jimmy teased acknowledging Sikoa and instead attacked Sikoa. It wasn’t long before Sikoa ran at Jimmy, but Jimmy moved and Sikoa went to the outside. From there, Jimmy hit a suicide dive through the ropes and the crowd chanted “Uso!”

Back in the ring, Jimmy came off the top, but Sikoa countered with somewhat of a spike to Jimmy’s throat. Jacob Fatu hit Jimmy, who was draped over the bottom rope. Sikoa toyed with Jimmy until Jimmy ran Sikoa’s head into a series of turnbuckles. Jimmy went for a suplex, but Sikoa blocked it and clotheslined Jimmy on the apron. Sikoa then punched Jimmy off the apron and Fatu attacked Jimmy again on the outside. Sikoa put his finger in the air and the show went to a commercial break.

The show returned and Sikoa landed a hip attack on Jimmy. Jimmy smacked Sikoa and fired up, but it didn’t really matter because Sikoa came back with a spinning heel kick. For the third time, Fatu hit Jimmy while the referee wasn’t looking. Sikoa lifted Jimmy, but Jimmy got out of it and landed a DDT to even things out. Jimmy chopped the hell out of Sikoa, but Sikoa came back with a Spinning Solo for a good near-fall.

Sikoa hit another hip attack and posed for the crowd, who booed him. Sikoa went for yet another hip attack, but he ran into a super-kick from Jimmy. After a few failed attempts, Jimmy landed a urinage and went to the top to hit a cross-body for a two-count. Fatu and the rest of the Bloodline hopped on the apron and Jimmy fought them off. Jimmy then hit a Samoan Drop on Sikoa for a two-count. Jimmy went to the top, but Tama Tonga distracted the referee and Fatu pushed Jimmy off the top. Sikoa then hit the Samoan Spike and got the pin as a result of it.

Roman’s music hit and it took him a minute, but Roman walked/ran to the ring and took everyone out with a bunch of Superman Punches. Roman was left alone with Sikoa. “OTC!” chants broke out. Roman and Solo exchanged punches, but Fatu attacked Roman. Jimmy tried to help, but Fatu took Jimmy out, complete with a moonsault. Sikoa hit a Samoan Spike on Reigns and Reigns sold the hell out of it. Sikoa and his Bloodline left the ring as his music played. Jimmy mouthed to Roman, “We need him, we need help,” off mic as they both sold pain in the ring. The show closed with Sikoa and his Bloodline standing tall and Roman and Jimmy selling the effects of their attack.

WWE SmackDown live results: Tag title ladder match, AJ Styles returns, more

Posted on October 4, 2024October 4, 2024 by Colin McGuire

On the eve of Bad Blood, WWE SmackDown takes place from Nashville tonight.

The WWE Tag Team titles will be on the line in a triple threat ladder match. Champions The Bloodline (Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa) are defending their belts against The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) and DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommasso Ciampa).

The Bloodline have held the titles since August 2, when they defeated DIY for the championship.

Another stipulation is set for tonight with Michin and Chelsea Green facing off in the first-ever women’s dumpster match.

Naomi vs. Tiffany Stratton has also been announced, and AJ Styles will make his return to WWE programming.

Plus, in advance of Cody Rhodes & Roman Reigns teaming together against Solo Sikoa & Jacob Fatu in the main event of Bad Blood, SmackDown will feature a “special look” at how the match came to be.

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

**********
– Michael Cole welcomed everyone into the show as shots of Nashville aired. Scenes of The Bloodline, #DIY and The Street Profits entering the building from earlier in the day also aired.

– Country singer Hardy was then introduced and he was already in the ring. Hardy then introduced “The Phenomenal Forearm” (his words, not mine) AJ Styles.

The AJ Styles/Carmelo Hayes/LA Knight segment

I get a kick out of turns like this. “Hey, everybody. The last time you saw me, I was feuded with the beloved World Champion and I even lied about retiring just to get a match with him. But, shoot. I went away for a couple months and I’m sorry, so bring out the bad guys!” I tend to like AJ Styles, so I didn’t mind this all that much, but that doesn’t mean it’s not all so silly. Anyway, it’s good to have Styles back and I’m curious if he’ll be worked into the U.S. title picture after this. You have to think he doesn’t have a lot more towns left in him.

Styles received somewhat of a babyface response from the live crowd. Styles was also wearing his ring gear. Styles soaked in cheers after his music cut off. The crowd thanked him with “AJ!” chants. “Welcome back” and “AJ Styles!” chants followed that initial chant. Styles said he had “missed you guys so much” and talked about how it was fitting that they were in Nashville because that’s where it all started for him. Styles said he’s done a lot of things he regrets over the last few months, but he was there to rebuild the legacy of AJ Styles. Styles said it is still “The House That AJ Styles Built.” On cue, Carmelo Hayes’s music hit and Hayes walked out.

Hayes said he wasn’t surprised that there weren’t a lot of guys in line to welcome him back. Hayes stepped into the ring and introduced himself to Styles and said he’s been holding it down on SmackDown while Styles has been gone. Hayes called Styles an old-timer and said Styles was probably out there to announce a legends contract. Melo said a guy like Melo, who deserves to be the U.S. Champion … and then Styles interrupted Melo to say that LA Knight is relentless, “yeah!” Styles recalled how Knight went to Styles’s house and how Styles and Knight had a match at WrestleMania.

Melo chimed back in and said he didn’t need advice from Styles because Hayes doesn’t take advice from quitters. Styles said if Melo was actually “him,” he would be the U.S. Champion. Melo said if Styles actually phenomenal, Styles would be world champion. Styles challenged Hayes to a match on the spot. Hayes said, “Nah, I’m good,” and tried to walk away, but LA Knight’s music hit and Knight walked out to a good pop. The crowd broke into “LA Knight!” chants. Knight said, “Let me talk to ya!” Knight mocked Hayes and noted how Styles had misled the entire world when he said he was going to retire a few months ago. Knight said Hayes will get stomped out and there are two options – one is that Knight could punch Hayes and walk down to Broadway to have a good night. The second choice is that if Melo can beat Styles, Melo could have a shot at the U.S. title. Without Melo saying anything, the match was made and the segment ended.

**********
Carmelo Hayes defeated AJ Styles via ref stoppage [8:34]

Welp. I was wondering how they’d get out of Styles losing in his return, considering the pop-up stipulation that Knight added, and I guess this was the best way? Maybe? Probably? I don’t know. The match was fine while it lasted, but the truth is that I’d like to see these two get five more minutes and no commercials. We got what we got. I’ll reiterate perhaps the biggest question coming out of the first half-hour of this show: Where does Styles go from here? I’m genuinely curious.

Knight sat at ringside for the match. Hayes took Styles down early and then Styles returned the favor. Hayes kept control early, led by some chops. Styles fought back with chops of his own and a nice-looking standing dropkick. Hayes rolled to the outside and hopped back on the apron before hopping back off the apron. Hayes stalled, which incited boos from the crowd. Hayes finally stepped back into the ring and had the edge, complete with a springboard clothesline and two-count. Hayes threw Styles to the outside and joined Styles outside the ring, where Melo threw Styles into the commentary table. The show then went to a commercial break.

The show returned and Melo was working a half-crab inside the ring. Styles made it to the ropes for a break. Styles then fired up and landed a fury of strikes, taking Hayes down. Styles then hit a pop-up neck-breaker, but after Melo came down on Styles’s leg, the ref called the match off due to an injury that Styles suffered to his leg earlier in the match. As Melo was announced the winner of the match, Knight stepped into the ring and hit a BFT on Hayes.

**********

– A dumpster was rolled to ringside for the next match.

Michin defeated Chelsea Green in a Dumpster Match [10:25]

This was a blast. Plus, it’s a great example of a very good mid-card program that built over a series of weeks in a low-key way and then ultimately had a payoff that worked in all of the ways. A good WWE-style brawl that incorporated comedy – and in this instance, actually warranted comedy – while offering up a way to get both wrestlers involved to the next level. It worked. Kudos to Michin, who continues to build her bad-ass-ery, and kudos to Green, who has no shame (in the best way) and has no problem being a ham in the name of entertainment. This was as perfect as it could be.

Both women had kendo sticks to start the match and that led to Michin hitting a suicide dive on Green on the outside. Michin then grabbed a chair and a trashcan from under the ring. Michin also found a table. Green ran at Michin, which meant Green ran into a baking sheet shot from Michin. Michin went to the top and landed a dropkick from the top rope. The two went outside and Green slammed Michin into the dumpster. The show then went to a break.

The show returned and Green and Michin were battling on the apron. Michin got inside the ring and landed a Tornado DDT and a German Suplex. Michin went for Eat Defeat, but Green countered and hit a Canadian Destroyer. Green then threw Michin into the dumpster, but Michin stopped Green from closing the lid. Michin then beat Green with a bunch of garbage bags. Back in the ring, Michin finally hit Eat Defeat and put Green into a trashcan and hit a splash onto Green with Green in the can. Michin then grabbed another table and draped it across the dumpster.

Out of nowhere, Piper Niven showed up and attacked Michin. Niven then ran at Michin, but Michin moved and Niven hit the dumpster. With the two on the apron, Green tried to suplex Michin, but Michin blocked it and power-bombed Green through the table into the dumpster. Michin then closed the lid on the dumpster and won the match. Green popped out of the dumpster out of the match and had garbage all over her.

**********

– AJ Styles was shown in the trainer’s room in the back. Corey Graves said Styles was transported to a hospital.

– Naomi was shown in the back and Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill walked up to her. Naomi menitoned how Belair and Cargill won their tag titles. As it goes, Naomi will now also be a host, along with Belair and Cargill, at Bad Blood. Bayley walked into the scene and reassured Naomi that they are friends, which means Naomi will be the No. 1 contender should Bayley win the women’s title at Bad Blood.

The Bayley/Nia Jax segment

Bayley showed good fire here. Or, well, at least more than she has in recent weeks. The Stratton/Jax stuff continues to be fun in a weird novel WWE way. And I only say that because I was dreading the will she/won’t she dynamic that the Jax/Stratton story was obviously going to have from the jump. Instead, the creative minds have done a great job keeping things fresh between those two. As a result, this should be a fun segment when it comes to the PLE. Everyone involved has stepped up enormously in the walk up to all this.

Bayley said she wasn’t going to waste anyone’s time and she called out Nia Jax right away. Jax’s music hit and Jax walked out with Tiffany Stratton. Jax said if Bayley had something to say, she should say it to Jax’s face. Bayley said Jax never understood the importance of the women’s championship. Bayley referenced a lot of WWE women’s legends and said they made the title seem larger than life. Bayley said Jax doesn’t do that for the title. Bayley said even so, none of them have had the dominant championship run that Jax is on right now.

Bayley noted that she plans to take the title off Jax’s shoulders. The only other person who wants to take Jax’s title is Tiffany Stratton. Bayley said Stratton will cash her briefcase in on Jax … and then Stratton chimed in because Bayley said Stratton isn’t good enough. Stratton said she didn’t need the briefcase to beat Jax. Jax said, “Excuse me.” Stratton was flustered and called Bayley “Pam,” which was kind of fun, and told Bayley to bow down to Jax. Bayley said at least she could respect Jax’s dominance, but meanwhile, Stratton is a “stupid bi%!” From there, Stratton tried to hit Bayley with the briefcase, but Bayley moved and Bayley took out both Jax and Stratton. The segment ended with Bayley holding the title and draping it over Jax.

But it didn’t. Because Stratton creeped her way over to Jax sith the briefcase in hand and a referee appeared. The crowd chanted “Cash it in!” But Jax left the ring and Naomi’s music hit for the next match.

**********

– Niven and Green were walking backstage and they ran into Pretty Deadly, who sold how bad Green smelled. Ditto for Grayson Waller and Austin Theory. Again for Berto and Angel. And finally, Nick Aldis, who apologized and used a bunch of puns. Melo walked up to Aldis and said he wanted his U.S. title match. Aldis said they’d talk next week about it because Aldis has to see how Styles is doing.

Naomi defeated Tiffany Stratton [10:01]

This result only makes me believe more and more that Stratton gets a successful cash-in this weekend. Look at all the opponents they have set up for her at this point. Naomi, for her part, pretty much has a promised title match against Stratton or Bayley, no matter how this weekend shakes out. As for this match, it was pretty good. Two professionals working a professional wrestling match. Nice stuff.

Naomi had control early, complete with a running clothesline and a running head-lock. Stratton fought back and went for a clothesline, but Naomi ducked it and kicked Stratton before hitting a knee to the face. Naomi face-planted Stratton for a two-count and then set up for a draping DDT, but Stratton got out of it. Still, Naomi hit a suplex for a two-count. Stratton found herself on the apron and that resulted in a springboard double-knees onto Naomi for a two-count. The action spilled to the outside, where Naomi hit a split leg-drop onto Stratton on the apron. The show then went to a commercial break.

Back from the break, Naomi was on the defensive until she took back control and the two then traded blows. Naomi ended that exchange with a series of kicks and a spinning bulldog. Naomi landed a sliding slap and got a two-count out of it. Stratton came back with a counter face-plant into a shotgun dropkick. Naomi was on the top rope and hit a cross-body, but Stratton rolled through and picked Naomi up, but Naomi worked out of it and went for a split-legged moonsault, but Stratton moved and tried the Prettiest Moonsault Ever, but missed that. The two traded roll-up attempts, but Naomi was the one to get the best of it for the win.

**********

– The Bloodline were walking backstage and Jacob Fatu yelled into the camera, calling out everyone, including Roman Reigns. Fatu went on and on about worshipping his Tribal Chief. It concluded with Fatu saying Solo Sikoa is the true Tribal Chief. The faction then made their entrance.

– Stratton was walking backstage and Jax showed up. Jax brought up Stratton teasing cashing in her briefcase and suggested Stratton cashes in on Liv Morgan at Bad Blood. The other option for Stratton, Jax said, was that Stratton promises she will never cash in on Jax. Stratton said she would never do that to Jax.

– The commentary team ran down the Bad Blood card for Saturday.

The Bloodline (Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa) defeated #DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommasso Ciampa) and The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) to retain the WWE Tag Team Titles. [19:56]

The best part of this was the idea that Tonga and Loa could have actually lost because it was an easy way to get the belts off them without actually taking a loss … and then they didn’t lose. I like it. In the meantime, everyone looked great, especially the two babyface teams, who both feel like they are on the verge of breaking through to the next level in their own ways – mostly as a result of this match. The point here is that everyone won, really. Coming away from it, it was a net positive for all the wrestlers involved. Really good stuff and most definitely main event worthy for a WWE TV show (and no, I don’t say those last five words patronizingly).

The match started with everyone brawling, the four babyfaces attacking the two heels. The two babyface teams were alone in the ring, but all that meant was the four kept working over the two. The show went to a commercial break. The show returned and the teams were battling on ladders. Things were broken up and Tonga and Loa hit everyone with a ladder. Dawkins was suplexed onto a lader and the Bloodline duo stood tall for a moment as the crowd booed. Loa and Tonga worked over Ciampa on the outside of the ring until Dawkins took out Loa and Tonga … until Gargano took everyone out with a suicide dive … until Ford took out everyone with a dive. “This is awesome!” chants began.

B-Fab told Ford to get a table from under the ring. Ford obliged to the delight of the live crowd. The show then went to a commercial break. Back from the break, Tonga was a victim of a Shatter Machine from #DIY. Loa found himself with his head in the middle of a ladder and a #DIY hit him with a Meet In The Middle. Gargano set up a ladder and climbed a bit, but Dawkins cut him off. Gargano came back with a spear and Ciampa hit a knee on Dawkins. Ciampa tried to climb the ladder, but Dawkins cut Ciampa off. Ford then hit a Blockbuster over a ladder on Ciampa, who was held by Dawkins, and things reset.

“This is awesome!” chants broke out. Dawkins climbed a ladder, but Tonga pushed the ladder over. The Bloodline pushed a ladder into Dawkins’s head. B-Fab grabbed a chair from Tonga’s hands and as a result, Gargano and Ciampa hit The Bloodline with chairs. Gargano and Ciampa worked over The Bloodline with the chairs and put Loa on a table. Ford went to the top rope and hit a Frog Splash on Loa through said table. Gargano and Ciampa cleared the commentary table and with Dawkins hit a triple power-bomb on Tonga.

#DIY took out Dawkins after that and pushed another ladder into the ring. Ciampa climbed the ladder, but Ford jumped onto it. The four babyfaces fought on the ladder. Loa appeared and pushed the babyfaces onto other ladders. The crowd booed loudly. Tonga held the ladder and Loa climbed to the top to get the belts and win the match.

WWE SmackDown live results: Solo Sikoa returns

Posted on September 27, 2024September 27, 2024 by Colin McGuire

One week after Cody Rhodes & Roman Reigns pledged to have each other’s backs when they take on The Bloodline at Bad Blood, Solo Sikoa will return to SmackDown tonight.

Last week, Sikoa was absent while the rest of The Bloodline went to a no contest with The Street Profits & Kevin Owens in a six-man tag match. It will be Sikoa & Jacob Fatu vs. Rhodes & Reigns at Bad Blood on Saturday, October 5.

Also on tap for SmackDown, Bayley and Naomi will go one-on-one to determine who will challenge Nia Jax for the WWE Women’s Championship at Bad Blood. Jax & Tiffany Stratton took on Naomi & Bayley last week and lost as Naomi & Bayley pinned Jax at the same time, setting up tonight’s bout.

Carmelo Hayes and Andrade will extend their series to six matches tonight. Andrade currently leads the series at 3-2. He lost to LA Knight in a U.S. title match on last week’s show. Afterwards, Hayes confronted Andrade backstage and the two brawled.

Michin and Piper Niven will wrestle as well ahead of Michin and Chelsea Green’s dumpster match on SmackDown next Friday.

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

**********

– Michael Cole welcomed everyone into the show and instantly, Randy Orton’s music hit. Orton then walked out.

The Randy Orton/Cody Rhodes/Bloodline segment

The slow burn between Owens, Orton and Cody is sort of fun, but I do worry that it has a short shelf life. Does this also mean that Orton and Owens ultimately turn heel? It was nice to see Orton back on SmackDown – the show has missed his star power and he instantly makes any TV show he’s on more intriguing, if only because it’s hard ever 100-percent trust him in any situation. Also of note: Sikoa has gotten a lot better on the mic since settling into this role as the leader of The Bloodline 2.0. He feels a lot more comfortable getting heat on the mic and he feels more and more like an actual player as each week passes. It might not come in large doses, but incrementally, he deserves a lot of credit for growing into this role.

Orton started by saying it’s been a minute and he’s missed being in a SmackDown ring on Friday nights. Orton then formally welcomed everyone into Friday Night SmackDown. The crowd chanted “Randy!” Orton said he could count the amount of people he trusts in this business on one hand, but Cody Rhodes is one of those people he can trust. Orton said it’s interesting that Cody is teaming that Roman at Bad Blood and it doesn’t sit right with him. As a result, Orton asked Cody to come out and give Orton an explanation. Cody’s music hit and Cody made his entrance.

The crowd chanted “Cody!” after Cody joined Orton in the ring. Cody then asked Oklahoma City and Randy Orton what they wanted to talk about – but not until after the crowd broke into a “Randy!” chant. Cody said he might look like a fool by teaming with Roman Reigns, but Cody then asked Orton if he’d rather be a fool or a coward. Cody talked about how Roman gave Cody his word multiple times and he hasn’t lied yet. As such, Cody said he’s going to take Roman at his word. Cody said the fans will also take Roman at his word. “OTC!” chants broke out.

Cody noted how he’s standing there with The Apex Predator and The Legend Killer and because of that, Orton should understand because it’s time for the legend of the Bloodline to be killed. Cody said he hopes it’s not a problem for Orton and extend his hand. Orton shook Cody’s hand. Orton said it’s not a problem – unless Cody makes it a problem. On cue, Kevin Owens’s music hit and Owens made his entrance wearing an RKO shirt. Before Owens could speak, Solo Sikoa’s music hit and the Bloodline made their entrance.

Sikoa had a microphone and spoke while standing in the entrance way. Sikoa started by telling Oklahoma City to acknowledge him. In response, everyone booed. “OTC!” chants followed those boos. Sikoa said he knows Roman gave Cody his word and Cody should trust Roman because Cody will need Roman. Sikoa said Owens and Orton won’t be any good for Cody at the end of the day. Sikoa rightfully pointed out that each time Cody tried to take out The Bloodline alongside Orton and Owens, they couldn’t take The Bloodline out. Sikoa said the reason Cody will team with Reigns is because Owens and Orton always let Cody down.

Owens chimed in and told Sikoa to “shut his stupid face.” Owens challenged The Bloodline to a team match. Cody tried to make it a six-man tag, but Owens said no to that, stopping Cody from talking and issuing the challenge. Owens’s music hit without Sikoa responding and the segment ended.

**********

– Nia Jax and Tiffany Strattong were backstage and Jax was annoyed. Jax said she doesn’t understand how they didn’t get rid of either Bayley or Naomi last week. Jax grabbed Stratton by the neck and Stratton apologized for last week. Jax said if it ends bad for Jax, it will end really, really bad for Stratton. Jax then smiled and said they could be friends again after the intensity lessened. The camera stayed on Stratton’s face long after Jax left and Stratton looked angry.

Bayley defeated Naomi to become the No. 1 contender for the WWE Women’s Championship. [10:01]

This was a good match and I’m glad they got 10 minutes. The post-match stuff with Naomi has me thinking we’re on our way to a turn, and it’ll be welcome because Naomi has been spinning her wheels since coming back as a babyface. Maybe a heel turn could give her act a spark that kicks things into gear. The Jax/Bayley rematch combined with the elongated Stratton angry face from her segment with Jax makes me believe we might be getting that Stratton cash-in sooner than later, which is another good thing, too, because I have officially lost all patience for all things MITB, even though we’re only a few months removed from it. Anyway, lots of good stuff all around.

Naomi went for an early pin, but Bayley thwarted it. Naomi kept trying until Bayley almost went to punch Naomi but stopped herself because the two are friends. Naomi pushed Bayley repeatedly until Bayley pushed back. Bayley eventually landed a clothesline for a two count. Bayley went for a running knee, but Naomi countered with a bulldog. Naomi super-kicked Bayley and Bayley rolled to the outside, where Naomi hit a corkscrew plancha before the show went to a commercial break.

The show returned and Bayley hit an Elbow on Naomi to reset things. Bayley followed up with a back suplex and a suicide dive onto Naomi, who was on the outside of the ring. Back in the ring, Naomi hit a Rearview for a nice near-fall. The two got to their feel and traded blows until Naomi kicked Bayley in the head twice. Naomi planted Bayley for a two count. “This is awesome” chants began. Naomi kicked Bayley and went to the top for a Blockbuster. Naomi tried to follow it up with a suplex, but Bayley countered into a suplex of her own. Bayley then sunset-flipped Naomi into the bottom turnbuckle, but it didn’t quite go as planned. Still, Bayley got a two count out of it.

Bayley went for a Bayley to Belly, but Naomi countered and Bulldogged Bayley into a turnbuckle. Naomi went to the top and missed what she was going for. Bayley then hit the Bayley to Belly. Bayley rushed to the top and landed her signature elbow, which was good enough for the win. After the match, Naomi looked upset as she walked to the back.

**********

– Footage of the weird post-match stuff between LA Knight and Andrade aired. Andrade was walking backstage and ran into Knight. Andrade said real men shake hands to show respect and as such, Knight lost Andrade’s respect. Out of nowhere, Carmelo Hayes took Knight out and Andrade looked confused. Hayes told Andrade, essentially, to meet him in the ring.

Carmelo Hayes defeated Andrade [16:48]

Boy, this was great. I feel like each week, I say it’s my favorite in their series, but … well … I think this was my favorite in their series. Plus, they got nearly 17 minutes. Great stuff. A clever finish, too, because it felt like Melo had to get the win to even the series, but these guys had already pulled out all the stops. So, how does he do it? LA Knight with an accidental distraction. I’ll say this right now: Game 7 will need at least a half hour, so put that on a PLE and get out of the way, Hunter. Please? I half wonder if that weird post-match moment from last week between Knigth and Andrade was never scripted, but took on a life of its own, so they thought they’d lean into it this week. Perhaps we’ll never know. Either way, this was a great match and I have to think it’ll end up being the match of the night. Maybe even the match of the week in WWE. These guys are just so good together.

Andrade had control to begin things and went for a double-knees, but Hayes moved and draped Andrade over the second rope. Amazingly, Hayes ran at the draped Andrade and Andrade pulled off a powerslam while being draped on the second rope onto the apron. Hayes sold back pain and the show went to a picture-in-picture. The show returned and Hayes had the upper hand with a springboard clothesline. Hayes worked a chin lock. Andrade worked his way out of it and chopped Hayes, but Hayes responded with punches of his own. The two eventually hit simultaneous clotheslines to reset the match. “This is awesome!” chants began.

Back on their feet, the two traded blows. Andrade ultimately landed a dragon-screw leg whip, but Andrade quickly ran into a First 48 from Hayes for a two count. Hayes was bleeding from the mouth. Hayes went for a double-knees, but Andrade moved and hit a leaping forearm to take back control. Andrade then landed a double-knees for a good near fall. Andrade went for The Message, but Hayes countered into somewhat of a springboard DDT for another good near fall. The show then went to a second commercial break during the match.

The show returned and Andrade climbed to the tope rope, but Hayes cut Andrade off. Hayes tried to set up for a super-plex, but Andrade headbutted Hayes to the canvas. Andrade then commenced the double-try moonsault spot and he connected enough for a two count. “This is awesome!” chants broke out. Andrade set up for a suplex, but Hayes countered with a Facebuster and some sort of cutter and Hayes nearly got the victory. Hayes went to the top, but Andrade cut Hayes off. Andrade set up for a super-plex, but instead, Hayes turned things into a neck-breaker/cutter from the top for a very good near-fall. “Holy s%$@!” chants started.

Hayes went for a Nothing But Net, but Andrade moved and hit a spinning back elbow that caused Hayes to roll to the outside. With Hayes on the outside, LA Knight’s music hit and Knight ran out, but Andrade stopped Knight from attacking Hayes. Hayes took advantage of that and rolled Andrade up for the win. Hayes ran to the back after the win and Andrade and Knight exchanged words inside the ring. Knight extended his hand for a handshake, but Andrade walked away and the crowd booed.

**********

– Owens and Orton were talking in the locker room. Cody Rhodes walked in and asked Owens to talk, but Owens said he couldn’t at the moment because they were getting ready for their match. Owens stood up and told Cody to not interfere in their match later on. Orton said if they need the help, Orton would love Cody to help and he’d talk to Owens to let him know Orton gave Cody the OK to help.

– An AJ Styles vignette aired. Turns out, he’ll return next week.

Michin defeated Piper Niven [8:58]

Hey, it was a lot better than that three minute match these two had a couple weeks ago. The right person went over, considering how Michin is the one competing next week in the Bad Blood go-home edition of SmackDown. It being a Dumpster Match, I do wonder how much of a role Niven might play, but maybe Michin will bring some help of her own. The creative minds have done a good job building this program between Michin and Green. It isn’t often WWE takes time to develop things with their mid-card women, but things appear to have turned a corner in that respect, and that’s great. Next week’s showdown between Green and Michin should be a lot of fun.

Michin ran at Niven to start the match, but Niven fought back and ultimately shoulder-blocked Michin to the ground. Niven ran into a boot from Michin. Niven came back with an attempted splash, but Michin rolled to the outside where Chelsea Green distracted Michin and Niven hit a Cannonball on Michin. The show went to a commercial break. The show returned and Niven shoulder-blocked Michin through the air. Niven followed it up with a Cannonball in the corner and got a two-count.

Niven went for a splash, but Michin moved and hit a ton of kicks and chops. Michin hit a Crucifix Bomb and that was enough for a two count. Michin ran the ropes and Niven caught her for a Sidewalk Slam. Niven dragged Michin to a corner and went for a Niven Bomb, but Michin moved. It didn’t matter because Niven came back with a Michinoku Driver and earned a near-fall. Michin went to the rop, but Niven cut her off with a slap to the head. Green distracted the referee and Michin kicked Green off the apron. Niven, in the meantime, missed a Cannonball attempt on the outside. Niven returned to the ring and Michin hit Eat Defeat for the win.

**********

– Next week, AJ Styles returns. Also on tap, #DIY, The Street Profits and The Bloodline will compete in a triple threat ladder match for the WWE Tag Team Championship. Plus, the Dumpster Match between Green and Michin will go down.

– Naomi was walking backstage and Bayley apologized for beating her earlier. Naomi said Bayley wasn’t sorry, but it was OK, because if Naomi would have won, she wouldn’t be sorry either. Naomi said they’ll run it back someday eventually. Naomi kept walking and Stratton walked into the picture. Stratton said Naomi will have a good view of Jax beating down Bayley. Naomi then said she’d go to GM Nick Aldis to make a match between Naomi and Stratton for next week.

– A recap of the cinematic angle between Cody and Roman aired before the main event.

The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa & Jacob Fatu) defeated Kevin Owens & Randy Orton [15:05]

Lots of nonsense to finish this thing up, but the Bloodline had to win to give them credibility going into their showdown with Roman and Cody next weekend. I love the way Fatu is booked in WWE. At some point, I thought they’d cool him off as they built the new Bloodline, but they really haven’t. Instead, he’s the only guy who won’t sell the suplex onto the commentary table from Orton. Instead, he’s the one who bounces right back from big moves from big-name wrestlers. It works and I wonder where he’ll be in six months. I also kind of wonder why this didn’t main event the go-home edition of SmackDown next week. Maybe they have something better planned, but it felt like this would have been a good way to set up the PLE if they weren’t going to have Roman on the show. That said, I probably just answered my own question because my guess is Roman pops up next week to finish the build. Anyway, a good main event. Chaotic for a WWE main event, but that’s not a bad thing, especially considering how monotonous this show has become in recent months.

Owens and Fatu started the match and Fatu took Owens down quickly, but Owens came back with an elbow and a Senton. Sikoa tagged in and ran into a bunch of Owens’s strikes. Sikoa quickly rebounded and took Owens down. As a result, Owens tagged in Orton, much to the delight of the live crowd. Fatu wanted the tag because of that and Fatu tagged in. “Solo sucks!” chants began. Orton kicked Fatu, but Fatu fought back and clotheslined Orton over the top rope to the floor. Fatu followed Orton to the outside, but Orton caught Fatu and dropped Fatu onto the commentary table, but Fatu no-sold it. Orton, ever the professional, proceeded to drop Fatu on the table three more times to make his point. Orton then did the same to Sikoa and the show went to a commercial break.

The show returned and Sikoa was working over Owens inside the ring. The two fought on the top rope and Sikoa fell off the top, so Owens went for a Swanton, but Sikoa got his knees up. Fatu tagged in and Fatu whipped Sikoa into Owens in a corner before Fatu followed it up with a hip attack of his own on Owens in a corner. Fatu whipped Owens into a corner and before long, Fatu ran Owens into the heel corner and tagged Sikoa into the match.

Sikoa jawed at Owens and stomped on him. Fatu hit Owens while the referee had his back turned and Orton got mad and ran into the ring, but the ref sent him back to his corner. Sikoa ran the ropes, but Owens caught him. Eventually, Owens punched his way out of a lock up with Sikoa and Orton received the hot tag. Orton came in and cleaned house, complete with a snap powerslam on Sikoa and Fatu. Orton hit his draping DDT on Sikoa. Orton set up for an RKO, but Fatu tried to intervene. It was enough for Sikoa to follow up with a Samoan Drop on Orton.

Sikoa went to the outside and Owens got up on the apron, asking for a tag. Owens became the legal man and Owens ran around the outside of the ring, clotheslining and Swanton-ing everybody. Owens landed a frog splash on Fatu on the outside. Owens went to the top and hit a Swanton on Sikoa inside the ring, but it was good enough for only a near-fall. Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa ran to ringside and as a result, Sikoa landed a Spinning Solo on Owens for a near-fall. Cody’s music hit and Cody came out and took care of Loa and Tonga. Tonga found himself in the ring and Orton gave Tonga an RKO.

Things broke down and the heels threw Cody into the referee, which kept the referee from counting after Owens hit a Stunner on Sikoa. Owens was angry about that and then turned into a bunch of super-kicks from Fatu. Sikoa pinned Owens for the win. After the match, Cody tried to say he was sorry, but Owens was very mad and Orton tried to reason with everyone. Ultimately, Owens hugged Cody as the “Executive Producers – Paul Levesque/Lee Fitting” graphic came up to end the show.

WWE SmackDown live results: LA Knight vs. Andrade U.S. title match

Posted on September 20, 2024September 20, 2024 by Colin McGuire

After pulling out the victory against Carmelo Hayes last week, Andrade has earned himself a United States title match on WWE SmackDown tonight.

Andrade and Hayes each had two wins against one another going into last Friday’s bout. Following Andrade’s victory, Knight appeared in the entrance way to set up his title against Andrade for tonight’s show.

Also tonight, Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns will meet in a taped segment. Set on the campus of Georgia Tech, where Roman Reigns played college football, the two recently had “an intense conversation,” and WWE cameras captured the interaction.

In a tornado tag team match, Nia Jax & Tiffany Stratton will take on Bayley & Naomi. Last week, the stipulation was set that whoever scores the fall will challenge Jax for the WWE Women’s Championship at Bad Blood. If Bayley & Naomi lose, whoever loses the fall must leave SmackDown forever.

Then, after Apollo Crews spoiled Giovanni Vinci’s debut two weeks ago, beating Vinci in three seconds, the two will have a rematch tonight.

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

**********

– A video package recapping last week’s Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, Bloodline developments opened the show.

– The Bloodline was shown entering the building earlier today and Jacob Fatu attacked the entire security staff. LA Knight’s music hit and we went to the ring for the first match.

LA Knight defeated Andrade to retain the United States Championship [17:10]

That post-match thing was odd. Knight seemed genuinely miffed, but it could have been because he slipped on the ropes a couple times as the match went to the finish. The commentary team did a good job covering up for it, but it looked like Knight didn’t feel like Andrade was blameless. Interesting. This was one of the best LA Knight matches in a long time and I have to think that has a lot to do with Andrade being the one standing opposite Knight. It’s rare you see an LA Knight match go longer than 15 minutes on television, but this one did and it worked – actually, it worked much better than I anticipated it would. Even better: No Carmelo Hayes interference. I wonder if that means he’s done with Andrade for good, for real, for real. I hope not.

Andrade stuck out his hand for a handshake to start the match and Knight shook it. Knight when for an inside cradle early and got a one-count. Both guys went for their finishers less than a minute into things, and both got out of the attempts. The show then went to a commercial break. Back from the break, the two were trading strikes inside the ring. Andrade landed a few loud chops and went to the top to hit a cross-body for a two-count. Andrade then worked a head-lock to slow things down.

Andrade ran the ropes, which eventually ended with Andrade running into an elbow from Knight. Action spilled outside and Knight slammed Andrade’s head off the commentary table repeatedly. Andrade found himself back in the ring and Knight hit a slingshot shoulder block for a two-count. The two fought on the apron and Andrade ran Knight into the ring post to take control. Andrade went to the top and actually landed a moonsault onto Knight from the corner top onto the outside. The show then went to another break.

Back from that break, Knight and Andrade collided in the middle of the ring to reset things. Andrade got to his feet first and played to the crowd, which was a mixed bag. Andrade went for a double-knees, but Knight moved and followed up with a DDT, which was good enough for a two-count. Knight stomped on Andrade in a corner, which led to a running knee from Knight. Knight hit a neck-breaker for a good near-fall. Knight lifted Andrade and put him on the top turnbuckle as the crowd chanted “This is awesome!”

Andrade elbowed Knight off the top rope and that led to the missed-moonsault-into-a-standing-moonsault spot (and it looked a lot closer to disaster than normal). Andrade then landed a double-knees in the corner, but Knight kicked out. Andrade ran at Knight, but Knight caught him and hit a powerslam, followed by an elbow from the top rope. Knight went for a BFT, but Andrade countered into a roll-up for a two-count and then hit a wild spinning back elbow for a great near-fall. The two battled on the top and Knight slipped twice, which led to an attempted dropkick from the top via Andrade, but Knight moved and hit a BFT for the win. Knight stood up and was bleeding from the eyebrow. The two had a weird exchange after the match, with Andrade wanting to shake Knight’s hand, but Knight wouldn’t open his hand. Andrade raised Knight’s arm and Knight looked angry to close the segment.

**********

– Tiffany Stratton was talking to Nia Jax backstage and she said it would be so good to never see Bayley or Naomi on SmackDown again. Jax said if Stratton loses, it might be a good idea if Stratton leaves SmackDown.

– Andrade and Melo were talking backstage and Melo said Andrade choked harder than the Kings did against the Lakers some years back (he wasn’t entirely wrong). It quickly escalated and the two had a nice backstage brawl.

The Cody Rhodes/Roman Reigns confrontation

I … I … I don’t know. This wasn’t for me. Not on a pro wrestling show. I understand it – production is great, drama is there, it looks like a movie, blah, blah, and blah. I could have done without it because I like my pro wrestling with a side of grit. Now, with that said: This was great in terms of explaining how and why these two will team together. Cody wanted Roman’s word that he would stand by him, considering they are going into battle against Roman’s family, and that was a key aspect to this story that needed to be explained. So, in that way, this worked better than a standard opening SmackDown promo segment that would have felt too normal. That said, mission accomplished. The shiny excess, though? Not for this viewer.

The walkup looked like a scene from “Love Is Blind.” A ton of black SUVs pulled up to the Georgia Tech football stadium. Reigns got out of one of them and walked to the 50-yard line. A single white car pulled into the stadium and Cody hopped out of it from the driver’s seat. Cody walked to the 50-yard line as well. Roman talked first and told Cody that everyone Cody saw was Roman’s. Reigns then followed that up by saying it’s his field and his stadium and his city. Reigns asked Cody what he has done for Roman’s city.

Cody noted how Center Stage and The Omni were in Atlanta and multiple generations of his family have bled for the city. Cody said it might be Roman’s field, but it is Cody’s home. Roman grinned and said, “That’s very good. This is your home.” Roman told Cody that he signed himself into a lose/lose situation because Cody has everything to lose and he’s dealing with people who have nothing to lose. Roman recalled all the bad things The Bloodline did to Roman and Roman said he has nothing to lose because they took everything him from. Roman said he was a man with no country.

Cody responded by saying that Roman is a chief without a tribe. Cody said they took Jimmy, his Wise Man and the Ula Falla. Cody asked Roman to take a good look around WWE because WWE has a Tribal Chief and a champion and neither of those things are Roman Reigns. Cody essentially said Roman is a shell of himself. Roman looked shook and asked Cody what he wanted. Cody said he wanted Roman’s word that Roman will have his back so Cody can have Roman’s. Roman gave Cody his word. Roman said he’d have Cody’s back, but after it’s done, Roman will take back what’s his – the Undisputed WWE Championship. Cody said it wasn’t Roman’s to take. Roman told Cody he was in his way. Cody moved and Roman said Cody was in his way … in life. Roman then walked away.

Kevin Owens was shown watching the video backstage. Byron Saxton walked up and asked Owens what he thought. Owens just walked away.

**********

Apollo Crews defeated Giovanni Vinci [1:35]

I don’t really know that I’m a fan of whatever gimmick this is supposed to be. If anything, this is getting Crews over … right? I thought WWE did a good job of building Vinci’s debut up and making him feel like a big deal. The first loss put him in joke territory and this second loss throws him into mid-card hell. I don’t know what’s next, but you have to think he eventually gets a win. At this point, so what?

Crews’s entrance was not televised. Vinci’s entrance, meanwhile, was, indeed televised. As for the revolution … OK, sorry. Anyway, the bell rang and nobody won right away, so we didn’t get a repeat of their fist match. Instead, Vinci attacked Crews with a series of chops and slaps. Vinci worked a ground-and-pound and weirdly threw Crews into the ropes repeatedly. Vinci lifted Crews, but Crews wiggled out and rolled up Vinci for the win yet again. After the match, Vinci attacked Crews and hit a brain-buster. Vinci then jawed at Crews and left the ring.

**********

– Saxton walked up to Owens again backstage and asked Owens what he thought. Owens said he’d rather talk about it in the ring and walked to the ring as the show went to break.

The Kevin Owens segment

There wasn’t much to this, though I do wonder where Sikoa (and for that matter, Roman) is tonight. I could do without the impromptu booking, which has been run into the ground in WWE Land, but it should be a serviceable main event. In the meantime, Owens feels like he’s spinning his wheels a bit in these random roles that aren’t necessarily random, but they aren’t necessarily fresh, either. With all the contract chatter surrounding him lately, it does make you wonder what his immediate future might look like.

Owens said he’s aware that people wonder what he thinks of the situation between Cody and Roman. Owens said he has to be honest … but then Tama Tonga’s music hit and Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa and Jacob Fatu walked out – sans Solo Sikoa. Tonga received a ton of boos and said last week, Cody and Roman embarrassed Sikoa last week and that was a big mistake. Tonga said Cody and Roman will get what’s coming to them at Bad Blood, but tonight, Owens will get what he has coming by orders of the real Tribal Chief, Solo Sikoa.

Owens invited everyone into the ring and ultimately faced off with Jacob Fatu. The Bloodline put the boots to Owens until #DIY ran out for the save, complete with a Shatter Machine on Tonga. Nick Aldis then walked out with a microphone and a bunch of security guys. The ring was filled with security and Aldis said he was sick and tired of everyone fighting each other when there isn’t a bell ringing. Aldis said he noticed there were three heels and three babyfaces and as such, a six-man tag match was booked for the main event.

**********

– Bayley and Naomi were talking backstage and Bayley said they have a common goal of getting the belt off Nia. Naomi said when she wins, Bayley will be the first with a title opportunity.

Naomi & Bayley defeated Nia Jax & Tiffany Stratton [11:05]

Well, it appears a triple threat is coming. The tiny moment between Naomi and Bayley was fun, but outside of that, this was a pretty standard tornado tag by WWE standards. Stratton accidentally hitting a Swanton on Jax only furthers their will they/won’t they story, and that’s fine, but I’m about two weeks away from that whole thing running my patience thin. This means Jax leaves SmackDown forever, right? I’m joking, but that would create a neat wrinkle.

The match opened with the heels taking control until Naomi and Bayley came back with some splashes. The heels quickly regained the upper hand and the show went to a commercial break. Back from that break, the action spilled to the outside and Jax threw Naomi over the barricade. Jax tried to do the same to Bayley, but Bayley got out of it and pushed Jax into a Naomi kick. Bayley hit a suicide dive on Jax and Naomi landed a cross-body on Stratton on the outside.

The action returned to the ring and Stratton clotheslined Naomi. It worked until Bayley hit Stratton with a suplex and went for a pin, but Naomi broke up the pin, so the babyfaces had a moment of discord. Naomi and Bayley made up and landed a double back-drop on Jax. Jax came right back and took down Naomi before going for her finish, but Bayley came over and cut Jax off. Stratton got involved, but that only led to a stereo elbow/leg drop from Naomi and Bayley on Stratton and Jax. Naomi and Stratton were working on the top rope, but it led to an X-Factor from Naomi on Jax. Stratton then accidentally hit a Swanton on Jax.

Bayley and Naomi hit a 1-D on Stratton. All of this was enough for Jax to gain her energy back. From there, Bayley and Naomi countered something from Jax and subsequently pinned Jax at the same time. As such, they won the match simultaneously. Jax looked shocked as the show went to a commercial break.

**********

– A Chelsea Green vignette aired and it featured Green taking the literal trash out. Green then beat up a mannequin with Michin’s face taped onto the top of it. Green was ostensibly training for a dumpster match with Michin, which was set up last week. Turns out, the match will happen in Nashville in two weeks. As for next week, Melo and Andrade will have their sixth match in the series.

– Naomi and Bayley were talking to Nick Aldis in his office. Aldis said the solution to the finish of their match will be that next week, Naomi and Bayley will face each other. The winner will take on Jax for the WWE Women’s Championship.

– Kevin Owens made his entrance for the main event, but video of #DIY being beat up backstage was shown. The Bloodline then came out and attacked Owens. From there, the Street Profits’ music hit and the Profits ran to ringside for the save. Owens landed a Swanton on everybody on the outside. It looked like Owens and the Profits would take on the responsibility of the six-man tag after a commercial break.

The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) & Kevin Owens fought The Bloodline (Jaco Fatu, Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa) to an apparent no-contest [14:49]

I’m not sure why #DIY was taken out of the match … only to have the Profits replace them … only to have #DIY run out for the save after the match … only for #DIY to quickly be dispensed. I also don’t quite know why the referee calls it all off after someone is thrown into the steps, which happens routinely in WWE every week on television. But. If you can get past all that, I suppose, this was fine. SmackDown has become extremely formulaic anymore and this six-man tag was the epitome of that. At some point, this show has to get out of its rut, but my fear is if it does actually move to three hours next year … well, that’s going to be a tough ask. For now, outside of Roman and Cody (and perhaps Andrade and Melo, though that clearly has a shelf life), SmackDown is an increasingly tough watch. Not very compelling. Not very different. Not very interesting. That said, on to next week.

Owens and Loa started the match and Owens got the better of it. Dawkins tagged in and got his strikes in before Ford tagged in and worked over Loa. Dawkins came back in and kept up the offense. Owens followed that up with a tag in and a clothesline and a two-count. Ford tagged in and stomped on Loa as the crowd chanted “OTC!” Eventually Loa was able to tag in Fatu and Fatu quickly gained control over Ford. Tonga tagged in and landed a springboard splash onto Ford. Tonga hit a sliding clothesline on Ford for a two-count. Fatu tagged back in and landed a running elbow on Ford, but missed a hip attack.

Dawkins tagged in and fired things up, hitting a leaping back elbow and hitting the rest of the Bloodline … until Dawkins ran into a super-kick from Fatu. Fatu followed it up with a moonsault and the show went to a commercial break. Back from the break, Tonga covered Dawkins for a two-count. Tonga eventually leapt at Dawkins, but Dawkins caught him and suplexed Tonga. Fatu tagged in and cut off Dawkins, whipping Dawkins into a turnbuckle. Fatu ran at Dawkins, but Dawkins countered with a leaping kick. Fatu jumped at Dawkins and Dawkins moved, ultimately getting the hot tag to Ford.

Tonga tagged in and Ford hit a series of moves, complete with a step-up knee and a standing moonsault, for a two-count. Owens tagged in and immediately ran around the ring outside of it, clotheslining everyone in the Bloodline and hitting a Frog Splash on Loa from the apron. Back in the ring, Owens hit a Cannonaball and Swanton on Tonga for a good near-fall. Owens went to the top and Tonga cut Owens off. Tonga went for a super-plex, but Owens countered with his usual counter suplex. A pin attempt was broken up via Loa. Owens hit a Stunner on Tonga, but Loa pulled Owens off Tonga and for whatever reason, the ref rang the bell to end the match.

After the match, Ford landed a flip dive on The Bloodline and pumped up the crowd. A brawl between the teams ensued. The Bloodline got the best of the babyfaces, including an attempt at a triple powerbomb on Owens … until #DIY stumbled out from the back and broke up the brawl. It didn’t quite matter because The Bloodline fought them off, too. The trio set their sights on Owens … until Cody’s music hit and Cody ran out with a chair. Cody hopped into the ring with Fatu and Fatu kicked the chair out of Cody’s hands. Cody came back, however, with a Cody Cutter on Fatu. Owens grabbed the chair and stood behind Cody. Cody turned around and it looked like Owens was going to hit Cody with the chair, but Owens dropped the chair. Cody extended his hand and Owens shook it. The two half-hugged and the show ended.

WWE SmackDown live results: Cody Rhodes responds to Solo Sikoa

Posted on September 6, 2024September 6, 2024 by Colin McGuire

Before moving back to USA Network next week, SmackDown closes out its five-year run on Fox with tonight’s episode from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Cody Rhodes retained his Undisputed WWE Championship against Kevin Owens at Bash in Berlin last Saturday. Tonight, Rhodes will respond to Solo Sikoa’s challenge for a title match. Rhodes defeated Sikoa at SummerSlam last month, but he got help from a returning Roman Reigns. Sikoa, along with his Bloodline stablemates, took out Reigns on SmackDown a few weeks ago.

Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa & Jacob Fatu are scheduled to face The Street Profits & DIY in an eight-man tag match tonight.

For the first time since losing the WWE Women’s Championship to Nia Jax at SummerSlam, Bayley will be in action tonight against Jax’s cohort Tiffany Stratton.

Finally, after weeks of vignettes, Giovanni Vinci will make his return.

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

**********

– Michael Cole welcomed everyone into the show as live shots of Edmonton were shown outside the building.

– Bayley and Giovanni Vinci were shown backstage, arriving to the venue. Cody was then shown signing autographs backstage.

– A recap video of the stuff between Cody and Kevin Owens from Bash In Berlin aired. Cody’s music hit and we went to the first segment.

The Cody Rhodes/Bloodline segment

It felt like Sikoa vs. Cody was where we were headed once Roman Reigns was (supposedly? maybe?) pulled from the first SmackDown on USA (at least from the promotional materials). And so, to paraphrase Tina Fey, we go to there. That doesn’t necessarily mean Reigns won’t be there, but perhaps it’ll be booked as a surprise. Anyway, this was formulaic, especially considering how many show-opening segments we’ve seen Cody lead – and especially considering how many show-opening segments we’ve seen Cody lead with the Bloodline, no matter the incarnation. I hope WWE took note of how positive the crowd responded to the potential of Cody facing Jacob Fatu instead of Sikoa. We’re slow-walking our way there, but here’s hoping after the steel cage match next week, we’ll feel significantly closer to that eventual match.

The crowd chanted Cody’s name and Cody soaked it in before asking Edmonton what they wanted to talk about. Cody noted how it’s an extremely large crowd and he told everyone to say hello to each other. Cody said “Canada’s own” Kevin Owens had a hell of an outing at Bash In Berlin. Cody then welcomed Michael Cole back to SmackDown. The crowd chanted Cole’s name. Cody said he could go on, but he knew he’d get interrupted. Instead, he extended an invitation to the Bloodline. On cue, Solo Sikoa’s music hit and Sikoa walked out flanked by the rest of the Bloodline.

Sikoa stepped into the ring while the rest of the faction stayed outside of it. Sikoa asked Cody if he was done running his mouth. Sikoa asked Cody if he was done playing around as the crowd chanted “We want Roman!” Sikoa asked Cody if he was ready to defend his title against a real challenger. Sikoa said he could have been champion and he had Cody beat at SummerSlam, but Roman Reigns got in the way. As a result, Sikoa said he deserved a rematch.

Cody said on the season premiere of SmackDown next week there should be an Undisputed WWE Championship match. The crowd responded in kind by chanting “We want Roman!” louder. Cody called Sikoa unhinged and the No. 1 contender and said Sikoa does deserve a title match. But twist! Cody said he wasn’t talking to Sikoa; instead, he was talking to Jacob Fatu. Cody told Fatu to step up. Fatu did just that as the crowd chanted “Step up!”

Sikoa mouthed something to Fatu off mic and while Fatu stood on the apron, Fatu shouted he loved Sikoa and Sikoa was his Tribal Chief. Fatu then hopped down off the apron and the crowd booed. Cody said it was worth a shot. Cody noted how every second and every minute, Sikoa gets better. Cody said the WWE revolves around Cody’s championship. The Bloodline hopped into the ring and looked like they would attack Cody, but #DIY and the Street Profits ran in to save Cody. Nick Aldis popped up and told everyone to settle down. Aldis proclaimed the eight-man tag match the main event for later. Aldis then said next week’s main event will be Cody vs. Sikoa for the Undisputed WWE Championship. Aldis said the title match next week will be best for business, which means the match will be in a steel cage. Cody’s music hit to end the segment.

**********

– Pretty Deadly were backstage with Tiffany Stratton. Next week, Pretty Deadly hopes to premiere “Pretty Deadly: The Musical.” Nia Jax walked in and asked Stratton about how it looked like she wanted to cash in on Jax last week. Stratton said Chelsea Green was spreading those rumors about her and Stratton would never lie to Jax. Stratton asked Jax to be in her corner tonight and Jax said she would be there for Stratton.

Bayley defeated Tiffany Stratton [10:12]

I didn’t think I’d like how they’re stretching out the Stratton vs. Jax stuff, but I’m not not entertained so far. Plus, the Stratton/Pretty Deadly pairing makes way more sense than anyone ever imagined, so once Jax and Stratton have their day, Stratton should be fine flanked by those two guys. As for this match, it was pretty good. Stratton was consistent and clean while Bayley was … well, Bayley, which is a good thing. With Charlotte out, Becky gone and Sasha in AEW, it has fallen to Bayley to carry on that wave of women who got to the main roster around the same time and she’s been carrying that flag admirably. Plus, she was in need of a win, so as Michael Cole said, weirdly (considering their storyline history), it was nice to see something good happen to Bayley. Indeed.

The two locked up to begin the match. Eventually, Bayley roughed Stratton up and messed up Stratton’s hair. Bayley then worked Stratton’s arm and landed a running forearm for a two-count. Bayley went to the top, but Stratton cut her off. Stratton then kicked Bayley and hit a basement dropkick on Bayley, who was on the apron. The show went to a commercial break after that.

The broadcast returned and Stratton still had the upper hand, complete with her back handspring splash spot. Stratton ran at Bayley and Bayley clotheslined the hell out of her. Stratton responded with a dropkick and a draping hip attack for a two-count. Stratton dragged Bayley to a corner and worked on Bayley’s arm until Bayley ran Stratton into a ring post. Bayley then supplexed Stratton on the outside. Back inside the ring, Bayley landed a clothesline and a belly-to-back suplex before a running knee got Bayley a two-count.

Bayley went to the top rope and connected with a flying elbow, which was good enough for a near-fall. Jax then walked down the aisle without music. Jax’s appearance distracted Bayley and Stratton took advantage of that with an Alabama Slam. A handful of seconds later, Bayley hit a Bayley-To-Belly and Stratton rolled to talk to Jax. Bayley then hit a suicide dive on Jax. Jax was mad jawed at the referee. In the meantime, Stratton rolled up Bayley, but the referee was too busy being distracted. From there, Bayley followed it up with a Rose-Plant and got the win.

**********

– Kevin Owens was shown backstage and Grayson Waller and Austin Theory walked into the frame. Theory mocked Owens for losing to Cody at Bash In Berlin and they noted how Owens didn’t help Cody earlier in the show. Owens said he and Cody are fine and called Theory and Waller idiots. Owens called Waller and Theory a great team repeatedly and asked them if they wanted to have a triple threat later in the show. Waller noted how it would basically be a handicap match and Theory and Waller reiterated that they were best buds, so the match shouldn’t be a problem.

– A Legado Del Fantasma vignette aired. Santos Escobar didn’t appear happy while the rest of the faction was excited. Escobar asked why Berto and Angel were happy with their win last week because their win last week didn’t involved titles. Escobar told them not to be happy with merely success. Escobar said they make their own success and everyone agreed everything is falling into place for the faction, and man, if they concluded that after one win against Apollo Crews & Baron Corbin … . Anyway, they were happy as the segment ended.

Apollo Crews defeated Giovanni Vinci [0:03]

Wow. What?

The crowd didn’t really know what to do with Vinci as he took his time before starting the match, mugging for the camera. The bell rang and Crews rolled him up for the surprise win. Vinci was indignant.

– Chelsea Green was shown talking to Nick Aldis backstage and Michin walked in. Green called Michin trash and Michin recalled out Green got a knee to the face on NXT this week. Aldis made a one-on-one match between Green and Michin for later. Green pouted and walked away.

– Corey Perry, an Edmonton Oiler, was shown in the crowd.

Kevin Owens defeated Grayson Waller and Auston Theory [9:44]

You know what? Since Kevin Owens fancies himself the Meta Wrestler on these shows, why wouldn’t he just leave the match and force Theory and Waller to fight each other? That team’s dissolution has been teased now for months. Owens does so many things with a wink and nod these days. Why not just let the two heels go at it and laugh at them? Anyway, the match was fine. The A-Town Down breakup is really overstaying its welcome, but perhaps there is something big planned for one (or both) of those guys. Owens gets a win back after losing to Cody last weekend, but he got it from perpetual losers, and those losers are losers he constantly runs into week after week. Can we get Owens away from A-Town Down Under? Can we get A-Town Down Under away from each other? Please?

Waller came out wearing a Florida Panthers jersey. The camera kept cutting to Perry (angle alert!). Owens quickly got out ahead, beating both Waller and Theory up on the outside of the ring. Theory and Waller eventually fought back and Waller brought out a table from under the ring. Waller went to do something with it, but Owens instead powerbombed Waller through the table. Owens posed on the ring apron and the show took a commercial break.

Back from the break, a highlight was shown of Perry holding Theory while Owens punched Theory. Waller sold pain from the table spot and Owens pounded on Theory. Owens clotheslined Theory and hit a Senton on Theory. Owens followed that up with a cannonball and went to the top rope. Owens landed a Swanton and covered Theory, but Waller finally got involved again and broke up the pin attempt. Waller pounded on Owens. Waller ran into a right hand from Owens, but Theory came back with a Rolling Blockbuster on Owens. Waller tried to pin Owens, but Theory broke up the pin attempt and the heels argued.

Theory and Waller put the beef aside and worked over Owens in the a corner. Owens fought back with a noggin knocker, but Theory came back … only for Owens to hit a Rolling Senton on Owens. Waller broke up a pin attempt, but Owens suplexed Waller from the second rope and Theory broke up the ensuing pin attempt. Theory was first to his feet, but Owens hit a Stunner on Theory and that was enough for the win. After the match, Waller attacked Owens. Before long, Theory joined in and and hit A-Town Down on Owens. Waller followed that up with a Rolling Flatliner. A-Town Down celebrated to end the segment.

**********

– An Andrade/Carmelo Hayes vignette aired.

– Michael Cole spoke from the commentary table about being on FOX for five years. Corey Graves, alongside Cole, echoed Cole’s sentiment, referencing the Thunderdome era! Graves spoke about being grateful for being the lead commentary man on Friday nights the last bunch of months. Cole then thanked FOX for all they did and set up a video recapping the show’s run on FOX, which was a really nice touch from WWE.

The LA Knight/Andrade/Carmelo Hayes segment

This was pretty good. It never occurred to me that perhaps Melo and Andrade could work their feud into a title picture, but I like that idea, and good for them for turning their thing into this thing. In some ways, I hope they stay away from a triple threat (even though that seems inevitable), but if they go that route and Knight retains his title, perhaps that leads to even more heat on the Andrade/Melo program. Andrade received mixed reactions from the live crowd, which surprised me a little, but nobody wants to see anyone get mouthy with Knight, so … well, wrong place, wrong time, I guess. Still, this was a welcomed surprise segment.

LA Knight’s music hit and out came the guy to another loud pop for the 793rd week in a row. Knight soaked in cheers after his music faded out. The crowd then chanted his name until Knight hit them with the “Let me talk to ya!” Knight said he’s about 30 days into his U.S. title reign and he’s had two successful title defenses. Knight referenced D.C., Berlin and Edmonton, saying he’s international.

He was rambling about how nobody can beat him and Carmelo Hayes’s music hit. Hayes walked out with a microphone and said if anyone should be bragging, it should be Hayes because Hayes keep stealing the show with Andrade. Hayes got into the ring and reminded Knight that he’s beaten Andrade two-straight and that means he’s next in line for a U.S. title shot. Knight said he isn’t worried about having the match of the night; he’s worried about winning. Hayes was talking and wouldn’t you know it: Andrade’s music hit. He walked out with a microphone.

Andrade said he knows Hayes beat him twice, but he also beat Hayes twice, too. Hayes said nobody remembers that and Andrade said not only does he remember, but everyone else does, too. The crowd cheered. Andrade said he deserves a shot at Knight’s title. Knight said he didn’t have time to listen to Hayes and Andrade argue. Andrade reminded Knight that Andrade was once a U.S. Champion. Andrade spoke in Spanish and Knight said he didn’t understand a word Andrade said, but Andrade needs to check his tone. The three got physical and Knight hit a BFT on Andrade. Hayes jawed at Andrade and Knight, naturally, gave Hayes a BFT as well to end the segment.

**********

– Waller and Theory were walking backstage and ran into Aldis. Waller asked Aldis for a tag match between A-Town Down and Owens and a partner of Owens’s choice.

Chelsea Green defeated Michin [3:56]

Tough beats for Michin these last couple weeks. First, she takes that finisher from Jax inside a trashcan; then, she loses to Chelsea Green in the middle of the ring. More importantly, that crowd was doing nothing for Michin, no matter how hard she tried to get them engaged. It was tough to watch. Still, Green and Michin getting television time like this is a good thing and it spreads out the women’s division outside of a title picture, which, again, is a very good thing. The women worked hard here and attention should be paid, even if it was for only four minutes. This leads to Michin vs. Niven, right?

Michin had control early but sold stomach pain from last week’s match with Nia Jax. Green quickly took note of that and went after Michin’s midsection. Cole noted how both women are both former TNA Knockout Champions. What a time. Green hit a shotgun dropkick for a two-count and followed that up with a body-scissors. Michin came back with a head-scissors takedown and a shotgun dropkick of her own. Michin tried to fire up the crowd, but the crowd wasn’t very kind.

Michin set up for her finisher, but Piper Niven got on the apron to distract Michin. This eventually led to Green being on the outside and Michin hit a suicide dive onto Green. Michin went to get back in the ring, but Niven distracted Michin again. Green kicked Michin off the apron and Niven hit a running Senton on Michin on the outside. Back in the ring, Green hit the Un-Pretty-Her for the win.

**********

– A video recapping the Cargill & Belair tag title win from Bash In Berlin aired.

– Next week, that A-Town Down Under vs. Owens and a mystery partner will take place. Also on tap, Andrade vs. Melo No. 5 will go down. And, of course, Sikoa vs. Cody in a steel cage will headline the show.

– Byron Saxton interviewed the babyface team for the main event in the locker room. Johnny Gargano said that #DIY and the Profits aren’t family, but they have a lot of respect for each other. Ciampa said the Bloodline have held the tag titles hostage before. Dawkins chimed in and said if teaming with #DIY means they can stop the Bloodline, they like it. The Bloodline made their entrance for the main event.

The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Jacob Fatu & Tonga Loa) defeated The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) & #DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) [11:00]

Predictable, but affecting nonetheless. Sikoa isn’t going into his world title match a loser next week, and the Bloodline needed a strong comeback moment after kind of being buried in the mix over the last couple weeks. Jacob Fatu, man. The money is in him vs. Cody (nee, Roman or The Rock), but I have a feeling we’re going to take a long, winding road to get there. Fatu has exceeded every single expectation I had for him in WWE, and boy, I had a lot of them. Maybe this sets up #DIY vs. the Profits? Probably. They made a good point before the match, saying the Bloodline held those tag belts hostage for a long time a few years ago; I hope that’s not the case this time. In the meantime, it’s on to USA. I very much appreciate that because if nothing else, SmackDown won’t be pre-empted by AHL hockey or Philadelphia Eagles preseason games on USA and I won’t have to annoy my coworkers here more than I already do. It’s been fun, FOX. Onward, we go.

All eight men brawled to start the match. The babyfaces got the best of the exchange and the heels retreated to the outside. Dawkins and Loa started the match proper in the middle of the ring. Ford tagged in and shoulder-blocked Loa to the ground. Ford then kicked Loa and hit a standing frog splash for a one-count. Tonga tagged in before long and worked over Ford with a series of strikes. Gargano tagged in and slingshot-speared Tonga. Ciampa tagged in and hit a running knee on Tonga. Fatu executed a blind tag and elbowed the hell out of Ciampa. Fatu tagged in Sikoa and Sikoa ran Ciampa into the commentary table. Sikoa posed on top of the table to take the show to its final commercial break on FOX.

Back from that break, the heels were working over Ciampa until Ciampa suplexed Tonga. Sikoa then tagged in, but Ciampa kicked Sikoa and tagged both Dawkins and Gargano, who hit a bunch of double-team moves on Sikoa. Nobody knew who the legal man was. Things broke down and Ford landed a splash on Fatu on the outside. Gargano took out Tonga. Dawkins hit a neck-breaker on Sikoa. Ciampa then tagged back in, but Sikoa caught Ciampa and slammed Ciampa for a good near-fall. Tonga went to the top, but Ciampa crotched Tonga. Ciampa went to the top and suplexed Tonga onto the other six guys in the match in a very fun spot.

The crowd chanted “Holy sh–!,” which was muted. Back in the ring, Ford tagged in and went to the top to hit a 450 splash on Tonga, but Fatu broke up the pin attempt and drove Ford into a ring post. Fatu dragged Tonga to the corner to tag in and then Fatu hit a fury of moves on all the babyfaces. Fatu landed an Impaler on Ford and tagged in Sikoa, who landed the Samoan Spike on Ford – twice! – for the win. The Bloodline posed in the middle of the ring to end the show.

WWE SmackDown live results: Bash in Berlin go-home show

Posted on August 30, 2024August 30, 2024 by Colin McGuire

On tonight’s WWE SmackDown from Uber Arena in Berlin, Germany, Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens are set to go face-to-face.

Rhodes and Owens will square off for the Undisputed WWE Championship at Bash in Berlin tomorrow. Rhodes offered Owens the title shot after Owens helped Cody recently in his battle against The Bloodline.

Two title matches are scheduled for tonight’s show. Nia Jax will defend her WWE Women’s Championship against Michin in a street fight. Two weeks ago, Michin ruined Jax’s championship celebration, which ultimately led to this matchup.

United States Champion LA Knight has issued an open challenge to anyone willing to step into the ring with him for his title. Knight retained the belt last week when he defeated Santos Escobar.

And after weeks of tension, Apollo Crews will team up with Baron Corbin to take on Legado Del Fantasma’s Angel & Berto.

Join us for coverage beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

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– Michael Cole welcomed everyone into the show as footage of Berlin aired.

– Video of Cody Rhodes walking earlier in the day was shown. Ditto for Kevin Owens, Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton. LA Knight’s music then hit and Knight came out to massive pop.

– The commentary team was Cole and Wade Barrett.

The LA Knight open challenge

A fun opening segment in front of another hot international crowd. I’d like to think The International Crowd Pop will eventually fade for AEW and WWE, but I’m not so sure it will. If it does, it’s going to be a long, long time from now. Either way, it makes the viewing experience a lot more fun. Not only are these fans hungry to see these products, but it creates an interesting dynamic when you have a hometown hero – in this case, Kaiser – who is supposed to work as a heel, but those fans just don’t quite know how to respond, especially when said hometown hero heel is working with one of the company’s hottest babyfaces. It’s a nice wrinkle and that wrinkle didn’t disappoint here.

Knight stood in the ring and held the microphone out, soaking in “LA Knight!” chants. Knight said, “Let me talk to ya!” and spoke about how it’s been 27 years since WWE was in Berlin to do a major televised event. The crowd broke into “LA Knight!” chants again. Knight talked about how he had his first successful U.S. title defense in D.C. last week. “You deserve it!” chants began. Knight said if he was going to defend his title in the capital of the U.S., he wanted to defend it in the capital of Germany. Knight then called out anyone who wanted to come challenge him. Ludwig Kaiser’s music hit and the crowd went nuts. Kaiser then walked out.

Kaiser said “Berlin!” and spoke in German to a loud pop. Kaiser said if Knight is the champion he says he is, he should want to defend his title against the very best all over the world. Kaiser said himself and the entirety of Berlin can promise Knight that there is no one better on German soil than Kaiser. As Kaiser stepped in the ring, he said he’d beat Knight, take the title, make it bigger than it ever was and call it the European Championship. Chants broke out for Kaiser. Knight said that was impressive for Gunther’s stooge. Knight said he won’t let Kaiser win the title and the crowd didn’t really know how to respond, but they did rally behind Knight when Knight did his catchphrase. The show went to break before the match started.

LA Knight defeated Ludwig Kaiser to retain the United States Championship [12:02]

A very good LA Knight television match. Both Kaiser and the crowd helped, but these two worked hard and had those fans with them each step of the way. I’m into the idea of Knight continuing an open challenge series, but we’ll see if this is just a one-off. If it was, there was a lot to appreciate here even if it never felt truly possible that Kaiser would come away the winner. Knight is getting better in the ring when it comes to the WWE style and the booking braintrust is smart enough to pair him with people who can get the most out of him. That sounds like shade, but it’s not meant to be. This could be a very entertaining title run and though it hasn’t been a long time, it’s been a good short run so far.

“Ludwig Kaiser” chants echoed through the arena and they were loud. Things were slow early on as the two felt each other out. Knight eventually took Kaiser down and Kaiser popped up so the two could go face-to-face. Kaiser then worked a head-lock until Knight worked out of it and regain control, but Kaiser cut Knight off and stomped on Knight. Things spilled outside and Knight slammed Kaiser onto the ring apron. Kaiser came back and ran Knight’s back into the ring steps. Kaiser then ran around the ring and dropkicked Knight into the ring steps. The show went to a commercial break after that.

Back from said break, Kaiser was beating down Knight inside the ring. The two eventually traded blows as they stood up. Kaiser got the best of the exchange with a chop and a boot to Knight. Knight fired up and things went back outside the ring, where Knight slammed Kaiser’s head onto the commentary table. Back in the ring, Knight landed a neck-breaker and an elbow from the second rope for a two-count. Knight stomped on Kaiser and hit a running knee on Kaiser. Knight ran the ropes and ran into an enziguri from Kaiser for a good near-fall.

The two went back to trading shots until Knight slammed Kaiser. Knight went for a BFT, but Kaiser rolled Knight up for a two-count. Kaiser hit a clothesline and a knee to the head, and, before long, a Kaiser Roll for another near-fall. Kaiser set up for his finish, but Knight countered with a quick slam and the BFT for the win.

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– A Randy Orton/Gunther video aired.

Los Garza (Berto & Angel) defeated Apollo Crews & Baron Corbin [9:07]

Crews and Corbin got a lot of offense, so that was fun while it lasted. Neither team does much for me these days, though to be fair, Crews and Corbin are a lot earlier in their journey as tag partners than Angel and Berto are. Foreign crowds love Corbin, so it was a nice to see Germany be the latest to get behind him for reasons that may or may not be ironic. The match was just kind of there. It’s hard to think Los Garza are gearing up for a tag title challenge, so there weren’t a lot of stakes here. Still, a nice win nonetheless.

Berto & Angel go by Los Garza now. They also have Wolverine-esque scratch marks on their chests. So, there’s that. Crews started the match and got the babyfaces working from ahead before Corbin tagged in, much to the delight of the crowd. Corbin had control over Angel, until Berto got involved and the heels went on the offensive. Berto was the legal man and Corbin threw him over the top rope. Crews tagged in and Corbin hip-tossed Crews over the top onto Los Garza on the outside. The show went to a commercial break after that.

The show returned and the action was back inside the ring, but in the interim, Los Garza took over. They both worked over Crews, Angel hitting a splash on Crews. The advantage didn’t last for long because Crews moved when Angel ran at him and Angel hit the post. Corbin then received the hot tag and took care of both Berto and Angel. Crews tagged in and went to the top only to hit a cross-body on Angel. Crews followed it up with a German Suplex on Angel. Berto stopped the momentum with a springboard kick. Things broke down between all four men and all of them were down in the ring.

Corbin chokeslammed Angel on the commentary table, but Elektra Lopez distracted the ref and Santos Escobar ran Corbin into the ring steps. Crews went to the top, but Berto cut Crews off and Los Garza hit the MTY to get the pinfall victory over Crews.

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– A Bloodline video aired. Solo Sikoa said next week, the Street Profits and #DIY will take on the Bloodline. Sikoa then went through his own accomplishments in WWE. Sikoa said those four other wrestlers will acknowledge him. Sikoa turned his attention to Owens and Rhodes and said whomever is champion after Bash In Berlin, Sikoa will come for them.

– Nick Aldis was in the ring and he said it was great to be there. Naturally. Aldis said Bash In Berlin could change the trajectory of WWE forever on Saturday. Oh. OK. Anyway, Aldis introduced a video recapping the company’s recent European tour. Aldis said on behalf of SmackDown … and then he spoke in German. Aldis said the most important match on Saturday will be for the Undisputed WWE Championship. Aldis then introduced Owens. Owens walked to the ring and Aldis then introduced Cody, who did the same.

The Kevin Owens/Cody Rhodes segment

These two showed good fire and the drama with Owens leaving the ring after whispering something in Cody’s ear is a common trope in pro wrestling these days, but it packs a little more punch when someone like Owens does it to someone like Cody. And this, for a match that feels like a throwaway main event on a throwaway PLE, mind you. It’s hard to trust Owens, and at this point, I almost prefer to see Owens fully turn on Cody at some point this weekend because Owens is a better heel than he is a babyface. The only complaint is that perhaps there were too many inside baseball things that a common wrestling fan might not know or care about in this exchange, what with the references to KO helping Cody get started on the indies and then Cody ultimately helped begin AEW. Not everything has to be ultra meta or ultra smart. Anymore, it feels like pro wrestling leans on those things too much.

Aldis said the floor was theirs and left the ring. A whole bunch of chants began in the crowd. Owens started with, “Cody … what do you wanna talk about?” Cody responded in German and Owens had no idea what Cody said. Cody got everyone riled up about their match on Saturday. Owens said there was something he wanted to talk about – what happened to Cody’s knee during the recent European tour. Cody said his knee was good and pivoted to what happened last week, which was Cody and Owens beating Grayson Waller & Austin Theory.

Cody brought up what happened after the match, when it looked like Owens was going to hit Cody with the belt from behind. Cody said with Owens’s track record, he had to ask about it. Owens dismissed the questions about his track record. Owens reiterated how everyone he ever turned on – except for Kofi – deserved it. Owens talked about the relationship he had with Cody’s dad and wondered how Cody could think Owens would do that to him. Cody said maybe Owens is a little angry with him. Cody referenced his indie run and said when it comes to the renaissance in the pro wrestling industry, Kevin Owens doesn’t get enough credit, but Cody gets too much. The crowd cheered.

Owens responded said he didn’t need to hit Cody with a cheap shot because he knows Cody got hurt on the European tour. Owens said he got a lot of text messages saying Cody was limping all week backstage. Cody said Owens is sabotaging his shot at the title. Owens said if Cody’s knee is fine, he wondered why Cody didn’t take a knee during his entrance, which he usually does. Owens said yesterday marked eight years since he won the Universal Championship. Owens said people told him he didn’t deserve the title and that tainted his run as champion. Owens said that made him mad.

Owens kept rambling until Cody cut him off and said Owens was speaking out anger. Cody said Owens was angry because he had to share the spotlight the night after WrestleMania 38 because Owens’s match with Stone Cold was overshadowed by Cody’s return to the company. Cody said he loved Owens and asked Owens if even after the match, Owens and Cody would still be friends. Owens threw is microphone down, whispered something into Cody’s ear and left the ring. Owens’s music hit and Owens left the ring to end the segment. Michael Cole made a vague reference to Chris Jericho as Owens walked off.

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– Crews and Corbin were walking backstage and they ran into Waller and Theory. Corbin got in Theory’s face and Crews had to calm Corbin down. Theory was annoyed with Waller because Waller instigated the confrontation. Theory said he thinks he and Waller are falling apart. Waller said it was just banter and Theory is Waller’s “best mate.” Waller asked Theory if they were good and the two shook hands.

– Another Giovanni Vinci video aired. It wasn’t unlike the one from a week ago.

Carmelo Hayes defeated Andrade [13:13]

I just love this booking. Hayes gets his two wins back, but the first felt like a fluke and the second involved an exposed turnbuckle. This on top of the great in-ring action that nobody expected from, as I said last week, a seemingly throwaway mid-card feud. These two worked hard again and their chemistry only really gets better with each match. That’s an impressive thing considering their chemistry was already pretty good merely just going into that aforementioned throwaway mid-card match weeks ago. Great stuff from both guys. Again. I’m excited to see Match Five.

Hayes ran into the ring and the two brawled to begin the match. Andrade quickly landed a corkscrew plancha on Hayes, who was on the outside of the ring. Back inside the ring, Hayes came back with a springboard clothesline. Hayes went to the top, but Andrade cut Hayes off. Andrade then hit a double-stomp on Melo, who was draped on the turnbuckle. The show went to a commercial break after that and it was about one minute into the match.

Back to the action, Hayes had the advantage over Andrade inside the ring. Andrade fought back with a dragon-screw leg-whip and a leaping elbow to regain control. Andrade went to the top and the inevitable moonsault/miss moonsault/standing moonsault combination occurred. Andrade got a two-count out of it. Andrade fired up the crowd, but ran into a First 48 from Hayes. Melo followed it up with a Meteora and that was good enough for a two-count. Hayes chopped Andrade repeatedly. Hayes went for a suplex, but Andrade countered with a Three Amigos attempt, which was thwarted by Hayes. From there, Andrade landed a wild one-handed slam for a two-count. A turnbuckle was exposed.

Andrade went to the corner without the buck, but realized it was exposed and stopped. From there, Andrade turned into a super-kick from Hayes, which got Hayes a two-count. With both men on the second rope, Andrade landed a springboard Spanish Fly for a nice near-fall. The show went to a second commercial break in the middle of this match.

Getting back into it, the two were battling on the top and Andrade did a flip powerslam from the top for a good near-fall. The two traded strikes will on their knees and they eventually got to their feet, where Andrade hit a back elbow for another good near-fall. Andrade perched Melo on the top in the corner where a buckle was missing. Andrade set up for something, but Melo slipped out and Andrade fell on the exposed top turnbuckle. Melo went right to the top and hit Nothing But Net for the win to even the series at 2-2.

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– A video chronicling the women’s tag team title match set for Saturday aired. The commentary team then ran down the card for Bash In Berlin.

Nia Jax defeated Michin to retain the WWE Women’s Championship [10:54]

A good WWE-style weapons brawl. I’m almost getting a kick out of the Stratton/Jax dynamic, with Stratton potentially cashing in, and here I thought it would instantly become predictable and boring. Bayley coming back was a nice touch and boy, did that crowd love it. I can’t imagine a world where taking Jax’s finisher feels good while wearing a trashcan, but God bless Michin for doing it. In all, this was a fun title defense.

Michin cut a promo backstage with a kendo stick in hand. She said after this match, nobody will forget her. From there, Michin’s music hit and the camera followed her through the curtain, where she walked out with a shopping cart filled with weapons. Michin started in with the kendo stick, but Jax quickly shut her down. Michin got her stick back and Michin hit an awkward, draping head-scissors(?). Whatever it was, Michin earned a two-count. Michin reached under the ring and got a table, much to the intense delight of the crowd. Jax responded by hitting Michin with the kendo stick and pushing the table back underneath the ring.

Michin fought back, went back under the ring, and re-grabbed the table, again much to the intense delight of the live crowd. The show then went to its final commercial break as Michin had a table in her hands. The show came back and Michin was beating the hell out of Jax with the kendo stick. Jax fought back and slammed Michin on the ring’s apron. Jax then set up the table Michin had grabbed earlier. Jax went to grab Michin, but Michin had a fire extinguisher and sprayed Jax with it. Michin hit Jax with some trash can lids before landing a Tornado DDT on Jax.

Michin set up another table and grabbed a trash can from under the ring and threw it into the ring. Jax eventually got up and attacked Michin with a chair. Jax put Michin on a table, but Michin got off the table and powerbombed Jax through a table. From there, Tiffany Stratton’s music hit and Stratton ran to the ring with her MITB briefcase. Instead of cashing in, Stratton hit Michin with the briefcase and went for her moonsault, but Bayley’s music hit and Bayley took out Stratton. Back in the ring, Michin kicked Jax until Jax Samoan Dropped Michin through a table. After that, Jax hit her finish, complete with a trashcan on Michin’s head, for the win. Holy God that had to hurt. After the match, Jax kept beating Michin up with weapons. Jax looked angry and held her title to end the show.