After two months away from WWE television, Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns returns on SmackDown’s season premiere from the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The last time Reigns wrestled was at SummerSlam, when he defeated Jey Uso under Tribal Combat rules. Since then, his Bloodline stablemates have found themselves in feuds with LA Knight, AJ Styles, and John Cena.
Speaking of Cena, he is scheduled to appear on SmackDown tonight as well. Cena teamed up with Knight at Fastlane to get a victory over The Bloodline’s Jimmy Uso & Solo Sikoa.
Another appearance set for the show will come from Paul “Triple H” Levesque.
Pretty Deadly will return to in-ring action against The Brawling Brutes (Butch & Ridge Holland). It’s the first time Pretty Deadly have competed since Elton Prince suffered an injury in July.
Plus, Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso defend their Undisputed WWE Tag Team titles against Austin Theory & Grayson Waller. Theory & Waller accepted an open challenge that Rhodes & Jey issued.
Our live coverage starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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– Kevin Patrick welcomed everyone into the show. John Cena’s music hit and out he came to kick things off.
The John Cena/Roman Reigns segment
A star-studded opening segment that reintroduced Reigns effectively. Is it me or does something seem off in the Cena/Knight alignment? It feels like Cena is trying his hardest to give Knight all he can, but there’s a tiny disconnect there. I just can’t put my finger on it. Anyway, I wonder if this means we’ll get Knight vs. Reigns at Crownd Jewel. I actually wouldn’t be opposed to seeing Cena get one more title shot, but, hey, he’s right: In storyline, at least, what has Cena done to deserve it?
Cena reminded everyone that tonight is a big night and welcomed everyone to “the season premiere of SmackDown.” On cue, Roman Reigns’s music hit and his 58-minute entrance began. Reigns was flanked by Solo Sikoa and Paul Heyman, the latter of whom’s hair was no longer entirely gray. Reigns stood in the ring for a while before he said, “John boy, Hollywood, if you’re going to open my show, you better do it the right way.” From there, Reigns told Tulsa to acknolwedge him.
Reigns said Cena was a coward and Cena showed up only because Reigns took his leave. Reigns said Cena isn’t the GOAT, and, in fact, the GOAT is Roman Reigns. Reigns told Cena to leave and if he doesn’t, Reigns will make Cena leave. Cena chimed in by saying there was a bunch of energy in the building. Cena said he was going to throw Reigns a curveball. Cena said he wasn’t there to challenge Reigns and instead, he was there to acknowledge Reigns. Cena cited the 1,000-plus days Reigns has held his title and said it was the greatest accomplishment ever. Cena said he wasn’t going to challenge Reigns because Cena hasn’t earned it. Meanwhile, Cena said that he knows someone who has earned a title shot. Cue LA Knight’s music.
Knight played to the crowd once in the ring. Cena said it’s LA Knight’s time and handed Knight the microphone while the crowd chanted Knight’s name. Knight did the “Let me talk to ya!” line. Knight asked Reigns if he was pissing his pants yet. Knight said Reigns is nothing more than a man standing in Knight’s way. Knight introduced himself to Reigns via the crowd, who chanted “L-A-Knight-Yeah!” The crowd kept up the “LA Knight” chants. Reigns mocked Knight for the crowd knowing Knight’s name now. Reigns asked Knight “who the hell do you think you are standing in my ring right now?”
Knight took off his sunglasses. Knight said talking like that is a good way to get himself referred to in the past tense. As Knight ranted, Jimmy Uso attacked Knight from behind. Reigns looked a little perplexed. Knight quickly rebounded and dispatched of Jimmy. Knight and Reigns engaged in a stare down until Reigns rolled out of the ring. Reigns told Sikoa to handle Knight. Sikoa hopped onto the apron and said it’s going to be Knight vs. Sikoa tonight. Knight accepted the challenge.
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A disembodied voice explained that Elton Prince has been injured and Prince was shown in a wheelchair in the entryway to the ring. Prince miraculously stood out of the wheelchair to mark his comeback. Pretty Deadly made their way to the ring.
Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince & Kit Wilson) defeated the Brawling Brutes (Ridge Holland & Butch) [9:04]
Oh. So, Pretty Deadly are going to do this injury thing for a while now, aren’t they? This first time out was dragged on a bit too long for my taste, but that’s a team that can make something like that fun, moving forward. They can also run it into the ground pretty hard, pretty quickly, so only time will tell how that plays out. The match itself was fine for what it was, but I’ve got to say: At what point do the Brawling Brutes start to get some booking love? They lose far too much to be taken seriously. At this point, they garner more sympathy than fear.
Prince and Butch began the match. Butch worked on Prince’s arm and tagged in Holland. Wilson tagged in as well and worked over Wilson until Butch tagged in. Butch landed a German Suplex and a kick to Wilson’s head. Wilson rolled to the outside and Butch hit a splash and Butch and Holland landed 10 Beats on both Wilson and Prince before the show went to commercial break. When the show returned, Wilson was beating down Butch. Prince tagged in and kept the beatdown going. Prince set up for 10 Beats on Butch, but Butch cut him off and did the finger spot on Prince.
Wilson tagged in and Pretty Deadly got back control. Ultimately, Butch fought his way out and got the hot tag to Holland, who cleaned house. Prince went to the second rope, but Holland cut him off and slammed Prince for a two-count. Things broke down with Butch hitting a Shining Wizard and Wilson. Butch and Wilson fought on the outside as Holland slammed Prince, who then sold a knee injury. There was a lot of nothing happening as Prince insisted he was hurt and in the meantime Wilson kicked Holland in the head. Prince then rolled up Holland for the win.
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– Kayla Braxton interviewed Carlito backstage. Carlito said that him being back in WWE is “cool.” Bobby Lashley stepped into the frame and told Carlito that his comeback was amazing and masterful. Lashley stuck out his hand and said he wanted to welcome Carlito back. Carlito didn’t shake it and said he wants his first match back on SmackDown to be against Lashley. From there, the Street Profits attacked Carlito from behind with a chair. Lashley raised the chair, but things were broken up by Adam Pearce and other WWE officials. The LWO was shown tending to Carlito, but Bayley interrupted things. Zelina Vega stepped to Bayley They bickered until Pearce ordered a match between the two right away.
– Roman Reigns and the Bloodline were shown backstage. Jimmy Uso told Reigns about how he can call an audible when needed. Reigns asked Jimmy if Jimmy was the quarterback, what would Jimmy do. Jimmy said he’d get Jey and Reigns noted how much it bothers him that Jey has the tag titles with Cody Rhodes. Reigns asked Jimmy if Jimmy will handle that and Jimmy siad “Yeet.” Reigns said he doesn’t like “Yeet.” They fist-bumped.
Bayley defeated Zelina Vega [2:39]
When I saw this match started at 8:50 p.m. EST, I thought, “Well, this can go two ways. One, they put a lot of thought into this and these women are going to be given the opportunity to put on a hell of a match. Or two, they’re out in under three minutes because they have something planned for top of the hour.” Sadly, the latter prediction turned out to be the correct one, but these two worked well together, especially considering the constraints. Vega was given a lot of offense, which was a welcome surprise, and Damage CTRL reiterated how they are a faction that oftentimes feels impossible to beat. It could be worse.
Bayley mocked how short Vega is to start the match. Vega ran Bayley into a corner and hit an arm-drag. Vega went for a head-scissors, but Bayley cut her off with a clothesline. Bayley went for a Bayley-To-Belly, but Vega countered and eventually set up a 619. Vega hit the first part, but was then distracted by Dakota Kai. Vega followed that up with a Meteora for a two-count. IYO SKY distracted the ref and Vega tended to that. As a result, Bayley took advantage, hit the Rose Plant and got the win. After the match, SKY and Bayley attacked Vega until Charlotte ran to the ring to clear the ring of Damage CTRL.
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The Triple H segment
I’m torn on the deluge of wrestling news in the Wrestling News Era. The word that Nick Aldis was going to be the new SmackDown GM leaked earlier today and I just think it would have packed a bigger punch if that wasn’t out in the public beforehand. Either way, I feel bad for him not getting much of a response when Hunter actually got around to introducing him. The Dirty Dom involvement made things fun, but Aldis could have used more a spotlight (as an aside: dude looked like a block in that weird clue checked suit. Felt very unnatural, very uncomfortable. But I digress). I’m interested to see how well Aldis does in this role. Pearce kind of backed into his role as Designated WWE Official over time, but Aldis got the announcement treatment, so some fans may be expecting more from him. Owens to SmackDown, meanwhile, was a convenient way to get him split from Sami Zayn without having to pull another turn, so I can’t complain about that. Owens has to be one of the next in line for Reigns, right?
Adam Pearce stood in the ring as Triple H made his entrance. The crowd was excited. Hunter said it was electric in there. Hunter said WWE is on their way to Crown Jewel and just around the corner will be Survivor Series. Hunter said it all starts tonight at the season premiere of SmackDown (somebody trademark that). Hunter called Pearce one of the unsung heroes of WWE. Hunter said over the last three years, Pearce has done an incredible job as a WWE official. Hunter said Pearce has overseen both Raw and SmackDown and he has done an incredible job. Hunter thanked Pearce. Hunter said it’s a job no one person should do alone.
Hunter said Pearce is getting a promotion – the new GM of Monday Night Raw. Hunter asked who the general manager of SmackDown will be. Dominik Mysterio’s music played and Dirty Dom walked to the ring with a microphone. Dom got booed out of the building. Dom talked about how the Judgment Day got screwed out of their tag team titles. Hunter said he couldn’t hear Dom talk because of the boos. This, of course, only inspired the crowd to boo more. Dominik asked how they could do a tag team title match tonight when Judgment Day is supposed to have one on Monday.
Hunter made a joke about how loud the boos were and he always thought “they just pumped them in,” which was kind of funny. Hunter said he was bringing the new GM of SmackDown out to talk to Dominik, and that new GM was going to be Nick Aldis. The crowd seemed … confused? Aldis got some respectable applause after he introduced himself. Aldis shook Dom’s hand and said he was a big fan … of Dom’s dad, which woke the crowd up. Aldis said his first official act as GM was completing the trade Cody made some weeks ago. Aldis tried to introduce the new SmackDown roster member, but Dom cut him off. The crowd went nuts booing Dirty Dom. Kevin Owens’s music hit, and, well, look who’s back on SmackDown.
Owens walked through the entrance way. Owens entered the ring and gave Dominik a Stunner. Aldos and Owens shook hands and Aldis raised Owens’s arm. The show cut backstage, where roman Reigns was shaking his head at the addition of Owens to the SmackDown roster. Reigns said Jey, Cody and Kevin are running around on his show. Reigns asked “What are we doing?!” Reigns was mad at Jimmy Uso for drinking water on Reigns’s couch. Jimmy asked Reigns if he was serious. Roman said he wasn’t … “but imagine if he was.” Jimmy left and took Sikoa with him.
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– A Dragon Lee vignette aired. Good for him on that. And actually, good on WWE for doing it, too.
– Aldis was backstage talking to Chelsea Green and Piper Niven. Green pitched new women’s tag belts featuring Italian leather. Charlotte walked into the frame and Aldis turned his attention to Charlotte. Aldis referenced what happened at Fastlane and said next week, Charlotte will face IYO SKY for the WWE Women’s Championship. Charlotte turned around and Jade Cargill was standing right there. Hunter was standing with Cargill. Cargill and Charlotte exchanged a few words and we went back to the ring, where Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes were making their entrances.
Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso defeated Grayson Waller & Austin Theory [9:21]
Man, it looks like Cody and Jey are having a blast out there together. I don’t really get it, and that Fastlane press conference was wild, but I dig it. Their enthusiasm is infectious. Anyway, Waller and Theory make a good team, but I started to wonder during this match: Are they teaming as a means to turn Theory babyface soon? That’s not too silly of an idea, is it? The match hit all the right notes and it was everything you’d expect from a Cody/Jey title defense. They’re a nice, feel-good team, but this can’t be long-term … right? I put the over/under on their tag title reign at three months, by the way. And yes. I’m taking the under.
Cody and Waller started the match. Cody had the upper hand early until Waller kicked Cody and tagged in Theory. Cody took Theory down and Theory tagged Waller back into the match. Cody tagged in Uso, who kicked Waller. Theory landed a blind tag to get himself in the match and eventually ran into a series of punches from Uso. With Uso on the apron, Theory ran Uso into a ring post and the show went to a commercial break.
Back from the commercial break, Theory was worked a chin-lock on Uso inside the ring. Theory stomped on Uso repeatedly. Waller tagged in as Uso fired up. Theory cut him off, however, and Waller came off the second rope with an elbow for a two-count. Uso hit an enziguri to slow things down and Uso got the hot tag to Cody, who ran in and pummeled Theory. Cody landed a powerslam and a Disaster Kick. Waller entered the ring and Cody hit another Disaster Kick. Theory hit a suplex, but Uso broke up a pin attempt. Uso hit some super-kicks on everyone and the Co-D 1D. Cody landed the CrossRhodes on Theory and got the pin.
After the match, Jey and Cody were walking to the back and Jimmy and Sikoa walked through the (not) curtain. Roman Reigns followed them and Reigns engaged in a stare down with Cody. Aldis walked out and told Cody and Roman “not tonight.” The show went to a commercial break.
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– The commentary team ran down the fact that next week, we get IYO SKY vs. Charlotte Flair for the WWE Women’s Championship. Also on tap will be Santos Escobar vs. Montez Ford.
LA Knight defeated Solo Sikoa [12:34]
There’s something about LA Knight matches that I just don’t like. That’s not even coming from the place that says, “Give me Will Ospreay matches into my veins all day, every day.” Because I can enjoy the WWE style and I certainly appreciate what that company continues to accomplish. But something about Knight’s matches feel lesser than, and much like something else I pointed out earlier, I can’t put my finger on it. That said, this was one of the better LA Knight matches in some time on WWE TV. He’s clearly got the best cards in the deck and the crowds love him. For that, my hat is tipped. But it’s rare we see an LA Knight match and think … “That was pretty good.” But this? Well this was … pretty good. The show-closing angle puts the heat on an inevitable Knight vs. Reigns match. It’s a matter of when, not if. And that match, above all else, will be one of the most fascinating to watch in the year of our lord 2023. in the meantime, Sikoa did a very good job here while Knight more than held up his end. You knew Reigns would play into the final seconds of the show. He did. And now off, we go.
The two locked up to start things out. Sikoa had control early with a back elbow. Sikoa lifted Knight for a suplex, but Knight landed on his feet and hit a neck-breaker for a one-count. Sikoa took Knight down in what appeared to be a tiny bit of miscommunication. Knight tried to lift Sikoa, but Sikoa was too heavy and from there, Sikoa hit a chop. Knight came right back and took Sikoa’s legs out. Knight then clotheslined Sikoa over the top and the action spilled outside. With Knight on the apron, Knight went for a suplex, but Sikoa cut him off and ran Knight into a ring post. The show then went to its final commercial break.
When the show returned, Sikoa worked Knight’s neck. Knight again went for a body-slam, but Sikoa just fell on Knight for a two-count. Sikoa landed a belly-to-belly for a two-count. Sikoa then hit what is known as a hip attack in other situations. Sikoa went back to his vice grip on Knight’s neck. Knight tried to fire up, but Sikoa threw Knight into a corner. Knight countered with a bulldog from the second rope for a two count. Knight ran at Sikoa, but Sikoa hit a Samoan Drop for a two-count. Sikoa went to sit on Knight, but Knight moved to even things out. Sikoa ran at Knight, but Knight moved and Sikoa hit a turnbuckle. It happened twice.
The two traded punches until Knight got the best of the exchange. Knight landed a clothesline and a DDT. Knight stomped a mud hole in Sikoa. Knight then hit a running knee. Sikoa lifted Knight, but Knight got out of it and finally, at last, landed a body-slam on Sikoa. Knight hit his famous elbow. The two ran the ropes and took each other out with a double clothesline. Wouldn’t you know it, Jimmy Uso appeared and got into the ring, but John Cena ran out and cut Jimmy off. In light of the chaos, Knight hit the BFT for the win.
After the match, Knight was celebrating, but out of nowhere Roman Reigns ran in and speared Knight. Reigns smiled at the crowd. Reigns stood tall as the show went off the air.
