Tag: tiffany stratton

WWE Women’s Crown Jewel Champion crowned

Posted on by Ian Carey

The 2025 winner of the WWE Women’s Crown Jewel Championship has been decided.

Stephanie Vaquer defeated Tiffany Stratton today in Perth, Australia to win the title. The finish saw Stratton miss a Prettiest Moonsault Ever, followed by Vaquer hitting a top-rope corkscrew splash for the win.

Following her victory, Paul “Triple H” Levesque presented Vaquer with the Crown Jewel Championship ring and wrapped the Women’s Crown Jewel Championship belt around her waist.

Jackie Redmond interviewed Vaquer after the match. She was visibly emotional as the crowd chanted, “You deserve it.”

“Today we made history together,” Vaquer told the live crowd. “This is a beautiful championship. This represents all the motivation, support, and love you all have given me.”

“You believe in me. Now I believe in me.”

The win comes less than a month after Vaquer became the Women’s World Champion by defeating IYO SKY for the vacant title at Wrestlepalooza.

Last year, Liv Morgan became the inaugural Women’s Crown Jewel Champion when she defeated Nia Jax in Riyadh at Crown Jewel 2024. Morgan has been out of action since suffering a shoulder injury on the June 16 episode of Raw. She underwent surgery for the injury later that month.

WWE Crown Jewel live results: John Cena vs. AJ Styles

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: October 11, 2025
Location: RAC Arena in Perth, Australia

**********

Show Recap — 

COUNTDOWN SHOW —

There was a video package narrated by Rhea Ripley that was essentially all about how loud the international crowds are. 

Michael Cole, Big E, and Wade Barrett hosted the first hour of the pre-show. They aired part one of the video package for Seth Rollins vs. Cody Rhodes (part two aired later). Jackie Redmond and Cathy Kelley each analyzed the match.

They spoke about Ripley, who happens to be celebrating a birthday today. 

The pre-show is two hours long, and 25 minutes into it, they’re killing time by showing a long clip of Big E on Stephanie McMahon’s podcast.

There was a video package of John Cena’s 2025 so far. They confirmed his final dates are in Boston, New York City, San Diego and Washington D.C. They also spoke about AJ Styles’ final year. 

Cole mentioned that the inaugural Crown Jewel championships were crowned in Saudi Arabia, and the fans behind him booed.

There was a video package for Stephanie Vaquer vs. Tiffany Stratton. 

Redmond spoke with Ripley earlier this week about returning to Australia.

Chelsea Green and Peter Rosenberg tried local cuisine around Perth. 

A video showed men in black suits transporting the Crown Jewel championship belts from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to Perth, Australia. 

Rosenberg and Redmond replaced Barrett and Cole on the panel. 

A video package of Ripley showed her as a young fan who got an early start to her career. When they spoke about her growing up as a fan, the clip they decided to show was of none other than Triple H (beating up Ric Flair). 

Grayson Waller showed up to the panel to put over Ripley, Bronson Reed, and The New Day (knowing Big E was sitting right there), and he drank beer out of his shoe. 

Kelley interviewed Paul Levesque. He spoke about the Perth crowd and tonight’s big matches. (Unlike in Paris, I’m glad he spoke more about the show itself instead of how loud the fans would be.) 

There was another feature on Ripley. She spoke about her early days in WWE. She didn’t have any tattoos when she tried out because she was afraid she wouldn’t get hired. William Regal warned the class they wouldn’t hear from the company for a while, but Ripley got a call to come in four days later. She didn’t wear much makeup in those days because she hated wearing it. She was told early in NXT that if she got any tattoos, she had to ensure they were covered up, so she made sure her new gear included pants. She impressed everyone, including Triple H, with her match against Iyo Sky at the second Mae Young Classic, and that led to her being sent to NXT UK.

A lot of the pre-taped stuff assumes Reed will be a crowd favourite tonight, but as the panellists have acknowledged several times, Roman Reigns is still the favourite. 

Kelley interviewed AJ Styles, who confirmed his retirement in 2026 on yesterday’s kick-off show. Styles said tonight’s match against John Cena would be emotional and special. He looked forward to beating up Cena.

Roman Reigns vs. Bronson Reed will open tonight’s show. 

Sophie Foster sang the American national anthem. The Australian fans booed.  

They loudly cheered and sang the Australian anthem that followed. 

CROWN JEWEL PERTH —

Bronson Reed, Bron Breakker and Paul Heyman, Cody Rhodes, Stephanie Vaquer, Tiffany Stratton, AJ Styles, Asuka and Kairi Sane, and Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky were shown arriving earlier today. 

Rhea Ripley narrated the intro video for today’s show. (The same video aired on the pre-show.) Oddly, the intro for this show was about the loud international fans they’ve had in recent years, and encouraging the same from tonight’s fans. The video didn’t include anything about tonight’s card or feuds. 

Michael Cole and Wade Barrett are tonight’s announcers. 

Cole announced a sold-out crowd of 13,683. It’s quite a visual. The majority of fans are wearing yellow John Cena shirts. It almost looks like a playoff NHL or NBA game where the entire crowd is wearing one colour. (You’d think these were the only shirts that were available, or they were given away.)

Australian Street Fight: Roman Reigns vs. Bronson Reed (w/ Paul Heyman) 

Despite Reed being Australian, Reigns was easily the crowd favourite. There was even an early, “F—k him up, Roman” chant. 

Reigns was all over Reed for the first six minutes. He chucked a rugby ball at Paul Heyman and clobbered Reed with a cricket bat. Reigns grabbed a mic and told the fans to acknowledge him if they wanted tables. Reigns grabbed a table, but Reed attacked him from behind and slid the table back under the ring. The fans called him a wanker. 

Reed instead attacked Reigns with the steel steps and a steel chair. Reed opened a steel chair and placed it upright, but Reigns grabbed him and put him through it with a Samoan drop. Reigns followed with clotheslines, but Reed blocked a Superman punch and hit a Jagged Edge (DVD) for two. 

Reed attacked Reigns with a stop sign, and the fans chanted, “Read the sign.” Reed instead hit a uranage onto the sign for two. Reed missed a senton and landed on the sign. Reed also missed a corner charge and went face-first into a chair wedge between the ropes. Reigns followed with a Superman punch for two. 

Reigns set up for a spear outside the ring, but you could tell something was about to happen because of how slowly he ran. Bron Breakker appeared and speared Reigns. The Brons gave Reigns a Shield powerbomb through the announce table. 

The crowd chanted “Yeet,” which brought out Jimmy and Jey Uso (to Jey’s music). They superkicked Breakker and teed off on Reed. The Usos handed out running hip attacks and gave Breakker a 1-D. 

The Brons fought off The Usos on their own without any nefarious means. Reed shoved Jimmy off the top rope, and Breakker gave Jey a press slam into a gut buster. Breakker speared Jimmy through the barricade. 

Reed was about to give Jey a Tsunami, but Reigns hit him with consecutive Superman punches. Reigns also punched Breakker off the apron. 

Reigns and Reed fought for position near a corner announce table. After Reigns avoided a DVD, Jey went to spear Reed—but Reed moved and Jey speared Reigns through the table by mistake. 

Breakker speared Jey, and Reed hit Reigns with a Tsunami for the pinfall win. 

— Reigns admonished Jimmy and Jey for getting involved. He told them, “The whole world thinks I can’t do sh-t on my own. I told you I’m going to do this on my own.” (Referring to the help he constantly gets from the Bloodline.) 

Reigns told the Usos that he loved them. “I love you, but I don’t wanna see y’all ’til Christmas.” Reigns left as the fans chanted, “Someone’s in trouble.” 

Jimmy and Jey argued in the ring until Jey left on his own. 

Match result: Bronson Reed defeated Roman Reigns (21:05)

This was good for what it was. They kept it simple as far as street fights go and did all they needed to for this crowd. 

They played this up like a huge win for Reed, and it felt like it. He’s the first person to pin Reigns in a single match besides Cody Rhodes in a long time. He did get inadvertent help from Jey Uso, but he was also outnumbered and still won. 

The angle with Reigns and the Usos was good if you aren’t sick of Bloodline drama. 

********

There was a video package for the upcoming match and a commercial break. (This pattern continued through the rest of the show.)

Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer vs. WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton for the WWE Women’s Crown Jewel Championship 

This was a first-time ever match. Vaquer has the most wins in WWE in 2025, while Stratton came into the match undefeated this year. 

They wrestled back-and-forth early on, but Vaquer kept getting the better of Stratton. Vaquer also kept shoving her boot in Stratton’s face. Vaquer tried a submission, but Stratton countered with a back suplex. Stratton followed with a handspring elbow and a nice-looking Alabama slam for two. Vaquer came back with a dragon screw and corner meteora for two. Stratton followed with a backbreaker for two. 

Stratton tried a senton bomb, but Vaquer got her knees up. Vaquer hit Devil’s Kiss (which got the usual reaction) and the old version of SVB (backbreaker) for two. Stratton hit a rolling senton but missed a PME. 

Vaquer followed quickly with a spiral tap (corkscrew splash) for the pinfall win. 

— Triple H presented an emotional Vaquer with the Crown Jewel ring and championship belt (which is so big it covers more than half her upper body). 

The crowd chanted, “You deserve it.” Redmond handed Vaquer a microphone, and she cut her typically endearing promo. Vaquer said they did this together. The title represented all the emotional support the fans gave her. She followed her dreams, the fans believed in her, and now she believed in herself. Now, La Primera was the world champion and Crown Jewel Champion. She posed as fireworks went off. 

Match result: Stephanie Vaquer defeated Tiffany Stratton to win the WWE Women’s Crown Jewel Championship (10:06) 

This was a good match for the time they had. It was nice seeing two people have a good wrestling match with a clean finish. 

********

Heyman congratulated Reed. Heyman said ‘the vision’ of the future now meant Reed and Breakker. Heyman also told them to stay in the back if Seth Rollins called for help tonight in his match with Rhodes. Heyman said we would find out who the better man was. Heyman left. 

Breakker didn’t seem to like this. He asked Reed what would happen if Rhodes won. Heyman returned to tell him, “I think you both know the answer to that question.” 

******** 

John Cena vs. AJ Styles

Styles wore some throwback gear—blue and white trunks (instead of long tights). Cena entered wearing a yellow and green t-shirt. (As mentioned above, a large portion of the crowd is wearing Cena’s yellow shirt.)

Alicia Taylor introduced Cena, and the fans loudly chanted, “Thank you, Cena.” Cena then pointed to Taylor to introduce Styles. She called him “The definition of total nonstop action,” the ace of the Bullet Club, and the face that runs the place. Styles smiled and seemed surprised by the intro, presumably written by Cena himself (or someone else on Cena’s behalf).

Cena fended off Styles’ offence and did the five moves of doom and AA for a nearfall only about six minutes into the match. Styles caught Cena and seemed to be going for an AA, but hit a fireman’s carry into a neckbreaker (Ushigoroshi) instead. (Cole gave a shout-out to Mauro Ranallo.) 

Cena hit Styles with Miz’s Skull Crushing Finale for two. Styles followed with a rack bomb for two, and a Scorpion Death Drop for two (Cole didn’t mention him by name, but gave a shout-out to Sting). 

Styles countered an STF into a crossface, but Cena countered that into Rusev’s Accolade. Styles countered that into Samoa Joe’s Coquina Clutch. Cena fought out and applied a Walls of Jericho, but Styles countered into a calf crusher. 

Cena fought out, but AJ nailed a Styles Clash for two. Styles went for a Phenomenal forearm, but Cena caught him and hit a Sister Abigail (kiss to the forehead included) for a close nearfall. The crowd exploded for that. (Barrett mentioned Bray Wyatt and said, “We miss you, pal.”) The fans didn’t waste any time getting out their cellphone cameras, and Cena smiled at the sight. 

Styles followed with Christopher Daniels’ Angel’s Wings for two. They traded counters until Cena set up for a Pedigree, but Styles countered into a Deadeye for two. Cena followed with Randy Orton’s draping DDT (to which Cole said, “Vintage John Cena!”). Cena followed with an RKO for a nearfall. Crowd loved that. 

Cena went for an Orton punt, but Styles avoided it and hit an AA for two. Styles was about to do the five knuckle shuffle, but Cena grabbed him by the throat like Undertaker and hit a chokeslam. 

The crowd chanted “619,” which was funny enough, but it was immediately followed by Cena dropping Styles onto the middle rope. Cena acted like he was going for a 619, but Styles cut him off with a clothesline. Styles followed with a springboard 450. Styles tuned up the band and hit Sweet Chin Music for two. 

Styles hit a Phenomenal forearm for two, and Cena hit an AA for a nearfall. Styles tried a high cross, but Cena rolled through and hit a Tombstone piledriver. Cena followed immediately with an AA for the pinfall win. 

— Cena helped Styles to his feet, and they hugged. They raised each other’s arms before Styles left the ring so Cena could celebrate. 

Cena kissed his wife at ringside. Cena posed for the Australian fans one final time before leaving. 

Match result: John Cena defeated AJ Styles (27:12) 

This was tremendous. 

********

Rhea Ripley & IYO SKY vs. Asuka & Kairi Sane

This was a homecoming for Rhea Ripley, and it just so happens to be her 29th birthday. 

Asuka and Sane attacked the babyfaces as the opening bell rang. Everyone got involved, but Sky was alone with Asuka when the dust settled. Sky got the better of their exchange, and the crowd sang her name as she hit Asuka with a suicide dive. Sky dodged an attack by Sane, but that allowed Asuka to shove Sky into the post. (The ref held back Ripley from helping.) 

The heels worked over Sky, and the fans called Asuka a wanker. Sane cut off Sky’s hot tag attempt and goaded Ripley into distracting the referee so they could double-team Sky. Asuka hit a strike combo before Sane hit a double foot stomp for two. 

Sky fired up and no-sold multiple strikes and slaps by Asuka. Asuka kept going, but Sky hit a flapjack. Ripley made the hot tag and hit Sane with clotheslines and a kick to the head for two. Sane cut her off somewhat easily, and the heels took over again briefly until Ripley nailed Sane with a boot. Ripley gave Sane a Razor’s Edge, and Sky followed with a missile dropkick for two. 

Sane gave Sky an Alabama Slam (much safer than the one she did on Raw) and knocked Ripley off the apron. Sky brought Sane off the top rope with an arm drag and went to the top, but Asuka distracted her. Kairi knocked down Sane and drove Ripley into the steel steps. 

Sky wiped out the heels with an Asai moonsault. She followed with a moonsault on Sane in the ring, but Asuka broke up the cover. Asuka knocked Sky off the top rope and hit Ripley with strikes. She held down Ripley as Sane hit an Insane Elbow, but Sky broke up the cover. 

Ripley and Asuka traded strikes and counters until Ripley hit a thrust kick. Ripley dropped her face-first on the top turnbuckle and set up for an avalanche Rip-tide, but Sane tagged herself in and broke it up. Ripley booted Sane off the apron (taking the bullet for Asuka in the process). 

Ripley gave Sane a Rip-tide, and Sky followed with a moonsault for the pinfall win (Sky pinned Sane).  

Match result: IYO SKY & Rhea Ripley defeated Kairi Sane & Asuka (19:57) 

This was pretty good, although the crowd wasn’t as into it as you’d think, perhaps because they were coming down from the previous match. Ripley got a big reaction coming out, but Sky seemed to get more crowd chants during the match than she did. (Sky was also in there a lot longer.) 

The finish was pretty straightforward. Sane took the bullet for Asuka in the end, and the babyfaces won clean. There’s definitely more to come between these four. 

******** 

Twenty minutes elapsed between the end of the previous match and the beginning of this one. 

World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins vs. Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes for the WWE Crown Jewel Championship

Rollins wore the watch Rhodes gifted him to the ring (he wore it over his wrist tape). He dramatically removed it as he removed his entrance attire. 

There was an unintentionally funny moment early in the match where, after getting slammed by Rhodes, Rollins tried rolling out of the ring, but his head collided with the referee’s foot. The ref checked on a frustrated Rollins, who brushed him off and rolled out moments later. Rollins’ frustration grew because the fans kept calling him a wanker. 

The crowd loved Rhodes and cheered as he kept getting the better of Rollins. Rollins confronted Barrett and shoved Cole down in his chair. (Rollins was pissed at Barrett for highlighting the ‘wanker’ chants on SmackDown.) 

Rollins attacked Rhodes from behind as he checked on Cole. With Rhodes draped over the barricade, Rollins hit a double foot stomp to his shoulder. (Fans cheered when Rollins knocked over the Prime bottles.) 

Rhodes went for a Disaster kick, but Rollins ran up behind him and hit a sit-out powerbomb for two. Rollins targeted Rhodes’ arm/shoulder and did the Stardust cartwheel and pose. Rollins did some Dusty jabs, but Rhodes responded with jabs of his own. 

Rollins applied a figure four, and Rhodes struggled for a while before finally getting out of it. Rhodes fought back and hit a Vertebreaker (Rollins landed safely). Rhodes hit a powerslam, a Disaster kick, jabs, a bionic elbow, a suicide dive, and a Cody cutter for two. 

Rollins avoided another Disaster kick attempt and hit a Pedigree for two. Rhodes tried a Cross Rhodes, but Rollins hit one of his own for two. Rhodes avoided a Phoenix splash but missed a super Cody Cutter in spectacular fashion, and Rollins hit a curb stomp for a nearfall. 

Rollins grabbed his watch and wrapped it around his fist. He contemplated using it, but placed it on the apron and returned to the ring. Rhodes met him with a Cody Cutter and Cross Rhodes for a nearfall. 

Rollins repeatedly kicked Rhodes as he was trapped upside down in the corner. The ref pulled Rollins away, but Rhodes was still trapped. Rollins went to the top rope on the other end of the ring and hit an awesome-looking coast-to-coast headbutt for a nearfall. 

Rollins followed with a Spanish fly off the top and a Man-handle slam for a nearfall. They found themselves perched on the top rope again, and Rhodes nailed an avalanche Cross Rhodes for a close nearfall. 

They traded spots until Rhodes set up for a Pedigree. Rollins scampered out of it and crawled right to watch in the ring’s corner. Rollins wrapped it around his hand. Rollins accidentally (or accidentally on purpose) bumped the referee moments later, and Rhodes set up for the Cross Rhodes, but Rollins punched him with the watch. 

Rollins hit a curb stomp and a second stomp off the middle rope for the pinfall win. 

— Levesque presented Rollins with the Crown Jewel ring and championship belt after the match. 

Kelley was about to interview Rollins, but he yanked the mic away. He knew she was going to ask him how it felt to get the monkey off his back. It felt better than anyone could imagine. Some of us dream impossible dreams and have the fortitude to reach those dreams. But only one man reached higher than the highest. He was no longer the greatest of his generation—he was the greatest of all time. 

Rollins said his catchphrase and posed as fireworks went off. 

Vaquer joined Rollins in the ring so the two Crown Jewel champions could pose as the show ended. 

Match result: Seth Rollins defeated Cody Rhodes to win the WWE Men’s Crown Jewel Championship (29:43)

The bulk of this was just a normal match until they started doing some big moves toward the end. I know the best matches always build and get better as they go, but the first 20 minutes felt fairly standard. 

Rollins had to win based on the story they were telling, so he did, and we’ll have to wait a while longer before his buddies tear him apart. 

Overall, this was a more enjoyable WWE show than we’ve been getting lately, and worth checking out if you planned on watching this later in the day.

WWE SmackDown live results: Crown Jewel go-home show

Posted on by Marc Quill

Editor’s Note: The following are live results from the international broadcast of WWE SmackDown on Netflix with the U.S. version airing at 8 PM Eastern on USA. If you want to avoid spoilers for tonight, you have been warned.

WWE heads to Perth, Australia, for today’s SmackDown — the first of three WWE live shows over the weekend centered around Saturday’s Crown Jewel.

WWE men’s United States Champion Sami Zayn will continue his open challenge series after defeating Aleister Black last Friday with an assist from Damian Priest.

Speaking of Priest and Black, they will attempt to settle their simmering feud in a Last Man Standing match.

The WWE Tag Team titles will be on the line as The Wyatt Sicks’ Joe Gacy & Dexter Lumis defend against The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins).

WWE Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer & WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton will attempt to put their differences aside before their Saturday match as they take on Giulia & Kiana James.

Our live coverage starts at 8 AM Eastern.

**********

– Our show opened with a video package showing the mens and women’s Crown Jewel Championships being moved from the WWE Experience museum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to Perth, Australia ahead of tomorrow’s Crown Jewel PLE.

– Following that, we then went live to the RAC Arena, as the men’s Crown Jewel Championship was shown in the ring.

Cody Rhodes addresses Crown Jewel

The Undisputed WWE Champion and reigning men’s Crown Jewel Champion was first to enter for our opening segment as Michael Cole and Wade Barrett recapped the happenings of last Friday’s SmackDown as it related to Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins.

Once Rhodes entered the ring, he basked in the cheers of the Australian crowd before he started off by asking “what do you want to talk about?” Rhodes said that we could talk about Seth Rollins and the supposed “doom and gloom outcome” of the match at Crown Jewel, but after he heard Paul Heyman’s warnings on Raw, it’s clear that Rollins is becoming the man he sacrificed himself to defeat at WrestleMania 41.

Rhodes continued by saying that when you love WWE as much as Rollins does, you’d do everything for it, even perhaps skewing reality as a result. But, there comes a downfall as it becomes a quest for control. Rhodes said that Rollins might not love the “QB” nickname that was given to him, but it’s a collective one that he’s proud to have as making WWE great is a team effort. Rhodes shouted out individuals like Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, CM Punk, Rhea Ripley, Jey Uso, and even Seth Rollins as being important aspects of WWE.

The crowd began chanting “Seth’s a wanker” as Rhodes asked for Barrett and Cole on commentary to confirm that chant. As he got back on track, Rhodes said that if the world did revolved around Seth Rollins, what did that mean for him? He said that in this hypothetical world, this still meant that Rhodes would remain the one man that Rollins just simply cannot defeat.

This did its job of selling the men’s Crown Jewel match and the idea of Cody Rhodes being the one white whale that has eluded Seth Rollins. It’s clear that Rollins will certainly win tomorrow’s match, but just how he does it is something to watch.

**********

– Backstage, Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer was being approached by Chelsea Green to join the Secret Hervice until WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton appeared. Green left as Vaquer and Stratton agreed to be on the same page for tonight’s tag match.

– Elsewhere, Cody Rhodes was walking and approached by Jacob Fatu, who said that once Rhodes was done with the Crown Jewel business, he wanted next for the Undisputed WWE Title. SmackDown GM Nick Aldis approached Fatu and wanted to discuss something with him. As Aldis left, Drew McIntyre attacked Fatu before he was backed off by officials.

U.S. Title Open Challenge: Sami Zayn (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Nakamura was revealed as Zayn’s opponent, as he entered to his old theme music and entrance.

The match got going with Zayn and Nakamura engaging in a duel of chain wrestling that neither man got the upper hand on. Nakamura got a bit of an advantage with a boot to the face followed by a leg drop on Zayn. The momentum continued for the challenger as he delivered his sliding German suplex to Zayn, which took us into the break.

Our opening contest returned from commercial with Zayn and Nakamura trading strikes in the middle of the ring until the latter dropped his foe with a nice vertical suplex. Nakamura fired himself up and teed off on Zayn with strikes and an enzuigiri that sent Zayn stunned into the corner. The challenger followed that with a heel kick to the face of Zayn that got a near-fall. Nakamura maintained his strong-style-tinged assault on Zayn until a clothesline turned him upside down.

Zayn headed to the top rope and missed with a dive. He attempted a Blue Thunder Bomb, but fell victim to Nakamura’s patented spinning kick. In the corner, Nakamura had Zayn dead to rights for a Kinshasa, but he got countered into a Michinoku Driver for a near-fall. After pinfalls were traded, Zayn connected with the Exploder Suplex into the corner and looked like he’d have the Helluva Kick in the chamber. Nakamura avoided that and went to the top with a diving kick to the back of Zayn’s head. One, two… not yet! With the match still to be decided, we went to another break.

SmackDown returned from the break with Zayn and Nakamura once more mixing it up with strikes until Zayn’s attempt at a Blue Thunder Bomb was countered into a modified Kinshasa to the back of the U.S. Champion’s head. Zayn instinctively rolled out of the ring as he caught Nakamura by surprise with an Exploder Suplex into the barricade. Zayn then hit a Helluva Kick before he threw Nakamura back into the ring before the count of ten. As Zayn tried to get back into the ring, Nakamura caught him by surprise with a Sudden Impact kick that got a near-fall. He then got Zayn with the Scorpio Rising and looked to have the Kinshasa lock and loaded. That was until a hooded man attacked

The hooded man pulled Nakamura out and threw him over the barricade. The man revealed himsefl to be the returning Tama Tonga, as the other members of the M.F.T.s appeared around the ring to surround Zayn. The group laid a beatdown on both champion and challenger, as Solo Sikoa took in the destruction.

Sami Zayn def. Shinsuke Nakamura via DQ to retain the United States Championship

A great match ruined by another DQ finish. I’m not sure if dressing up this Bloodline retread in facepaint in a “Malibu Stacy with a new hat” situation is going to make them any interesting, but I guess I can’t fault WWE for trying again with this, as daunting a task as it may seem to be. That said, it’s at least great to see Tama Tonga back from injury.

**********

– Backstage, we learned that on next week’s SmackDown, Drew McIntyre and Jacob Fatu would go one on one. As McIntyre discussed this with GM Nick Aldis, he was attacked by an irate Fatu, who wanted to get a little payback on the assault from earlier in the night. A gaggle of referees and officials tried their best to keep the two separated.

Stephanie Vaquer & Tiffany Stratton vs. Giulia & Kiana James

Vaquer and James started things off for their respective teams as the latter delivered a cheapshot to her opponent. Vaquer answered with a back suplex and caught James in prime position for an early-match Devil’s Kiss, much to the crowd’s delight. James retreated and tagged Giulia as we headed into an oddly-placed commercial break.

The action resumed from the break with Giulia throwing Vaquer into her team’s corner as James tagged herself in and kept the Women’s World Champion isolated for a moment. Giulia was the legal woman again as she took off from the top with a dropkick for a near-fall. Vaquer managed to kick Giulia aside which gave her enough time to tag in Stratton.

The WWE Women’s Champion was a house of fire as she unleashed a flurry of offense on James with a somersault clothesline into the corner followed by a slam for the near-fall. Stratton stunned James into the middle rope and looked to have a running attack, but Giulia created a distraction as she then entered the match with an Arrivederci Knee to Stratton. Giulia then connected with a Northern Lights Bomb, but Vaquer broke up the pin.

As things began to break down, Stratton got the Alabama Slam on James as Vaquer entered the with a tag. Vaquer connected with a modified version of the Angel’s Wings, but Giulia broke up the count. Stratton with a blind tag as Vaquer launched herself onto Giulia outside to take her out of the equation. Back in the ring, Stratton finished James off in short order with the Prettiest Moonsault Ever.

Vaquer and Stratton stood in front of the Women’s Crown Jewel Championship and faced off after the match.

Tiffany Stratton & Stephanie Vaquer def. Giulia & Kiana James

Standard women’s tag team fare, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I do think that giving Giulia and James the win here wouldn’t have hurt as it’d at least create a new set of challengers for Stratton to contend with post-Crown Jewel.

**********

– As Zaria and Sol Ruca were chatting amongst themselves, the Women’s Tag Team Champions, Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss appeared and told the NXT stars that facing them would be not be an easy battle to expect. Utlimately, Flair and Bliss granted Zaria and Ruca a chance at their Women’s Tag Titles.

WWE Tag Team Championships: The Wyatt Sicks (Joe Gacy & Dexter Lumis) (w/ Nikki Cross & Erick Rowan) (c) vs. The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) (w/ B-Fab)

The match got going right away as Gacy and Lumis ran into the ring and immediately began to fight with Dawkins and Ford. As things finally setled down, the Profits had the upper hand early as they threw their weight around at Gacy’s expense. Outside the ring, Dawkins barrelled through both Gacy and Lumis, which sent the two Wyatts into the timekeeper’s corner. We headed to the commercial break with the Street Profits having control in the early stages of this match.

We returned from the break as the Wyatts had Ford staggered in the corner and ready for a double superplex. Dawkins emerged and held Gacy and Lumis in place instead, as Ford recovered and delivered a double blockbuster on the WWE Tag Champs. The cover, but Nikki Cross put Gacy’s foot on the bottom rope. Things broke down as B-Fab attacked Cross on the outside. Erick Rowan stood behind B-Fab, which allowed Cross to go on the attack with a leap. Dawkins then launched over the top rope to take down Rowan as Ford was the legal man.

From the top rope, Ford wanted to hit the Frog Splash, but Lumis pulled Gacy out of harm’s way, which caused Ford to hit the mat hard instead. The two Wyatts then finished things off with the Plague on Ford to retain the WWE Tag Titles.

After the match, Solo Sikoa and the M.F.T.s. appeared and had a brief, but tense staredown with the Wyatt Sicks.

The Wyatt Sicks def. The Street Profits via pinfall to retain the WWE Tag Team Championships

Just a standard tag match, with nothing really to write home about. The tease with the M.F.T.s targeting the Wyatts certainly happened, I do at least want to see where this goes initially.

**********

– The Miz was interviewed backstage about his betrayal of Carmelo Hayes on last week’s SmackDown, as he called himself “the spotlight” and that Hayes “blew it” in his eyes and that his former Melo Don’t Miz partner ultimately “missed”.

– We got a recap of the Crown Jewel Kickoff and Seth Rollins’ abrupt exit from the kickoff while The Vision was on stage, with the implication being that Rollins’ confidence is in question ahead of his match with Cody Rhodes tomorrow.

Crown Jewel Final Card

  • Men’s Crown Jewel Championship: Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins
  • Women’s Crown Jewel Championship: Stephanie Vaquer vs. Tiffany Stratton
  • Australian Street Fight: Roman Reigns vs. Bronson Reed
  • Rhea Ripley & IYO SKY vs. Asuka & Kairi Sane
  • John Cena vs. AJ Styles

Last Man Standing: Damian Priest vs. Aleister Black

We got going right away with Priest pummeling Black in the corner before he threw him over the top rope. Priest pulled out a kendo stick from under the ring, but got caught by surprise with a kick from Black. Priest recovered and battered his foe with the top half of the steel steps as the fight made its way through the entry way. We took a commercial break after one more steel steps strike from Priest to Black.

SmackDown’s main event resumed as Priest sent Black crashing into the barricade with a fierce throw. The referee began his count, but Black managed to get himself back on his feet as he ran back into the ring. Priest connected with an elevated Flatliner on Black before he set up the bottom half of the steel steps in the middle of the ring. Priest looked for a superplex onto the steps, but Black escaped and instead sent his rival face first into the steps.

Priest wanted to hit the South of Heaven on Black right on the steps, but he couldn’t connect with it. Black headed up top and crashed onto Priest with a Meteora. That, however,was not enough to keep Priest down for the count. With the steps turned on its side, Priest threw Black face-first onto it. As the action spilled to the outside, Priest was thrown against the steel steps as his neck bounced off of it. Somehow, Priest recovered and shoved Black onto the top of the commentary table, as we took another break in the action.

We returned as Priest unleashed the pain on Black with a kendo stick to the back. He tried for some sort of an Old School-style maneuver, but Black kicked Priest upon landing, which sent him out of the ring upon impact. Black took a chair from the crowd and battered Priest in the ribs with it repeatedly. Priest recovered in time and chokeslammed Black against the apron before delivering a Razor’s Edge onto the commentary table. Black was seemingly out cold, but he woke up and got himself back to his feet before the count of nine.

As Black stood up, Priest once again threw Black with a Razor’s Edge onto the table. Once more, Black rolled off the top of the table, which allowed him to beat the count of ten. After this, the battle broke out into the crowd as Priest took Black to a set of production boxes. With Black and Priest on top of a platform, the latter looked to have this won. That was, until Zelina Vega appeared and checked up on Black, as he pleaded for Priest not to do any damage. Priest did not comply, and ended up eating a fireball to the face, followed by a Black Mass kick that sent him crashing through a table. The referee made the count, and Priest was unable to make it to the count of ten, which gave Black the victory.

Aleister Black def. Damian Priest via pinfall

**********

A fun main event with a very interesting finish as Zelina Vega made her return to WWE TV with a new gimmick as she’s now aligned with her real-life spouse Aleister Black. That should be interesting to see going forward.

All in all, this wasn’t really much of a go-home show for Crown Jewel as it was basically an extended PLE where matches that otherwise wouldn’t fit the Levesque-ian way of 5 matches per PLE card are booked. It’s certainly not bad thing to position pre-PLE editions of SmackDown. The matches that we did get were at least decent, and it was nice to see some surprise returns to spice things up.

Tiffany Stratton calls Las Vegas ‘the perfect place’ to host WWE WrestleMania

Posted on by Ian Carey

Tiffany Stratton says Las Vegas is “the perfect place” for WWE WrestleMania.

WrestleMania 42 will be the second straight year the event is held at Allegiant Stadium in the city. During a recent interview with Sidewalks Entertainment, Stratton referred to it as the “sports entertainment capital of the world.”

Stratton said:

“Last year was actually my first WrestleMania ever. I was super nervous. It was in Las Vegas, so I felt like it was the perfect state for my first ever WrestleMania. I feel like Las Vegas is iconic. It’s the sports entertainment (capital) of the world, so it was the perfect place to host WrestleMania.”

Stratton grew up in Prior Lake, Minnesota, and competed in gymnastics, saying her ultimate goal was to make the USA Olympic team, but injuries prevented her from doing so. However, she says gymnastics helped prepare her for the live aspect of pro wrestling.

“I feel like because of gymnastics, I work really well under pressure because in gymnastics you only have one chance to do your routine flawlessly. So that kind of carried over to wrestling, with it being live and stuff like that.”

Stratton trained at Ken Anderson’s school in Minnesota before signing with WWE in 2021. She spoke about how, following the end of her gymnastics career, it was her mother who suggested wrestling could be her future.

Stratton continued:

“I saw wrestling on Instagram and my mom and I too were scrolling through the channels and SmackDown was on and my mom had mentioned that’s totally something I can see you doing and I was like ‘Yeah whatever mom, it’s fine.’ And then eventually I was like you know what? I’m going to give it a go.”

She enrolled in classes at Anderson’s The Academy: School of Professional Wrestling, and then her mom got in touch with AWA legend Greg Gagne, which led to her receiving a WWE tryout over SummerSlam week in 2021.

“He agreed to train me and helped me get a tryout, and then I tried out and they signed me a week later and I went through the whole system,” she said of Gagne.

The full interview is below:

WWE SmackDown live results: Cody Rhodes & Randy Orton vs. The Vision

Posted on by Marc Quill

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown from Cincinnati’s Heritage Bank Center will be headlined by WWE Champion Cody Rhodes teaming up with Randy Orton to take on The Vision’s Bronson Reed & Bron Breakker.

Last week, Rhodes confronted Paul Heyman and suggested that the loyalties of World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins’ “Oracle” may lie with Brock Lesnar once more. This brought Breakker and Reed out to confront Rhodes before Orton evened the odds.

Men’s United States Champion Sami Zayn continues his open challenge series after another successful defense last week against NXT star Je’von Evans. Tonight marks the fifth time Zayn has defended his title since winning it in late August.

Coming off her title defense last Friday, WWE Women’s World Champion Tiffany Stratton will have a contract signing with Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer as their Crown Jewel Championship match approaches.

Plus, Damian Priest said that he plans on issuing a challenge to his rival Aleister Black.

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

**********

– Over shots of the Cincinnati skyline, we were welcomed to tonight’s SmackDown by Michael Cole before we headed to the arena for our opening segment.

Cody Rhodes kicks off SmackDown

The entrance of the Undisputed WWE Champion, Cody Rhodes, got things going for tonight’s show as he made his way to the ring with some things to say on his mind ahead of his tag match with Randy Orton against Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed later tonight.

As Rhodes got into the ring, he started off with his usual “what do you want to talk about?” icebreaker. Paul Heyman interrupted him, accompanied by Breakker and Reed at his side. “What would we like to talk about?” asked Heyman.

At the same time, Orton appeared at Rhodes’ side to even the odds as Heyman introduced himself in his usual manner. Heyman said that he and the Brons weren’t here to talk to Rhodes, but rather to Orton. He said that Orton wasn’t taking his calls all week, which meant that he had the Brons corner Rhodes, which would bring out the Viper. According to Heyman, that wasn’t a prediction, but a spoiler.

Heyman pointed out that no matter the strategy that Orton and Rhodes would come up with, it wouldn’t be enough as they’d lose to Breakker and Reed later tonight. Heyman asked Orton what would happen if he and Rhodes lost tonight, attempting to stir the pot. “That’s the Undisputed World Champion, we could do so much more than that,” Heyman asked Orton.

He said, that either way, no matter how we’d look at it, the alliance between Orton and Rhodes would not last, because that’s not a prediction, but rather a prophecy. The Seth Rollins-less Vision made their exit as this segment ended.

Seems like a bit of foreshadowing for what could be a future feud for Cody Rhodes, perhaps for down the line, just not tonight, however. Still, an intriguing start to the show, nonetheless.

**********

– As Carmelo Hayes walked in the locker room, the Miz accosted him and chewed him out for letting him get beat last week. Hayes responded by saying that this partnership between him and Miz was done because Miz was simply standing in his way when he was supposed to be watching his back. Hayes said that he was being cool about this because normally, he shoots first. He told Miz that “we good” before walking off.

U.S. Title Open Challenge: Sami Zayn (c) vs. Aleister Black

Before the match, Carmelo Hayes addressed Zayn, saying that this time it’d be different because nobody was here to cloud to his vision or judgement. He said that he’s been the best that he’d ever been. However, before Hayes could actually make his way to the ring, The Miz attacked him with a Skull Crushing Finale, which left him laying. WWE officials shooed Miz away as they checked up on the downed Hayes.

Aleister Black appeared and said he’d take the open challenge as this match got underway officially after that.

Zayn dropped Black with a series of arm drags before he transitioned into an hammerlock following the last one. Black escaped the hold and kicked Zayn in the face as he took over with strikes in the corner. Black maintained control with a boot to the face of Zayn, which left him trapped against the ropes momentarily. Black took us into the commercial break with a springboard moonsault on Zayn, as the challenger still had the upper hand.

We returned from the break with Zayn having fought back and battering Black with punch after punch in the corner, followed by repeated stomps to his foe’s head. Zayn leapfrogged above Black before he clotheslined him out of the ring. He followed that up with a moonsault from the apron that floored Black at ringside. Back in the ring, Zayn caught Black with a nice Michinoku Driver for the close kickout at two.

As Black recovered, he and Zayn got into a standing switch standoff until the challenger blasted him with a kick to the head and a German suplex. One, two… not quite. Zayn avoided a spinning kick and attempted a Blue Thunder Bomb, but got countered into a discus knee by Black instead. The challenger headed to the top rope, but Zayn intercepted and left him staggered long enough for a superplex that took both men out as we got another break in the action here.

Our match continued as Zayn headed to the top and took a leap, but he was skeetshotted with a kick by Black upon landing. That, however, was still not enough for Black to pick up the win and the U.S. Title. With both men on their feet, they exchanged strikes until Black gained the upper hand with strikes in the corner. In the midst of this, Zayn attempted a Helluva Kick, but Black dodged and responded with a top rope Meteora. One, two…. Zayn just managed to kick out! As Zayn was at Black’s mercy, Damian Priest appeared at ringside and created just enough of a distraction for Zayn to catch Black with a Helluva Kick, followed by the Blue Thunder Bomb. One, two, three. This one’s done.

After Zayn left the ring, Priest cleared the commentary table and hoisted the fallen Black above him. He then threw Black through the commentary table with a Razor’s Edge.

Sami Zayn def. Aleister Black via pinfall to retain the United States Championship

This was probably the weakest of Zayn’s U.S. Title Open challenge matches, but it was still an entertaining bout nonetheless. Zayn has proven himself a workhorse in the past few weeks and this match was no exception to that.

**********

– As SmackDown GM Nick Aldis was talking to NXT talents Zaria and Sol Ruca, he was interrupted by Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre, who were looking to recruit the team into the Secret Hervice. However, that turned sideways as the two instead found themselves booked in a match against Zaria and Ruca by Mr. Aldis.

Chelsea Green & Alba Fyre vs. Zaria & Sol Ruca

Zaria and Fyre opened the match for their respective teams with a lockup. Zaria grabbed Fyre by her throat and threw her into the corner and laid into her foe with a strike. As Fyre escaped, Zaria took her to the opposite corner and held her up with an elevated sleeper. The Australian followed that up with a top rope clothesline. After Green tagged herself in, Ruca entered the match and held her with an interesting modified tarantula hold of sorts, followed by an X-Factor for the near-fall.

The Secret Hervice showed some effective teamwork as they took out Ruca with a double team dropkick that sent the Women’s North American Champion to the outside. Zaria was taken out of the equation with a dive from Fyre. With Ruca isolated, Green and Fyre maintained control for a bit. Zaria eventually recovered and threw Fyre into the barricade. Back in the ring, Green fell victim to Ruca’s incredible Sol Snatcher cutter for the victory.

Zaria & Sol Ruca def. Chelsea Green & Alba Fyre via pinfall

A rather short match here, but it’s nice to see some variety in the SmackDown women’s roster in the form of some NXT stars showing up, and their eventual Women’s Tag Title match against Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair should be entertaining.

**********

– Backstage, Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss were interviewed about the victorious team of Ruca and Zaria. The Women’s Tag Champions said that their potential challengers have proven themselves, but that they need to be ready when it’s their turn to challenge for Flair & Bliss’s titles. As the champs left, Bliss humorously imitated Flair’s “woooo”.

– A recap of Roman Reigns’ return on Raw this past Monday was shown. Reigns was also advertised to appear on next week’s edition of Raw.

– Cody Rhodes talked with Randy Orton, who said that nobody should care what Paul Heyman said earlier. The two exchanged a fistbump, their alliance seemingly stronger than ever.

Stephanie Vaquer vs. Tiffany Stratton contract signing

SmackDown GM Nick Aldis was in the ring to moderate this contract signing for Vaquer vs. Stratton for the Crown Jewel Championship at next week’s Crown Jewel event in Perth. Stratton was introduced first, followed by Vaquer.

Once both women in the ring, Vaquer took to the mic first. She said that she respected Stratton, and that even though she has only been Women’s World Champion for two weeks, she said she’d prove herself to be the best. “Let the best woman win,” said Vaquer.

Stratton answered that although she and Vaquer were the best women right now in WWE, she’d be the one to beat Vaquer at Crown Jewel. Stratton said that it didn’t matter if they were in Cincinnati or Perth or anywhere else, it’d always be Tiffy Time. Both women signed the contract amicably and shook hands. The contract signing ended without incident.

However, as Stratton was walking out, she was ambushed from behind by Giulia. Kiana James told Aldis not to notarize the contract just yet. James then tried to recruit Vaquer for her services, as she said Giulia outshined even Stratton as the top star on SmackDown. As James continued to talk, Stratton pulled James out and attacked her. Vaquer caught Giulia napping and had her hoisted up for the SVB, but the Women’s U.S. Champion managed to escape unscathed.

I low-key enjoyed this segment, if only for giving us something different in terms of Giulia potentially running back her rivalry against Women’s World Champion Vaquer. Even if it’s a tag match with Vaquer and Stratton vs. Giulia and James, it’s something I want to see to break up the monotony that the SmackDown women’s divison has been mired in for the last few months.

**********

– We got Earlier Today footage of Je’von Evans talking with Mr. Aldis about his future potentially involving a move to SmackDown. Rey Fenix appeared and got friendly with Evans, as Los Garza talked trash to the two. This led to Mr. Aldis scheduling a tag match with Fenix & Evans vs. Los Garza.

– A vignette from Jacob Fatu aired. He said that he was tired of people lying and talking out of their ass. Fatu declared that Drew McIntyre was going to the bottom, while he was headed straight to the top at the expense of the Scotsman.

Je’von Evans & Rey Fenix vs. Los Garza (Angel & Berto)

Evans caught Berto with a high-flying crossbody to start things off. Berto responded with a knee to the face as he then attacked Evans with punches to the face, followed by a hard kick. In the corner, Evans attempted to fight out of trouble, but got hit with a dropkick by Berto. The high-flying Evans countered with a springboard hurricanrana on Berto. Los Garza, however, caught the young gun with a double team kick to the face, followed by a punch.

Fenix entered the match and took flight with a tornillo dive that took Angel out. Berto then took out Fenix with a dive of his own. This was then followed by Evans soaring with a big time leap over the top rope that took everyone out as the action headed to a break.

SmackDown returned with Angel punching away at Fenix in the corner, until his foe escaped and caught him with a hard kick to the face. On the other side of the ring, Evans clotheslined Berto out of the ring. Things broke down a bit as Los Garza coordinated with a unique double team move where Berto kicked Evans while Angel held Fenix up. Despite that move, it still wasn’t enough to end this match.

Fenix and Angel took each other out with a clothesline as Evans got the hot tag. Evans hit Berto in with an elevated Cheeky Nandos kick before he dove onto both Angel and the cameraman at ringside. As Evans entered the ring, Berto tried to catch him by surprise with a rope-assisted pin, but the referee broke it up.

As Angel entered the ring, he fell victim to a rebound springboard kick by Evans as Fenix re-entered the match. Fenix lifted Berto up for the Mexican Muscle Buster, while Evans intercepted Angel with an OG Cutter. Fenix pinned Berto to pick up the victory for his team.

Rey Fenix & Je’von Evans def. Los Garza via pinfall

This was a great little match and if it was a tryout of sorts for Evans to be a part of the SmackDown roster moving forward, I’d say he passes, as his high-flying moveset is perfect to pop crowds.

**********

– As Damian Priest was interviewed about how far his rivalry with Aleister Black would go, Kit Wilson interrupted and told him that he’d do everything he can to stand up against what he saw as “toxic masculinity”. Priest answered by pushing Wilson on his wheelchair far enough to send him crashing into some pipes. Ultimately, Priest challenged Black to a Last Man Standing match for next week’s SmackDown.

– A vignette from Solo Sikoa and his M.F.T.s aired, focusing on Talla Tonga.

– The Street Profits were interviewed about their WWE Tag Title matches against the Wyatt Sicks on next week’s SmackDown. Montez Ford said that they weren’t just fighting for the Tag Titles, but they were fighting for each other. The Wyatt Sicks interrupted on the screen behind the Profits, and talked trash to their challengers.

Next Week on SmackDown

  • Tiffany Stratton & Stephanie Vaquer vs. Kiana James & Giulia
  • Last Man Standing: Damian Priest vs. Aleister Black
  • WWE Tag Team Championships: The Wyatt Sicks’ Dexter Lumis & Joe Gacy vs. The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins)
  • Sami Zayn’s U.S. Title Open Challenge

Cody Rhodes & Randy Orton vs. The Vision (Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed)

Our main event kicked off with Orton facing off against Breakker in the middle of the ring. Orton quickly pushed Breakker into the corner and opened up with an European uppercut, followed by repeated punches to Breakker’s face. Orton followed it up with a clothesline over the top rope as we went to commercial not even a minute into this one.

SmackDown’s main event bout continued as Orton was in the grip of Bronson Reed. During the break, Orton was dropped across the announce table by Reed, which led us to this point in the match. Back to live action, Reed ran shoulder-first into the steel post after Orton dodged at the last second. Rhodes entered the match with a tag, as he took out Reed with a Disaster Kick. Both Reed and Breakker were taken out to the ringside area and fell victim to a suicide dive by the Undisputed WWE Champion.

Back in the ring, Breakker struck Rhodes from behind while Reed had the referee distracted, as Reed seized the opportunity to punish his foe with clubbing blows. Rhodes turned it around with a dropdown uppercut, but found himself on the receiving end of a World’s Strongest Slam by Reed. Breakker tagged in and absolutely blasted Rhodes with a charged clothesline and we once again headed to one last commercial break in the midst of the action.

As we returned from the break, it was still The Vision in the driver’s seat as the Brons kept Rhodes isolated in their corner. Rhodes managed to kick Breakker away in the hopes of getting a tag, but Reed stamped out those hopes. The Undisputed WWE Champion avoided a Reed senton, which finally allowed Orton to get the hot tag.

It was classic Orton at his best as he hit his signature powerslam on both Breakker and Reed. However, the titanic Australian responded with the Jagged Edge on Orton. Reed tried to head to the top rope, but Orton recovered and met him at the pass with a massive superplex. Breakker managed to break up the pin at two. Rhodes and Breakker fought as the hotshot flew from the apron and took out Rhodes with a diving clothesline through the barricade.

In the ring, Orton had Reed scouted for the RKO, but Paul Heyman created a distraction as Seth Rollins stepped in and stomped Orton. This allowed Reed to pick up the victory with a Tsunami.

After the match, Rollins told Breakker and Reed to back off while Rhodes was in the ring to check up on Orton. Heyman advised Rollins not to go in for the kill, but to no avail. Rollins tried to go for a Stomp, but Rhodes avoided it and instead caught Rollins with the Cross Rhodes to end SmackDown.

The Vision (Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed) def. Randy Orton & Cody Rhodes via pinfall

**********

Above average main event, but the Brons getting the victory was the right call, perhaps to further tease the Orton & Rhodes dissention mentioned at the top of the show.

Despite that, I quite enjoyed this week’s NXT-infused edition of SmackDown. The matches were all good and as a result, the two hours flew by quickly. As always, Sami Zayn’s U.S. Title Open Challenge was the standout (distraction finish aside), but the Evans/Fenix vs. Los Garza tag match was solid action too. All in all, tonight was entertaining.

WWE SmackDown updates: Contract signing, Damian Priest

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A contract signing will go down on WWE SmackDown tonight as the build to Crown Jewel: Perth continues

WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton and Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer are set to clash at the October 11 PLE to determine the 2025 women’s Crown Jewel Champion. To make that match officially official, the two will take part in a contract signing on tonight’s show.

Though this ceremonial contract signing segment is happening, the match was confirmed last week when Stratton retained her WWE Women’s Championship over Nia Jax and Jade Cargill in a triple threat match.

Vaquer’s spot at Crown Jewel has been in place since Wrestlepalooza, when she defeated IYO SKY to win the Women’s World Championship after the belt was vacated due to Naomi’s pregnancy.

Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, Ohio is hosting SmackDown tonight. It had been announced that Damian Priest would be in action against an unnamed opponent, but WWE’s website has removed that from their preview. Whether Priest will still be wrestling on the episode is not known. He told TMZ Sports that his plan for the show is to issue a challenge to Aleister Black.

WWE SmackDown (Friday, October 3) —

  • Cody Rhodes & Randy Orton vs. Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed
  • Sami Zayn United States Championship open challenge
  • Crown Jewel: Perth contract signing with WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton and Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer

Wrestling Weekly: AEW Dynamite anniversary recap & Roman Reigns returns to Raw

Posted on by Victor Sosa

Image: AEW

Les Thatcher and Vic Sosa are back for Wrestling Weekly after a busy week that saw AEW have their anniversary edition of Dynamite and Roman Reigns make his return to Raw.

The guys also discuss the return of Andrade to AEW and what might be on the horizon for him as well as some thoughts on the ending of the WWE Women’s Title match on SmackDown.

Thanks for listening and have a great weekend~!

Click here to listen (sub needed)

Updated WWE SmackDown card: Open challenge, Tiffany Stratton appears, more

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Some new announcements have been made for this Friday’s WWE SmackDown card.

Taking place at Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, the episode will be headlined by Cody Rhodes & Randy Orton teaming up against Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed of The Vision. Three new announcements for the show have now been made, with Sami Zayn, Tiffany Stratton, and Damian Priest set to appear.

– Zayn will continue his United States Championship open challenge series. With the aim of being a fighting champion, Zayn has made weekly title defenses the staple of his reign. He’s defended the belt against John Cena, Rey Fenix, Carmelo Hayes, and Je’Von Evans in consecutive weeks. His fifth defense will take place this Friday against a yet-to-be-announced opponent.

– Stratton retained her WWE Women’s Championship over Nia Jax and Jade Cargill last week. She now is slated to face Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer at Crown Jewel: Perth on October 11 to decide the 2025 women’s Crown Jewel Champion. Stratton will look ahead to that matchup on Friday’s SmackDown.

– Priest, who is involved in an ongoing feud with Aleister Black, will be in action on the episode. His opponent has not been announced.

WWE SmackDown (Friday, October 3) —

  • Cody Rhodes & Randy Orton vs. Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed
  • Sami Zayn United States Championship open challenge
  • Tiffany Stratton looks ahead to Crown Jewel: Perth match against Stephanie Vaquer
  • Damian Priest in action

WWE SmackDown live results: Women’s title triple threat

Posted on by Marc Quill

Tiffany Stratton defends her WWE Women’s Championship against both Nia Jax and Jade Cargill in a triple threat match as part of tonight’s WWE SmackDown from the Kia Center in Orlando, Florida.

Stratton last defended her title two weeks ago in a no contest against Cargill due to a Jax attack. An altercation between the three last week led to Nick Aldis making this match for tonight. It will determine who heads to Crown Jewel: Perth to face Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer.

After defending his WWE title at Wrestlepalooza against Drew McIntyre, Cody Rhodes will appear on tonight’s show to address his upcoming Crown Jewel match against World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins.

United States Champion Sami Zayn will hold another open challenge after successfully retaining against Carmelo Hayes last week.

The card is rounded out by Michin & B-Fab joining forces to take on Women’s United States Champion Giulia & Kiana James in tag team action.

The show began with the updated WWE signature open introduced this week. We then got shots of Tiffany Stratton, Jade Cargill, Nia Jax, and Sami Zayn arriving to the Kia Center.

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

**********

– Michael Cole welcomed us to tonight’s show as Booker T was introduced as his partner on commentary for tonight. Cole then tossed to a recap of what happened at last Saturday’s Wrestlepalooza.

Paul Heyman opens SmackDown

After the Wrestlepalooza recap ended, we returned to the arena with Paul Heyman in the ring. He did his usual “ladies and gentlemen” introduction as he said he’d paraphrase a pseudo-de facto secondary champion, “So, Orlando, what do you want to talk about?” Heyman asked if we’d like to talk about the World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins as the fans chanted “O.T.C.” at him.

Heyman said he’d love to talk about to Roman Reigns, but it’s disrespectful to speak of the injured after he got stretchered out of Paris following Bronson Reed’s attack. He then asked if we should talk about the man who will main event WrestleMania into the 2030s and 2040s, Bron Breakker. Heyman then turned his attention to the conspiracy theories and rumors about Brock Lesnar. Before Heyman could go on further, the theme of Cody Rhodes cut him off.

The Undisputed WWE Champion made his way down to the ring as the Orlando crowd cheered him on. Once Rhodes got into the ring, he took a mic and asked if we all got a chance to watch the Wrestlepalooza recap. He said that he made a mistake last week in calling Paul Heyman a “goon”. Rhodes called Heyman the most smartest man that he knows as he said that he’d go ahead and ask the question: tell him more about Brock Lesnar. Rhodes then had a still from Wrestlepalooza of Heyman introducing Lesnar before the match.

Rhodes said that the face on Heyman last Saturday, that it wasn’t the face of a guy treating it as a one-night thing. He asked Heyman if he was talking to the Oracle, to the Wiseman, or the Advocate? Heyman responded by saying that Rhodes was talking to the GOAT and that he respected him for confronting him about Brock Lesnar. He said that when Lesnar is around, everyone will be in danger. Heyman mentioned that Lesnar is not here, but the bad news for Rhodes, he’s got others here instead as Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed appeared.

As Breakker and Reed faced down the Undisputed WWE Champion, Rhodes tried to give the two advice as he asked “who is Paul Heyman loyal to?” Rhodes said he didn’t know for sure, but he said that it ain’t to the Brons. This then led to Rhodes attempting to fight the Vision’s deadly duo, but the numbers game got the better of him. Randy Orton made the save as he took the fight to Breakker and Reed. Orton delivered an RKO on Reed, while Rhodes clotheslined Breakker out of the ring.

An interesting open to this week’s show, and again, I’m left cold at the idea of seeing another Brock Lesnar match, as they teased a potential title match with him against Cody Rhodes. As for the now, it seems we’ll likely get Rhodes and Randy Orton fighting The Vision soon.

**********

WWE Tag Team Title No. 1 Contenders Match: The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) vs. Melo Don’t Miz (Carmelo Hayes & The Miz)

The match got underway with Ford and Miz as the legal men. As Ford tried to get at Hayes on the apron, Miz attempted to get an early rollup pin, to no avail. Hayes tagged in and tried to keep things going for his team, but he ate a high knee to the face from Ford. Dawkins entered the match as Miz tried to get involved. Miz got thrown onto a downed Hayes for his troubles. At ringside, Dawkins tried for a running attack, but was met by a dropkick by Hayes, as the action went to a break.

We returned to the action as Miz drilled Ford with a kneeling DDT for the near-fall. The cohesive unit of Hayes and Miz continued to work over Ford as they grounded him with an assisted double-team clothesline in their corner. With Ford struggling to get himself back up, Miz taunted Dawkins in the corner, but paid for it with a kick to the face from Ford.

Hayes got the tag as he delivered a cheap shot to Dawkins on the Street Profits corner. Meanwhile, Ford attempted to fight his way out of enemy territory and managed to do so after sending Miz out of the ring. Ford tried to tag Dawkins, but Miz pulled Dawkins from the outside. This allowed Hayes to hit Ford with the First 48. Hayes headed up top and looked for Nothin’ But Net, but Miz once again selfishly tagged himself in. This gave Ford the opening to get the tag on Hayes.

The Street Profits took command as Dawkins rocked Miz with his corkscrew elbow followed by a spinning neckbreaker. With Ford as the legal man, he took to the skies with his From the Heavens frog splash. As Ford pinned Miz, Hayes didn’t seem to be in a hurry to break up the pin as the Street Profits became No. 1 contenders for The Wyatt Sicks’ WWE Tag Titles.

After the match, The Wyatt Sicks appeared in front of the commentary table and simply stared down the victorious duo of Ford and Dawkins.

The Street Profits def. Melo Don’t Miz via pinfall

That was a decent match to start off the in-ring action tonight, and it seems we’re getting forward movement with the Miz/Hayes breakup if that finish is any indication, so it’s a win all around.

**********

– As Jade Cargill was interviewed ahead of her triple threat match for the WWE Women’s Championship, the Women’s World Heavyweight Champion, Stephanie Vaquer confronted her. Cargill said that storm would be coming Vaquer’s way at Crown Jewel. Vaquer responded by saying that she’d be ready.

Giulia & Kiana James vs. Michin & B-Fab

B-Fab opened the match by blasting James with some strikes, before she got taken down by a clothesline from the business associate of Giulia. B-Fab responded with a dropkick to James as she tagged Michin in. James managed to get the drop on Michin, which allowed Giulia to be tagged in. The Women’s U.S. Champion struck Michin with a kick, but was met with a hurricanrana by her hated rival. The tag was made to B-Fab, who kept Giulia grounded with a double team move.

Outside the ring, Giulia rolled out for the retreat and things broke down with the Women’s U.S. Champion getting waylaid by a dropkick from the commentary table by Michin, which took us into the commercial break halfway through this one.

SmackDown returned with B-Fab in trouble as James and Giulia teed off with a big boot, followed by a missile dropkick. James re-entered the match and maintained the upper hand on B-Fab with a punch. A missed elbow dropped allowed B-Fab to create some separation as she desperately tried to go for a tag to Michin. One final side kick from B-Fab finally got the hot tag from Michin.

Michin dropped James with a DDT, using Giulia as a base. As things broke down, Michin hit James with Eat Defeat, but that sent her to Giulia’s corner, which allowed the Women’s U.S. Champion to make the tag. Giulia flattened Michin with the Arrivederci Knee, followed by a Northern Lights Bomb with some added sauce for the pin and win.

Giulia & Kiana James def. Michin & B-Fab via pinfall

A fine enough tag match, but I’m kind of tired of the very limited Women’s U.S. Title picture where it seems like it’s just Michin as a frequent challenger to whoever is the champion. I think this is where some NXT call ups to bolster SmackDown’s women’s roster would do the most good. Giulia certainly deserves better than fighting the same two people every so often.

**********

– Backstage, Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair were confronted by Zaria and Sol Ruca, who wanted to call their shot for the WWE Women’s Tag Titles. Bliss told the two that they needed to prove themselves as she told Zaria and Ruca to get in line. After the NXT duo left, Flair expressed joy in seeing Bliss telling off Zaria and Ruca the way she did.

– A preview for Crown Jewel was shown highlight the matches we’d be seeing, including Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins for the Men’s Crown Jewel Champion, plus John Cena vs. AJ Styles.

Drew McIntyre on his Wrestlepalooza defeat

McIntyre appeared with a walking boot following his loss at Wrestlepalooza.

McIntyre said that Orlando held a special place in him, as he talked about making his WWE return here, winning his 2nd WWE Championship in front of a bunch of screen. He then talked about how he should’ve been here as the new WWE Champion as he proceeded to got mad about the referee getting in the way at Wrestlepalooza. McIntyre claimed that the referee was being paid off by Cody Rhodes as Nick Aldis soon interrupted him.

Aldis said that McIntyre was making too many excuses, and that to acknowledge that people won some and lose some. As McIntyre continued to complain about the WWE medical team being supposedly on the Cody Rhodes payroll, Aldis said that he was done and left the surly Scotsman to his own devices. Before McIntyre could continue on, the returning Jacob Fatu interrupted him unexpectedly. Fatu marched his way down to the ring and confronted McIntyre face to face.

Fatu snatched the microphone from McIntyre and told him to “shut his ass up” and to “stop bitching”. He said that McIntyre came out every week to cry, complain and blame everyone else for his wrong doing. Fatu told him to sit his peg-leg ass down. McIntyre had his turn yelled at him for trying to put him out. As Fatu was doing his usual “all gas and no brakes” spiel, McIntyre surprised him with a headbutt. Fatu answered with a superkick to the face of McIntyre before he ripped the walking boot off of the Scotsman’s foot. Fatu then kayoed McIntyre with the boot as he left him laying.

This Fatu/McIntyre feud has the potential to be very interesting, so this has my full, undivided attention for when this match goes down.

**********

– While Tiffany Stratton was getting ready for the main event triple threat match, Stephanie Vaquer sized up her potential Crown Jewel challenger, like she did with Jade Cargill earlier.

– Sami Zayn was chatting with Fenix as he prepared for his U.S. Title Open Challenge match up next. He said he didn’t know who he’d be facing, as it could be anyone from Raw or SmackDown, or even NXT, as they’re in Orlando. Shinsuke Nakamura was briefly seen in the background watching Zayn in the shadows.

– We got another vignette for Solo Sikoa’s M.F.T. that focused on J.C. Mateo. Sikoa said that Mateo was loyal to him and that he’d be rewarded as long as he was part of the Family Tree.

U.S. Title Open Challenge: Sami Zayn (c) vs. Je’von Evans

Zayn’s challenger in the Open Challenge was revealed to be Je’von Evans from NXT. Evans’ opponent at NXT No Mercy tomorrow, Josh Briggs, was seen in the crowd watching.

The two combatants locked up to start as Evans dodged Zayn acrobatically before he got thrown around by arm drags from the U.S. Champion. In the corner, Zayn lifted Evans back up as the chain wrestling battle continued between the two. In the corner, Evans delivered a chop to the chest of Zayn and backed off. In response, Zayn got in some chops of his own on Evans. The NXT young gun answered with a high-flying springboard clothesline, folowed by a leaping rana off the top rope. Evans sent Zayn to the outside and looked like he was about to take flight. Zayn put a stop to that with a hard lariat that took us into the commercial break.

We returned with Zayn literally having Evans on the ropes with a chop. The challenger fought out and threw Zayn outside of the ring before he finally connected with a soaring dive over the top rope on the U.S. Champion. In the ring, Evans countered a Blue Thunder Bomb attempt and answered with a springboard enzuigiri that took Zayn out. On the top rope, Zayn and Evans had a skirmish, with the former winning out by sending the latter.

Zayn tried to go for a diving move off the top, but Evans ran up and delivered an avalanche hurricanrana that nearly won him the U.S. Title. In the corner, Evans tried to run at Zayn, but got caught with the Exploder Suplex. A Helluva Kick attempt was intercepted by a dropkick on the button by Evans. Another attempt at the Helluva Kick was once again countered by Evans, who dodged at the last second. This left Zayn stunned as Evans connected with the OG Cutter. One, two… NO!

Evans headed to apron for a springboard, but miscalculated, as he ended up in the corner as a result following a rollthrough. Zayn made him pay with a Helluva Kick, followed by the Blue Thunder Bomb for the one, two, three.

After the match, Zayn congratulated Evans on his effort and got the fans to cheer for the NXT upstart.

Sami Zayn def. Je’von Evans to retain the United States Championship

For the fourth week running, Sami Zayn’s U.S. Title Open Challenge is the highlight of the show. The matches have been fantastic since Zayn began the Open Challenge, and this week was no exception. Je’von Evans is my favorite of NXT’s prospects, and he had a great showing here in this one. Certainly match of the night, for sure.

**********

– Nia Jax was walking backstage on her way for our main event when Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre attempted to recruit her into the Secret Hervice to fill in for the injured Piper Niven. Jax emphatically rejected the offer by ripping up the flyer that Green gave her. She was then confronted by Stephanie Vaquer, who made it clear that whoever one between Jax, Tiffany Stratton, or Jade Cargill, she’d be ready for them at Crown Jewel.

– Damian Priest was accosted by Kit Wilson, who called him the “personification of toxic masculinity”. Wilson got a bit too pushy in calling Priest toxic, but ended up running into oxygen tanks. Priest turned around and got a Black Mass kick from Aleister Black. With Priest yet again left down and out, Black mockingly wished him a happy birthday before he left.

WWE Women’s Championship Triple Threat Match: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Nia Jax vs. Jade Cargill

The match started off right away as Jax threw Stratton right into Cargill. She then slammed Stratton onto a fallen Cargill. The WWE Women’s Champion struck back with a double dropkick on Cargill and Jax as we took an oddly-placed commercial break just a minute into this main event bout.

We returned to SmackDown’s main event as Stratton flew into Jax with a suicide dive that she did not get all of. Jax recovered and pushed Cargill into the steel steps before she reentered the ring and took aim at Stratton in the corner with running charges. Cargill intercepted Jax with a shove as she then hit a modified pumphandle facebuster on Stratton. Cargill’s pin attempt was broken up by Jax. With Jax in the top rope, Stratton shoved Cargill and attempted a rollup pin. Cargill turned that into a submission hold as Stratton escaped the hold. Stratton tried for the pin, but got out of the way as Jax took off with a legdrop that ended up hitting Cargill instead.

Stratton headed to the top rope and hit a Swanton Bomb on Jax, but got put down with a superkick by Cargill which ended up actually making her fall onto the out-of-it Jax for the pin attempt. As Jax kicked out, we took one more commercial break as the action continued in picture-in-picture on the USA Network feed.

The main event returned from the break as Cargill and Stratton unexpectedly teamed up to deliver a double superplex onto Jax. With Jax still recovering, Stratton took Cargill down with the rolling senton as she then connected with the Prettiest Moonsault Ever on the still-knocked out Jax. Cargill easily broke up the pin after avoiding Stratton’s moonsault. In the middle of the ring, Stratton countered Cargill’s powerbomb into a hurricanrana. As Stratton ran towards Cargill in the corner, she was caught and promptly dropped into a modified Jaded. One, two… Nia Jax saved the match by pulling the referee out at the last possible second.

Outside the ring, Cargill cleared the commentary table, but got thrown into the steel steps by Jax. The top half of the steps was cleared as Jax attempted some sort of elevated suplex from the steps. Cargill countered that into a samoan drop onto the base of the steel steps. Cargill was shown to have suffered a cut to her upper eyebrow in the midst of this.

In the ring, Jax got dropped by an Eye of the Storm from Cargill. Stratton broke up the count and tried a pin, which led to a “phantom kickout” from Jax and some miscommunication, as it appeared to be a botched pin. The true finish came when Stratton ended things with a Prettiest Moonsault Ever on Jax, as she retained her WWE Women’s Championship in the SmackDown main event.

After the match, Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer made her way down to the ring to get a better look at her opponent at Crown Jewel in two weeks. We ended the night on the two raising their respective titles and jawjacking at one another.

Tiffany Stratton def. Nia Jax & Jade Cargill to retain the WWE Women’s Championship

**********

That was a fine main event that seemed to pick up steam a bit as the match neared its conclusion, though the botched finish with the phantom kickout did kind of put a damper on things.

That being said, I liked this week’s SmackDown a lot more than previous weeks, and after a rather mediocre Wrestlepalooza show, that is a miracle in of itself. The in-ring action was mostly great, especially the continuing success of Sami Zayn’s U.S. Title Open Challenge and we got some set ups of interesting matchups to come in the near future. All in all, a better edition of WWE’s Friday night show than what we’ve seen recently.

Daily Update: Masha Slamovich, Tiffany Stratton, Gail Kim

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Daily Update

Latest News

Latest Audio

Latest YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

  • A look at the build and the importance of Wrestlepalooza and All Out. We look at the shows and the stories behind the shows as well as what to look at as well as comments from ESPN execs on WWE, debuts of new services and other hilarious notes.
  • Betting odds for both shows
  • WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia, the fallout of the announcement, will AEW counter, should AEW counter, and what affect the going to Saudi Arabia in 2027 has already had for WrestleMania in 2026.
  • Terrence Crawford vs. Canelo Alvarez as TKO gets into boxing, what can be improved on judging, real numbers as well as made up numbers and realities the night shows about sports in general
  • A look at the CMLL anniversary show and its stories
  • Full coverage of Worlds Collide
  • Andrade fired by WWE, a look back at his career
  • The most detailed look at the ratings for all the wrestling TV shows this past week, including Netflix numbers and what they mean in reality, segment by segment and what we can learn, competition, and much more.
  • Brody King & Bandido go to Arena Mexico as AEW tag team champions but it doesn’t go right.
  • CMLL has two Arena Mexico crowds of 16,000 over the next week and a third big show as well
  • The unique Thursday show.
  • CMLL featuring women more prominently next month and Mercedes Mone returns
  • Surprise on AAA television this past week
  • Actress has just started training to be a pro wrestler after playing the role of one
  • All Japan completes Oudou tournament
  • NOAH N-1 tournament
  • Unique NJPW PPV main event
  • US team at the world championships
  • FTC investigating Ticketmaster for for price gouging
  • Notes on the deaths of Tom Gerbasi and Nacho Barrera
  • Former wrestling personality injured in accident
  • First black world champion being honored
  • Why Conor McGregor pulled out of the race for President of Ireland.
  • TKO plans for 2026
  • More on Turki Alalshikh
  • Death of Ricky Hatton
  • Gable Steveson accuses Craig Jones of trying to fix a fight
  • Boxer sues over brain injuries
  • Paul Levesque talks talent recruitment
  • Lots of injury updates

This Week’s Back Issue

FIRST TIME SUBSCRIBERS GET 50% OFF YOUR FIRST MONTH

Wednesday Update

WWE

  • WWE uploaded the full Oba Femi vs. Trick Williams title vs. title main event from NXT, which ended without a definitive winner as the TNA roster invaded.
  • In an interview with Undisputed, Jordynne Grace discussed her WWE goals:
    • I feel like I’ve had an entire career already, but now that I’m in WWE, I’m just getting started. I’d love to main event WrestleMania. That’s the ultimate goal for every wrestler.
    • I also want to maximize my time in NXT. I want to circle back and finally win the NXT women’s championship, and I want to learn as much as I possibly can from Shawn Michaels.
  • NXT wrestler Adriana Rizzo, who is out of action with a torn ACL and meniscus, noted that she is expecting to make her return in spring 2026.
  • Booker T & Brad Gilmore spoke with Trick Williams on their Hall of Fame podcast.
  • Good Karma Wrestling interviewed Jacy Jayne.
  • Going Ringside asked Tiffany Stratton about WrestleMania 43 being held in Saudi Arabia:
    • I’m excited. The last time we were there, I believe, we went on this little safari adventure. And I hope we get to do that again because that was super fun. But I think Bianca [Belair] mentioned women are making history over there, and I can’t wait to be a part of that myself. So I’m super excited, and I can’t wait.
  • WWE Evolve authority figure Stevie Turner hyped that she will be making a big announcement on tonight’s episode: “I feel like it’s time to shake it up a bit so I’m gonna make a HISTORY MAKING announcement Tonight on #WWEEvolve!”
  • A new episode of Undertaker & Michelle McCool’s Six Feet Under podcast premiered today with them reacting to fan comments.
  • The Miz was a guest on No-Contest Wrestling.

Other Wrestling

Tiffany Stratton provides injury update after missing NXT Homecoming

Posted on by Ian Carey

Tiffany Stratton shared an injury update during a recent interview.

The 26-year-old hasn’t wrestled since a double count-out with Jade Cargill on the September 12 episode of SmackDown. During the match, Stratton banged her head on the ringside floor following a moonsault attempt. NXT General Manager Ava later announced that Stratton was not medically cleared for her scheduled match at NXT Homecoming.

Stratton was a guest on Going Ringside recently and explained that she’s fine, but WWE took precautions with her after the spot on SmackDown.

“Physically, I’m okay. Obviously, on that moonsault, it was a little bit of a rough landing. However, I was fine. I think it was just more precautionary and kind of just monitoring and seeing if anything was bad about the fall. But for the most part, I’m doing good. I’m great.”

Stratton is scheduled to defend her WWE Women’s title against Cargill and Nia Jax in a three-way match on Friday’s SmackDown. It was believed the match was originally to take place at Wrestlepalooza. Bryan Alvarez addressed the situation yesterday on Wrestling Observer Live, saying:

“The three-way scheduled for next week’s SmackDown was supposed to be on this ESPN show.”

“Listen everybody, Tiffany was hurt. I presume she’s going to wrestle on Friday. It was not pulled because they ran out of time. It was pulled because she was not cleared.”

Stratton’s full appearance on Going Ringside is below. Her injury update comes in around the 3-minute mark.

https://twitter.com/avawwe_/status/1967722609988210715

WOL: Updates on Tiffany and Jey, weekend show news, more!

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including multiple injury updates, backstage notes from AEW All Out and WrestlePalooza, full reviews of both shows, and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!

Right Click Save As

WOR: AEW vs. Mania, RAW report, Tiffany, Andrade, more!

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including whether AEW should run a show WrestleMania weekend 2027, all the line-ups and changes for the upcoming week, Tiffany injured, Jungle Boy, Andrade’s future, the RAW report heading into WrestlePalooza, and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!

Timestamps:
Start: Lineups & changes for the coming week
14:48: Should AEW go head to head with WrestleMania 43?
22:05: Jack Perry update, more on Andrade WWE release, Bad Bunny concert this weekend
26:27: Boxing & MMA notes
34:27: Ratings, trying to figure out the new ESPN app
45:55: WWE Raw recap

Right Click Save As

Match changed for WWE NXT Homecoming

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Tiffany Stratton is not medically cleared.

In a social media post shortly before Raw on Monday, NXT GM Ava announced that Stratton would be unable to compete. Instead, former NXT Women’s Champion Lyra Valkyria will team with Stephanie Vaquer and Rhea Ripley to take on Fatal Influence.

“After her WWE Women’s Championship Match on SmackDown, Tiffany Stratton is not medically cleared to compete at Homecoming. As a result, former NXT Women’s Champion Lyra Valkyria will be taking her place in the six-woman tag team match against Fatal Influence,” she wrote.

https://twitter.com/avawwe_/status/1967722609988210715

Stratton defended the WWE Women’s title against Jade Cargill, a match that ended in a double countout after both women went through a barricade. Nia Jax assaulted Stratton further after the match, laying her out with the Annihilator.

Jacy Jayne and Fatal Influence were arguing in the ring last Tuesday when former NXT Women’s Champions Stratton, Vaquer, and Ripley made a surprise appearance. The show ended with the former NXT stars taking out the current crop of talent, leaving the veterans standing to close out the show.

WWE NXT Homecoming, Tuesday, September 16 —

  • Rhea Ripley, Lyra Valkyria, & Stephanie Vaquer vs. Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley & Jazmyn Nyx
  • NXT North American Champion Ethan Page defends against Tyler Breeze
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss defend against Izzi Dame & Tatum Paxley
  • Trick Williams & Carmelo Hayes vs. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa
  • The Grayson Waller Effect with NXT Champion Oba Femi & number one contender Ricky Saints

WWE SmackDown live results: Brock Lesnar appears

Posted on by Marc Quill

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

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

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

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

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

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

**********

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

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

Brock Lesnar opens SmackDown

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

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

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

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

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

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

**********

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

**********

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

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

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

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

Giulia vs. B-Fab never happened

**********

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill ended in a Double Countout

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

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

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

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

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

Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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