Smackdown – September 6, 2024: Farewell

Smackdown
Date: September 6, 2024
Location: Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re done with Bash In Berlin and that means it is time to get ready for Bad Blood, which is about a month away. Cody Rhodes is going to need a new challenger after beating Kevin Owens, which could open up a variety of options. Other than that, Bayley is back and wants the Women’s Title again so let’s get to it.

Here is Bash In Berlin if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of Cody Rhodes retaining the Smackdown World Title over Kevin Owens at Bash In Berlin.

Here is Rhodes to get things going. After saying hello to the fans in the upper deck, Rhodes welcomes Michael Cole back to Smackdown. He knows he’s going to be interrupted any second so he just invites the Bloodline out here right now. Solo Sikoa says he had Rhodes beat at Summerslam but Roman Reigns interfered.

Rhodes thinks there should be a title defense on the season premiere of Smackdown and it should be the person who stepped out of Reigns’ shadow. Sikoa likes that idea…but Rhodes is talking about Jacob Fatu. That seems to work for Fatu, but Sikoa stares at him and Fatu bows. Rhodes says it was worth a shot and Sikoa is wearing the red lei meaning the Bloodline revolves around him.

The difference is Rhodes is wearing the WWE Title, meaning everything revolves around him. The title match seems to be on for next week but Sikoa wants to fight now. DIY and the Street Profits run in, with Nick Aldis popping in to say we’ll do this in the main event. Aldis says the title match is indeed on for next week….and we’ll do that in a steel cage. While there is a good chance Roman Reigns returns next week, this was both a way to set up a major title match and also further Sikoa controlling Fatu, which is not likely to end well.

Tiffany Stratton and Pretty Deadly are getting ready for next week when Nia Jax comes in to ask if Stratton was going to cash in on her last week. Stratton says of course not and blames Chelsea Green, with Jax offering to be in her corner tonight.

Bayley vs. Tiffany Stratton

Bayley goes after the arm to start and wraps it around the rope for a bit before a middle rope armdrag gets two on Stratton. They go to the apron with Bayley trying a sunset flip, earning herself a kick to the face as we take a break. Back with Stratton hitting a rather handspringy elbow in the corner for two, followed by a dropkick into the ropes.

They go outside where Bayley reverses her into the post, setting up a running knee to the head for two back inside. The top rope elbow gets two and now Nia Jax comes out. Stratton uses the distraction to hit the Alabama Slam for two, only to walk into a Bayley To Belly. Bayley dives onto Jax, which draws her up to the apron for a distraction, meaning the referee doesn’t see Stratton’s backslide for a good while. Not that it matters as Bayley gets up and hits the Rose Plant to finish Stratton at 10:13.

Rating: C+. Bayley needed a win after her loss at Summerslam and what would Stratton be if she didn’t lose a few matches while holding the briefcase? They’ve been teasing the cash in already and it wouldn’t surprise me to see them burn the thing off next week on the season premiere. I’m not sure if Stratton will get the title, but if she does, Bayley is right there as another challenger after getting the win here.

A-Town Down Under pesters Kevin Owens about his loss so he says they should have a triple threat tonight. And he steals their Edmonton Oilers belt because it’s too nice for them.

Legado del Fantasma wants more success.

Giovanni Vinci vs. Apollo Crews

Vinci is described as a High Performance Human….and Crews rolls him up for the pin at 7 seconds. I will absolutely take this after seeing Vinci doing pretty much the same character in NXT and being about as uninteresting as imaginable.

Chelsea Green and Piper Niven rant to Nick Aldis when Michin interrupts. Aldis makes Michin vs. Green for later.

Kevin Owens vs. Austin Theory vs. Grayson Waller

Owens knocks them to the floor to start and hits a cannonball off the apron. The villains get together and load up a table, only for Owens to powerbomb Waller through it as we take a break. Back with Owens hammering on Theory, who drops him with a running forearm to the face. The rolling Stunner is cut off with a DDT though and everyone is down. Owens drops the backsplash on Theory and hits the Cannonball in the corner.

The Swanton connects for two as Waller makes the save, allowing Theory to hit a rolling Blockbuster. Waller steals the near fall and that doesn’t sit well with Theory so the argument is on. Owens knocks the villains off the ropes and hits a super Regal Roll for two on Theory. The swinging superplex gets two on Waller, setting up the Stunner to give Owens the pin on Theory at 9:46.

Rating: C+. This was little more than target practice for Owens, who needed a win after his loss over the weekend. Waller and Theory are little more than jokes at the moment, which is amazing given how hard Theory was pushed for a bit. There is still more than enough time to see things turn around, but dang it’s going to take a big moment to make it happen.

Post match Waller and Theory lay Owens out.

Video on Carmelo Hayes vs. Andrade, which is now 2-2.

Commentary thanks FOX for five years and we look back at the show’s run on the network. That’s a nice thing to see.

Here is LA Knight for a chat. Knight is about thirty days into his title reign and he already has two successful title defenses. He knows everyone is coming for the title and here is Carmelo Hayes to interrupt. Hayes talks about stealing the show week after week while Knight is just running his mouth. He’s beaten Andrade twice in a row and that puts him in line for a US Title shot.

Knight points out that the two title defenses in a month are the same as the previous champion (oddly not named) had in ten months, which sounds like him getting in a point he forgot or didn’t get to say earlier. He’s not worried about having the match of the night because he cares about winning, which brings out Andrade, who brings up his two wins over Hayes. Knight cuts off the argument but Andrade speaks Spanish. That all goes over Knight’s head but he doesn’t like Andrade’s tone. The fight is on and Knight hits the BFT on both of them.

They didn’t say that the next Hayes vs. Andrade match would be for a title shot, but assuming that is the case, I would hope that they give it one winner rather than a draw to set up a triple threat. At the same time, that’s exactly what the series needed: a prize to fight over that both of them would want.

A-Town Down Under wants a tag match with Kevin Owens and anyone he can find next week.

Chelsea Green vs. Michin

Piper Niven is here with Green and Michin is banged up after last week. Michin snaps off some armdrags to start but gets kicked down as we hear about Green’s time in TNA. A hurricanrana out of the corner puts Green down but Michin comes up holding her ribs. Niven’s distraction lets Green get two off a rollup, only to have the I’m Prettier broken up. Another distraction lets Niven kick Michin in the face, followed by a backsplash. Back in and I’m Prettier finishes for Green at 3:58.

Rating: C. Michin was fighting through the injury here but Green is on the rise and needed a win here. At some point Green is going to be turned to the good side because the fans won’t be able to ignore her awesome charisma. If she can back it up in the ring, she could be a rather big star pretty quickly. This might not have been the big turning point, but it was a nice win.

DIY and the Street Profits want to take out the Bloodline.

Bloodline vs. DIY/Street Profits

It’s a brawl to start until a triple teaming knocks Fatu outside. We settle down to Dawkins hammering on Loa and suplexing Ford into a moonsault onto him for two. Loa is back up with a clothesline and Tama comes in, only to get caught with Gargano’s slingshot spear. Ciampa comes in as well but gets dropped over the top rope by Fatu. Sikoa sends Ciampa over the announcers’ table and we take a break.

Back with Fatu missing a charge into the post and Ciampa kicks Tama away before tagging…Dawkins and Gargano at the same time. Commentary and the referee are both confused, even as Dawkins neckbreakers Sikoa for two. It’s back to Ciampa as things get back to normal, including a Spinning Solo for two. Ciampa goes up top and superplexes Loa onto the pile at ringside. Back in and Ford hits a 450 on Loa but Fatu makes the save. Fatu cleans house, including the impaler DDT to Ford, setting up a pair of Samoa Spikes to give Sikoa the pin at 11:58.

Rating: B. Fun main event here with the Bloodline, and Sikoa in particular, getting to look strong on the way to next week’s title match. That’s a good way to go and the Profits/DIY are teams with enough value that beating them still means something. I’m not sure how much drama there was about the result, but at least the action was good on the way there.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was in a tough spot as it was the fallout show from Bash In Berlin, which didn’t have much from Smackdown, and serving as a preview to next week’s big premiere. There was enough to keep me interested throughout, but next week is where things happen and that didn’t leave much for this week to cover.

Results
Bayley b. Tiffany Stratton – Rose Plant
Apollo Crews b. Giovanni Vinci – Rollup
Kevin Owens b. Austin Theory and Grayson Waller – Stunner to Theory
Chelsea Green b. Michin – I’m Prettier
Bloodline b. DIY/Street Profits – Samoan Spike to Ford

 

 

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