NXT
Date: January 28, 2025
Location: Center Stage, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T., Corey Graves

We are closing in on Vengeance Day and that means it is time to start putting the card together. For some reason the big draw this week is NXT Champion Oba Femi appearing on the Grayson Waller Effect, which was presented as a bigger deal than the NXT Title match last week. Hopefully they have something good planned so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Giulia/Bayley vs. Roxanne Perez/Cora Jade

The villains try to jump them to start but are quickly knocked to the floor. We settle down to Giulia and Perez trading rollups for two each until Perez is dragged over to the corner. Jade comes in to yell at Bayley, who drops her with a clothesline for two. Perez sends Bayley and Giulia to the floor for some dives and we take an early break.

Back with everyone down before Bayley Stuns Jade over the middle rope. A cheap shot cuts Bayley off the top though and double teaming ensues as the referee holds Giulia back. Perez mocks Bayley’s old wave before charging into a belly to back suplex to give Bayley a breather. The Bayley To Belly allows the tag off to Giulia, who sends Perez flying with a suplex. Jade accidentally runs Perez over with a forearm for two as everything breaks down again. Giulia drops Jade and Bayley hits the top rope elbow for the pin at 12:59.

Rating: B-. Nice opener here as Bayley feels like the biggest star around here, just due to her legendary status. It helps that NXT can get bigger names from the main roster here and if Bayley can do something for NXT, it’s all the better. The match itself was good action, though Jade taking the fall felt like a matter of time more than anything else.

Eddy Thorpe insists he isn’t done and will make his mark in NXT.

It’s time for the Grayson Waller Effect and hometown boy Austin Theory is rather popular until Grayson Waller cuts them off. Waller brings out Oba Femi as the guest and praises him, only for Theory to say he doesn’t see their potential. Femi brings up that he is the only one of them to be NXT Champion but Theory talks about how Femi is going to get to the main roster and then wind up on the indies selling t-shirts. Femi asks where their titles are and offers them a title shot at Vengeance Day. Waller tries to accept but here is Ava to say she makes the matches. Cue Trick Williams, who is planted with the Fall From Grace.

Izzi Dame says there is nothing going on with her and the D’Angelo Family. She helped D’Angelo keep the NXT Title because neither of them like Shawn Spears. Cue Ridge Holland to yell at her but Stacks cuts that off.

Trick Williams vs. Wes Lee

Williams is still banged up and Lee has Tyriek Igwe and Tyson DuPont with him. Lee wastes no time in knocking Williams, with his bad ribs, into the corner. More shots to the back keep Williams in trouble but he pulls Lee’s high crossbody out of the air. The back gives out but Williams knocks him hard to the floor. A Meteora from the apron sends Williams into the announcers’ table though and we take a break.

Back with Williams kicking his way out of a half crab and dropping Lee with a shot to the face. The Trick Shot is loaded up but Igwe pulls Lee to the floor in time. Back in and Lee is launched over the top onto the other two and Williams unloads in the corner. The referee is finally thrown down and Williams is DQ’ed at 10:10.

Rating: C+. This was more about making Williams look intense and that worked out well. There is a very, very good chance that we are coming up on Williams vs. Oba Femi at Stand & Deliver and Williams is going to have to get warmed up on his way there. Beating up Lee is a good way to get started there and this was a nice way to make Williams feel serious.

Post match Williams grabs a chair and the ring is cleared out in a hurry.

Ava yells at Oba Femi for overstepping his bounds before making Femi vs. Austin Theory vs. Grayson Waller in a triple threat at Vengeance Day.

Post break Ava yells at Trick Williams and makes him/Femi vs. A-Town Down Under next week.

Women’s North American Title: Shotzi vs. Fallon Henley

Henley, with Fatal Influence, is defending so Shotzi has Gigi Dolin and Tatum Paxley to even things out. Shotzi grabs a hurricanrana to start and a wheelbarrow faceplant gets an early two. Henley bails to the floor so Shotzi hits a big dive and the other four brawl to the back. Shotzi’s kick only hits the post though and Henley takes the leg out as we take a break.

Back with Shotzi hitting an inverted cannonball but Henley grabs a hair faceplant. A stretch muffler is broken up and Shotzi’s Sliced Bread gets two. Shotzi crushes her with a top rope backsplash for two but another Sliced Bread is broken up. Something like a reverse explodes drops Shotzi and the Hoedown (Fameasser) retains the title at 10:15.

Rating: C. Not much to this one, other than Henley’s finisher is called the Hoedown, just in case you wanted her to be treated as a serious star. I have no idea how that was the best name they had, but for now Henley gets to hang onto the title. That being said, I can’t imagine Henley holding the title past Vengeance Day when Stephanie Vaquer likely gets a title shot.

Post match Stephanie Vaquer comes out for the staredown and the title match is official for Vengeance Day.

Kelani Jordan and Karmen Petrovic argue over Ashante Thee Adonis.

Ava makes Giulia vs. Bayley vs. Roxanne Perez for the Women’s Title at Vengeance Day. Perez approves, Cora Jade doesn’t.

Ethan Page vs. Cedric Alexander

Alexander starts fast and hammers away to choke Page in the corner. A dropkick puts Page down again but he goes after the bad fingers for a needed breather. The covering is taken off of the bad hand and Page sends it into the post as we take a break. Back with Alexander fighting back and grabbing a modified Koji Clutch. That’s broken up with a grab of the bad hand and Page breaks up a handspring. The Twist Of Fate finishes Alexander at 11:12.

Rating: C. I’m starting to get into this more angry and aggressive Page as it is starting to make him stand out a bit more. What matters the most here is that Page continues to look like a monster and that is likely going to lead to a showdown with Je’Von Evans at Vengeance Day. Page has gone from little more than a generic villain to something more interesting and that is nice to see.

Post match the beatdown stays on but Je’Von Evans runs in for the save.

Fatal Influence is ready for Stephanie Vaquer.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Josh Briggs gives Yoshiki Inamura his own vest so they can match.

Vengeance Day rundown.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Meta Four vs. Naomi/Bianca Belair

Naomi and Belair are defending. Jackson takes Naomi down to start but gets caught in a wristlock to slow things down. An exchange of rollups gets two each and it’s off to Belair for a Paisan Elbow. Legend comes in to face Belair and the fans definitely approve. A headscissors is countered into a swinging backbreaker to drop Belair and Legend’s running moonsault gets two as we take a break.

Back with Naomi being sent into the corner but we cut to Cora Jade yelling at Ava backstage. Naomi gets over to Belair for a needed tag and house is quickly cleaned. The handspring moonsault gives Belair two but everything breaks down. Belair is sent outside for a dive from Jackson and the wheelbarrow faceplant/cutter gets two on Naomi. Legend’s powerbomb is countered into an X Factor for a needed breather but Jackson gets a VERY near fall (with the fans booing it being called two and commentary calling it out). A quick KOD retains the titles at 12:58.

Rating: B. I’ve been rather critical of Legend but sweet goodness has she come a LONG way in the last year or so. She has gone from horrible to a heck of a powerhouse and she feels like a star. The ending felt like it could be moving somewhere later on, but for now, Belair and Naomi getting a hard fought win is nice to see.

We get a test pattern saying WWE TRANSMISSION but those words are deleted and VENGEANCE DAY comes up instead.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a weird show, as they set up a bunch of stuff for Vengeance Day but I can’t quite get behind a lot of what we are going to be seeing. There are multiple triple threats and those matches are only so interesting. The show itself was decent and some people were showing good fire, though I’m less interested in Vengeance Day than I was coming into this week. That’s not a good sign, but there is still time to make it better.

Results
Giulia/Bayley b. Roxanne Perez/Cora Jade – Top rope elbow to Jade
Wes Lee b. Trick Williams via DQ when Williams shoved the referee
Fallon Henley b. Shotzi – Hoedown
Ethan Page b. Cedric Alexander – Twist Of Fate
Bianca Belair/Naomi b. Meta Four – KOD to Jackson

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Smackdown
Date: December 27, 2024
Location: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re wrapping up the show, and the two hour era of Smackdown, with this week’s edition. That should make things all the more interesting and I’m curious to see how they wrap it up. The big story is still Cody Rhodes being out of action at the hands of Kevin Owens, who has stolen the Winged Eagle belt. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of Cody Rhodes vs. Kevin Owens.

Nick Aldis makes it clear that Owens is not the champion and he has until the end of the night to give up the title or face severe consequences. This is not a negotiation.

Naomi and Bianca Belair still don’t know who attacked Jade Cargill but they’re ready to team with Bayley tonight.

Bayley/Naomi/Bianca Belair vs. Tiffany Stratton/Nia Jax/Candice LeRae

Before the match, Jax talks about how none of them attacked Jade Cargill, as Stratton couldn’t even help them win the Tag Team Titles. Jax accuses Belair of being the attacker and we’re ready to go. Belair takes Stratton down but it’s too early for the handspring moonsault. Instead everything breaks down and the villains are cleared out on the floor as we take a break.

Back with Naomi giving Jax a Stinkface and getting powered down as a result. LeRae comes in and gets double suplexed but Stratton’s distraction lets Jax take over again. Stratton has to tag herself back in and hits a top rope splash on Belair, nearly landing on LeRae by mistake. Bayley comes in and is swung into the post to cut her off just as fast. LeRae drops Bayley on the apron and we take another break.

Back again with Bayley fighting her way out of trouble and bringing Naomi in to clean house on Stratton. Everything breaks down and we hit the parade of knockdowns until Naomi gives Jax a super hurricanrana. Stratton makes the save and teases a cash in but LeRae cuts it off. The argument is on again, allowing Naomi to hit a Bully Bomb for the pin on LeRae at 16:12.

Rating: C+. This got some time and it made for a nice enough match, especially with Stratton’s face turn seeming all but a matter of time. The fans are getting behind her as she’s getting yelled at by the resident villains. That is a recipe for the fans to care about her and it wouldn’t shock me to see her cash in for a big reaction. Ignore that a hero cashing in isn’t overly heroic but she’s new at this.

A-Town Down Under gives Nick Aldis an invoice for the damage Braun Strowman did to their set. That doesn’t work, as Sami Zayn comes in, saying he and Aldis should talk. Post break, Zayn says he wants the Bloodline but Carmelo Hayes interrupts with some Christmas cards for the two of them. Zayn isn’t happy with being interrupted and crumples his up, Instead, he’ll face Hayes tonight. The things I got out of this: Hayes makes a lot of Christmas cards and he’s rather short.

Braun Strowman vs. Austin Theory

Grayson Waller is here with Theory. Strowman wastes no time in launching him across the ring and we take an early break. Back with Strowman in trouble and Theory taking out his knee to keep him down. The rolling dropkick staggers Strowman, who hits a dropkick of his own to put Theory on the floor. Waller’s interference doesn’t work and Strowman runs both of them over. Strowman throws Theory back in, setting up the running powerslam for the pin at 7:26.

Rating: C. This was a basic match with Strowman overcoming the numbers game without much trouble. That’s what Strowman can o rather well and he made it work just fine here. Strowman is still relatively new on Smackdown, this time around at least, and having him smash two pests is a fine way to get him started.

Next week: Smackdown officially expands to three hours.

Kevin Owens is in his car and says he should be the WWE Champion. He’ll talk to Nick Aldis tonight, but it’s going to be the two of them alone in the ring with no security.

Here is Piper Niven to introduce Chelsea Green for her Women’s United States Championship Celebration. Green is dressed as the Statue Of Liberty and gets to the point: they did it! They have turned the blue brand into the Green House! She is he tannedest, shiniest, youngest, longest reigning Women’s United States Champion in history! As for Michin, good riddance! She asks us what we can do for Chelsea Green but here is Michin to interrupt. Michin chases Green off with a kendo stick and Green panics.

DIY has nothing to say about the Street Profits being attacked. Pretty Deadly saw what happened and, after a failed attempt to get funding for their musical, say that it was Garza. That’s enough for the Profits, who go off to brawl with Legado del Fantasma. Nick Aldis says take it to the ring.

Street Profits vs. Los Garza

Apparently Berto and Angel are now Los Garza. It’s a brawl to start with Ford and Berto hitting stereo slingshot dives to the floor. Back in and the Profits give Berto a double flapjack but Berto takes Dawkins into the corner. Angel comes in to hammer away and we hit a not great camel clutch. Everything breaks down and a belly to back moonsault gets two on Berto with Angel making the save.

We take a break and come back with Ford’s comeback being cut off by a spinebuster. A running knee in the corner rocks Ford again but he manages a jumping DDT for a breather. That’s enough for the tag off to Dawkins so house can be quickly cleaned, including a neckbreaker for two on Berto. Everything breaks down and a double super gorilla press drops Ford. Berto adds a moonsault for two but the Profits are back up. Elektra Lopez pulls Angel to safety and gets dropped by B Fab. Ford hits a big dive and the Doomsday Blockbuster finishes Angel at 11:04 shown.

Rating: B-. This took some time to get going but it was a fast paced match by the end, which is all you can ask for her. The Profits get a bit of revenge, though it’s kind of surprising that Los Garza were the ones to take them out. If something fresh, but DIY being behind this would make a bit more sense. Either way, nice match here, with the Profits getting back on the right track.

Andrade wants the US Title.

DIY and Pretty Deadly seem to come to an agreement. With DIY gone, the Street Profits come in to say they’re up for a title shot. The Motor City Machine Guns come in to say they’re next in line but Apollo Crews comes in to say DIY attacked the Profits. Ford: “WHAT!”

Sami Zayn vs. Carmelo Hayes

They shove each other around to start, with Hayes not being thrilled with his arm being cranked. Hayes is sent outside so Zayn can do his flip back into the middle. Zayn sends him into the barricade and we take a break. Back with Hayes hitting a springboard clothesline and looking rather cocky about doing so. Zayn gets fired up and hits a clothesline, setting up a middle rope ax handle (that needs to make a comeback).

The Blue Thunder Bomb gives Zayn two but Hayes hits the First 48 for the same. A springboard DDT his Zayn, who pops up with a clothesline. Zayn exploders him into the corner and Hayes walks out…and has to run away from Braun Strowman. Before we can get to the countout though, the Bloodline runs in to jump Zayn for the DQ at 11:30.

Rating: B-. This match gets points for not having Hayes take a pin after he beat Strowman last week. Let him get a little something out of the win, because otherwise it feels like such a waste of time. For now though, Hayes gets to live another day and it’s nice to see some more thinking for a change.

Post match the beatdown is on but Strowman makes the save. Jacob Fatu pops up for the showdown though and the Bloodline beats Strowman down. Zayn gets taken out as well and here is Kevin Owens to deal with Nick Aldis, with everyone else leaving.

Post break Owens and Aldis are alone in the ring, with Aldis telling him to hand over the Winged Eagle. Owens wants a rematch where the referee can’t cost him, so he wants Cody Rhodes to come get the title. Aldis threatens to end Owens’ career if he doesn’t hand it over but here is Rhodes to interrupt.

Rhodes doesn’t want Aldis to fire Owens because it would just make him a martyr. Rhodes does everything he does because of his friends and family so he wants a match where the referee can’t stop what he’s going to do to Owens. Like in a ladder match, which Aldis makes for the Royal Rumble. We don’t get a handshake so Owens shoves Aldis into Rhodes and stomps away to end the show. A ladder match is an interesting way to go and thankfully we haven’t seen that many as of late around here.

Overall Rating: B-. Not a great show here but it moved some stories along and set up the big title match for the Royal Rumble. That’s the important thing, as Smackdown needs something to build towards other than the big main event on the January 6 Raw. I liked the show well enough and there was some nice action so we’ll call it enough of a success for a show before everything gets bigger next week.

Results
Bayley/Naomi/Bianca Belair b. Tiffany Stratton/Nia Jax/Candice LeRae – Bully Bomb to LeRae
Braun Strowman b. Austin Theory – Running powerslam
Street Profits b. Los Garza – Doomsday Blockbuster to Angel
Sami Zayn b. Carmelo Hayes via DQ when the Bloodline interfered

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Smackdown
Date: December 20, 2024
Location: XL Center, Hartford, Connecticut
Commentators: Corey Graves, Michael Cole

It’s the last Smackdown before Christmas and that means we are taped from last week. Therefore we might not get much more in the way of fallout from Saturday Night’s Main Event, which saw Cody Rhodes retain the Smackdown World Title over Kevin Owens. However, Owens attacked Rhodes after the show and stole the title belt. Let’s get to it.

Here is Saturday Night’s Main Event if you need a recap.

We open with a long Saturday Night’s Main Event recap. We also get a clip from after the show, with Kevin Owens giving Cody Rhodes a package piledriver.

Here is the Bloodline for a chat. Solo Sikoa saw Roman Reigns sitting on a boat and challenging him to Tribal Combat on the January 6 Raw. Sikoa suggests that instead of saying WHAT, the people here need to acknowledge him. If Reigns wants to take the Tribal Chief to war, let’s do it, with everyone else being left behind. Sikoa promises to use violence to make Reigns acknowledge him…and Drew McIntyre interrupts.

Sikoa says he better have a good reason for this, with McIntyre saying he’ll make this quick because he’s sick being this close to Sikoa without fighting him. McIntyre wants to know if Sikoa stays up at night, wondering when McIntyre is coming for him. Sikoa cost him the WWE Title at Clash At The Castle, but now he stood up to Roman Reigns. McIntyre wants the business with Reigns finished, and then the two of them can finish their business. Cue Jimmy Uso to pull McIntyre to the floor and beat him with a crutch. McIntyre bails into the crowd with Jimmy in pursuit and it’s time for a six man.

Bloodline vs. Apollo Crews/LA Knight/Andrade

The Bloodline is cleared out before the bell and we take a break. Back with Crews gorilla pressing Tonga and dropping him hard in an impressive feat. Knight comes in with a neckbreaker and it’s off to Andrade for the chopping. Andrade sends Tonga to the floor, setting up stereo dives with Crews. Knight teases one of his own but just glares at Sikoa instead. Fatu comes in to wreck some havoc and we take a break.

Back with Crews still in trouble but he manages to get over to Andrade. The pace picks up and Andrade sends Fatu into the corner for the running knees and a near fall. The double moonsault gets two but Fatu shrugs off a kick to the head and hits a pop up Samoan drop. We take another break and come back again with Fatu missing a charge in the corner, allowing Knight to come in and clean house.

There’s a neckbreaker to Sikoa and Crews comes in for a frog splash to Tonga, setting up a crossface. Cue Shinsuke Nakamura to drop Knight and Sikoa is smart enough to drag Tonga over for the tag. The running Umaga Attack into Spinning Solo into the Samoan Spike finishes Crews at 16:31.

Rating: B-. This got some time and that made the Bloodline feel like they were sweating a bit more than usual. Crews being the one to take the fall makes sense and Nakamura interfering makes Knight’s team’s loss feel a bit less bad. Nice, long opener here with Sikoa looking like a force for a change.

The Motor City Machine Guns want revenge on Johnny Gargano. Alex Shelley has to do this one on his own, which Chris Sabin accepts.

We look back at Chelsea Green beating Michin to become the first Women’s United States Champion.

Green is glad to win the title and make it about red, white and green in a nice line. She should have been here a long time ago, but now she’s off to Disneyland.

We look at Kevin Owens losing to Cody Rhodes at Saturday Night’s Main Event but taking him out after the match/show. Owens then stole the Winged Eagle belt and has said that what happens next is on WWE’s hands.

Johnny Gargano is ready to prove himself to Alex Shelley. Tommaso Ciampa is willing to stay in the back as well.

It’s time for the Grayson Waller Effect with Braun Strowman, dressed as Santa Claus to throw presents to the fans. Waller (with Austin Theory) is worried about Strowman wrecking the new threat but Strowman isn’t impressed. The villains pitch the idea of Strowman joining up (“The brains and the braun!”) but Strowman is absolutely not interested. Cue Carmelo Hayes to interrupt to say he wasn’t ready last week. He might lose, but he’ll never quit. Hayes wants to run it back with “this big dumb Santa Claus b****.” Strowman wrecks the set and a match is made.

Braun Strowman vs. Carmelo Hayes

Hayes starts slowly and bails to the floor, with the cheap shot on the way back in slowing Strowman down. Strowman picks him up with one hand for a beal from the apron back inside though, meaning it’s time to start the beating. Hayes slips out of a chokeslam and actually knocks Strowman outside, where Strowman hits a big boot. For some reason Hayes slaps him in the face and gets tossed back in….and Strowman is counted out at 3:29.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t meant to be much of a match but rather a way to have Hayes get under Strowman’s skin without pinning him. That’s all it needed to be as Hayes is doing well with his pesky stuff, which should set up something nice down the line. Not the best, but it did what it needed to do.

Tiffany Stratton is ready to be ringside for Nia Jax and Candice LeRae winning the Tag Team Titles, but LeRae suggests that Stratton go get ready for the celebration. Stratton isn’t pleased.

Braun Strowman goes looking for Carmelo Hayes but gets distracted by Pretty Deadly. Hayes uses the distraction to chair Strowman in the leg and run off.

Alex Shelley vs. Johnny Gargano

Cole goes over their history together, even name dropping JT Lightning for a name I never thought I would hear in WWE. Gargano chops away in the corner to start but Shelley runs him over with a forearm. Shelley sends him to the floor for a slingshot stomp to the arm, setting up a running knee as we take a break.

Back with Gargano’s slingshot spear being cut off by a kick to the face. A standing Sliced Bread gives Shelley two and he chops away, only to walk into a superkick. Gargano sends him face first into the middle buckle for two more but the Gargano Escape is blocked. The referee tries to separate them so Gargano hits Shelley in the face. Shelley gets in a Downward Spiral into the corner but cue Tommaso Ciampa. Chris Sabin cuts him off but Gargano rolls through a high crossbody and grabs the tights for the pin at 10:03.

Rating: C+. This was a nice match between two people who have a nice history together. What matters the most here is that Cole made that story clear, which made the match feel important. The ending felt a bit flat though, as Gargano used some cheating to win. That fits what he’s been doing, even if it just kind of happened without feeling all that interesting.

We look at the Netflix Kickoff event, with a bunch of showdowns and promos, including Logan Paul officially moving to Raw.

January 6 Raw rundown.

Naomi and Bianca Belair are ready to retain the Women’s Tag Team Titles. They’re friends forever.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Naomi/Bianca Belair vs. Nia Jax/Candice LeRae

Naomi and Belair are defending. LeRae elbows Belair in the face to start and gets gorilla pressed for her efforts. Jax comes in and gets dropkicked as Tiffany Stratton is watching in the back. A moonsault/splits splash combination hits Jax but she runs Naomi over as we take a break.

Back with Jax cranking on Belair’s arms and then sending one of those arms into the post. Belair fights out of a chinlock and dives for a tag, only to get powered back into the corner. LeRae comes in for two off a step up backsplash but Jax accidentally knocks her down. That’s enough for the tag off to Naomi and the pace picks up.

An X Factor gets two on Jax but the slit legged moonsault misses. Jax accidentally headbutts a post though and gets busted open, leaving Belair to hit a 450. LeRae makes the save but here is Stratton as LeRae tornado DDT’s Belair. Naomi makes a save of her own so Jax tries the briefcase, which is knocked into her face. Naomi hits a knee to LeRae and adds the split legged moonsault to retain at 11:05.

Rating: B-. Naomi substituting in for Cargill is less than ideal given the titles’ history but it’s better than vacating them or something like that. It helped to give them a win here, even with the briefcase getting involved. Good match here and it had a bit of time to make things work, even if the Stratton cash in stuff has been tiresome.

Overall Rating: C+. For a taped show which couldn’t really do much in the way of the main event scene, I liked this well enough. You’re not going to get very far with so much of the focus on everything other than the World Title, but at least they had a good opening segment. They seemed to understand that the audience wasn’t going to be the strongest this week and it’s ok to burn off a week like that under the right circumstances.

Results
Bloodline b. Apollo Crews/LA Knight/Andrade – Samoan Spike to Crews
Carmelo Hayes b. Braun Strowman via countout
Johnny Gargano b. Alex Shelley – Rollup while holding tights
Bianca Belair/Naomi b. Nia Jax/Candice LeRae – Split legged moonsault to LeRae

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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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

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Smackdown
Date: August 16, 2024
Location: Kia Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Corey Graves

We’re just over two weeks away from Bash In Berlin and the show’s biggest match is officially set, as Kevin Owens will challenge Cody Rhodes for the Smackdown World Title. That’s big enough, but other than that, Roman Reigns is back as well, meaning it’s time to go after the new Bloodline. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Roman Reigns returning and wrecking the Bloodline last week.

Tiffany Stratton and Pretty Deadly are in the ring to introduce Nia Jax for her championship celebration. Jax is carried to the ring on her throne and seems a bit overwhelmed by all of the….pink. Jax: “My style is more destruction.” She brags about her success and is proud to be YOUR Women’s Champion, so everyone can bow down to her. Including Stratton. First up though, Pretty Deadly sings an original song about how great Stratton is…and here is Michin with a kendo stick to clean house.

Naomi, Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair enjoyed that and are ready to celebrate, but here is Carmelo Hayes to say they’ll be celebrating when he beats Andrade.

Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes

Andrade chases him to the floor to start but Hayes catches him on the way back in. A hard springboard clothesline drops Andrade again but he comes back with a dropkick. With Hayes knocked to the floor, Andrade drops him again with the middle rope moonsault (and it connects rather well). Back up and Hayes manages to knock him off the ropes and onto the apron for a crash as we take a break.

We come back with both of them going to the top for Andrade’s super Spanish Fly and a near fall. Hayes’ superkick is shrugged off and they trade suplexes to give Hayes two. Nothing But Net misses and they trade rollups for two each. Andrade’s spinning elbow gets two and the fans deem this awesome. The Message is loaded up but Hayes reverses into a rollup for the pin at 9:36.

Rating: B. This is what Hayes has been needing as he hasn’t won an important match in a good while. The fact that the two of them have chemistry together makes it even better, as they had a heck of a match. I’m not sure if this is going to be enough to move Hayes that far forward, but at least he is getting a clean win to boost him up a bit.

Post match Hayes gets a little too braggadocios and the brawl is on again, with referees breaking it up.

Tama Tonga presents Solo Sikoa with the lei, but Sikoa says if Roman Reigns takes it back, Sikoa will have to acknowledge him.

Giovanni Vinci is coming.

Naomi vs. Blair Davenport

They slug it out to start with Davenport managing to drop her. Back up and Naomi knocks her out to the floor, setting up a dive off the apron. A high crossbody gets two on Davenport back inside and we take a break. Back with Naomi grabbing a headscissors and stating the comeback, setting up the splits splash for two. A kick to the face sends Davenport into the corner but she’s fine enough to block the split legged moonsault. Davenport’s knee to the head finishes at 6:50.

Rating: C. I’m still not getting the appeal of Davenport. She’s fine enough with the stuff in the ring but she’s not someone who gets my attention. I can go with trying someone else though as you always need fresh blood, but this hasn’t been off to a great start. On a sidenote, yes Naomi lost in her hometown, though this didn’t feel like the old school humiliation losses. That’s nice to see, as it came off more as a run of the mill loss which happened to take place in a certain place.

A-Town Down Under argue about Kevin Owens, who pops up behind them to say they’re right: he does get everything handed to him. Owens is willing to take Grayson Waller out there right now and beat him up to prove a point.

Tribute to Afa, with a bunch of legends talking about the Wild Samoans.

Kevin Owens vs. Grayson Waller

Austin Theory is here with Waller. Owens dropkicks him into the corner at the bell and hits a backsplash as the fans rather approve. They go outside with Owens hitting a running clothesline but Theory’s distraction lets Waller hit his own clothesline. For some reason Waller sits on the other side of the barricade, with Owens popping up behind him to drag him back.

A cheap shot puts Owens down though and Waller’s middle rope elbow gets two. Owens knocks him off the top and hits the Swanton for two but Waller’s neck snap across the top is good for a breather. The rolling Stunner takes too long though and Owens hits the Stunner for the pin at 4:41.

Rating: C. This was little more than a workout for Owens before his big title match in a few weeks and that’s all it needed to be. Owens could use the boost, as he hasn’t picked up many big wins lately, which granted is kind of the point of the title match. Waller losing isn’t going to hut him, especially to a star as big as Owens.

Post match Owens jumps Waller again but Theory makes the save and the villains grab chairs. Cody Rhodes runs in for the save and house is quickly cleaned. Owens is behind Rhodes with the chair but picks up the title instead. The fans don’t like that, but Owens hands it back to Rhodes as the fans sing the champ’s song.

Solo Sikoa wants Roman Reigns to acknowledge him.

Legado del Fantasma is at dinner and Santos Escobar thinks the team has gotten complacent. He won’t have the team name diminished and next week, he’ll be the US Champ.

Here is LA Knight to say that looked like a fun dinner. Santos Escobar might have forgotten who he is but next week the BFT is going to make him forget where he is. Escobar thinks Knight is trash, but the trash is going to put him on his a**.

Chelsea Green and Piper Niven thank Michin for breaking up the celebration earlier. Michin is happy because she is getting a title shot. Then Jax jumps her.

Street Profits vs. DIY

For a title shot against the Bloodline. Ford and Gargano lock up to start with Ford flipping out of a wristlock. They both miss kicks to the face and it’s an early standoff. Dawkins and Ciampa come in, with the former hitting a jumping elbow to the face. A double flapjack sends Ciampa outside, where Dawkins runs him over again and we take a break.

Back with Gargano making the comeback and getting a quick two on Ford. DIY is sent into each other but Ciampa comes back in to clean house anyway. A running knee gives Ciampa two but Dawkins powers out of One Final Beat. Everything breaks down again and Gargano and Ford hit slingshot dives to the floor. Back in and they trade superkicks for a double knockdown and we take another break.

Back again with Ford’s 450 hitting Ciampa’s raised knees and a Shatter Machine gets two on Ford. The Revelation gets two on Ciampa with Gargano making a save of his own. Ford gets sends outside and it’s a superkick into the Fairy Tale Ending for a rather near fall on Dawkins. Gargano dives onto Ford but the slingshot spear is countered into the swinging butterfly suplex. The Doomsday Blockbuster hits Gargano and Dawkins cuts off Ciampa, leaving Ford to get the pin at 15:17.

Rating: B. This was an all action match and it would have been even better if about half of it wasn’t missing due to commercials. DIY can still bring it when they get the chance and the Profits got their first big win without Bobby Lashley in a little while. Awesome main event here, with a fresh title match being set up.

Here is Solo Sikoa with Tama Tonga (no Tonga Loa) to order Roman Reigns to acknowledge him. The fans won’t acknowledge him either but if Reigns wants to be the Tribal Chief again, come make it happen. This brings out Reigns, with Sikoa handing the lei off to Tama and telling him to leave. The brawl is on but Tama comes back in to start the double teaming. Reigns shrugs that off and cleans house, including the spear to Sikoa. Reigns gets the lei back…and Jacob Fatu is back to jump him.

The running Umaga Attack hits in the corner (leaving Reigns’ eyes bugging out in a funny visual) and Reigns is powerbombed through the announcers’ table. Tama puts the lei around Sikoa’s neck and the Bloodline poses over Reigns to end the show. This was needed as there was little reason to believe that Sikoa and the Tongas were going to be a long term problem for Reigns. Fatu is a different kind of beast and could give Reigns a real problem.

Overall Rating: B. You had a pair of good to awesome matches and a big angle in the end to make the show work rather well. Reigns being back is still the biggest story on the show but at least Rhodes vs. Owens got a bit of a boost of its own. This show continues to feel about a few big things mixed with a few more minor things, but it’s a formula that works well, especially when you have two matches that were quite the successes.

Results
Carmelo Hayes b. Andrade – Rollup
Blair Davenport b. Naomi – Knee to the face
Kevin Owens b. Grayson Waller – Stunner
Street Profits b. DIY – Doomsday Blockbuster to Gargano

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Smackdown
Date: June 21, 2024
Location: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Corey Graves, Wade Barrett

It’s time for the return to one of the bigger cities and as you might expect, that means CM Punk is here for a special appearance. We’re getting closer and closer to Punk being able to return to the ring and it would not surprise me to see the recently departed Drew McIntyre show up to go after him here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Clash At The Castle if you need a recap

We open with a look at CM Punk costing Drew McIntyre the Raw World Title at Clash At The Castle. This led to McIntyre quitting WWE the following Monday on Raw.

The fans chant for CM Punk and here he is to get things going. Punk talks about the pressure of live TV and doing it in your hometown is even more pressure. It is even harder to make a promise to your hometown and then have to deliver. He gets nervous every time he hears that static and “LIKE MUSSOLINI” (there’s your Cornette reference) and it always works. Punk brings up promising to win the WWE Title at Money In The Bank 2011 and he lived up to the pressure.

Drew McIntyre couldn’t do that and now McIntyre has quit….and here is Paul Heyman to interrupt, with Punk giving a pretty great surprised reaction. Heyman says this isn’t about disrespect before talking about how hot it is out there and in here. Punk sat next to his children at the Hall Of Fame induction when he was still the wise man to Roman Reigns. The fans chant for Reigns, with Punk saying Heyman is the only person who can get away with hijacking his promo like this.

Heyman gets in and we get a rather emotional hug in a nice moment. The reason Heyman is here is that he heard a radio shot host say that Chicago is Punk’s town and Solo Sikoa doesn’t like that. If Punk doesn’t get out here right now, the Bloodline is coming for him and the extra security is here for the Wyatts rather than a bunch of ticked off Samoans. Heyman is here out of respect to try and keep Punk safe but Punk isn’t worried.

Cue the Bloodline, with Sikoa saying either pay respect to him or never be medically cleared. Punk asks Heyman what he wants to do if Punk does him this favor. Heyman: “Take me with you?” The fans rather approve of that idea so Punk acknowledges….that he is looking at a bunch of fake a** Usos (Heyman buries his face in his hands). Punk: “And a phone cosplay Tribal Chief.”

The fight is teased but Cody Rhodes runs in with a pair of baseball bats and the Bloodline runs. Cody says Sikoa fashions himself as the Head Of The Table (Sikoa: “You d*** right.”) but Cody has already beaten one Head Of The Table. The challenge is on for tonight. This was a long opening segment but dang Punk and Heyman being together again, even for a few moments, felt special. Heyman continues to nail it as the person who is scared of all the changes and just wants Roman Reigns back to make everything better but has to deal with the terror that is the Bloodline.

Jade Cargill talks to Bianca Belair and says that while tonight is about Money In The Bank, they need their Tag Team Titles back. Works for Belair.

Randy Orton and Kevin Owens offer to have Cody Rhodes’ back tonight but Rhodes says he has a plan

Women’s Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Bianca Belair vs. Michin vs. Chelsea Green

Green gets caught between the other two and battered about the head and shoulders to start. She’s fine enough to cut off a flipping Belair and everyone heads outside, where Belair decks Michin by mistake. Green hits a dive onto both of them and we take a break. Back with Green going up but getting double belly to back superplexed down again. Michin and Belair slug it out until Michin gets two off a sunset flip. Eat Defeat sends Belair outside and the Styles Clash hits Green for two. Belair is back in with the KOD to Michin but Green sends her outside and steals the pin at 7:24.

Rating: C+. I can go for more of Green on TV as she is becoming one of the more entertaining things about WWE as of late. She’s had the character stuff down but the last few weeks have shown more and more of her in-ring talents. She’s not likely to win the briefcase, but it’s rather nice to see her getting a win here.

Blair Davenport comes in to see Bayley and promises to not only win Money In The Bank, but also cash in on her.

Solo Sikoa tells Paul Heyman to tell Kevin Owens and Randy Orton that the Tongans are going to….something, as the audio goes mute. Heyman goes to do it, but Sikoa says they need to have a talk when he gets back.

Grayson Waller is ready for his Money In The Bank qualifying match while Austin Theory is at home. DIY comes up to mock him….and a garage door opens. CM Punk is laying on the ground and Drew McIntyre, with his hands bloody, is standing over him. McIntyre carries the unconscious Punk into the arena and drops him onto the stage before stealing a bracelet or a watch. Nick Aldis comes out with referees but McIntyre shoves him as well. Punk is taken out on a stretcher. This is feeling more and more like a featured match at Summerslam and I’m more than down for that.

Men’s Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Tama Tonga vs. Carmelo Hayes vs. Randy Orton

Apparently the message that Sikoa gave to Heyman was to make sure Kevin Owens and Randy Orton don’t qualify for Money In The Bank. Makes sense. They fight heads outside fast but Hayes saves Tonga from being dropped onto the announcers’ table. That doesn’t last long as Orton drops both of them onto the table and we take a break. Back with Tonga elbowing Hayes down and hitting him in the face for two.

We hit the chinlock as the fans want Orton back but have to settle for Hayes fighting back to his feet. A facebuster gives Hayes two but a springboard….something is countered into a spinning backbreaker. Orton is back in for the powerslam on Tonga and there’s the superplex for two on Hayes. A poke to the eyes staggers Tonga and Hayes hits Orton with the First 48. Orton is back up with the double hanging DDT but here is Tonga Loa for a distraction. Kevin Owens runs out to cut him off, only to have Hayes roll Orton up for the pin at 9:36.

Rating: C+. Much like Green, I’ll take Hayes getting a win of any kind. What matters here is that Hayes didn’t take a pin. He’s felt like a target practice dummy since he debuted on the main roster and while stealing a pin on Orton isn’t a big game changer, it’s better than looking up at the lights again. Hayes could be something, but he needs to win to make that a reality.

We look at the Wyatt Sicks debut on Raw.

Here is LA Knight for a chat and he gets right to the point: he wants Logan Paul and the US Title out here right now. There is no Paul, which doesn’t work for Knight, as he is tired of Paul no showing everywhere. Next week there’s no running because they’re going head to head (with Santos Escobar) in a Money In The Bank qualifying match.

Then Knight can beat him, win the briefcase, and then beat Paul again to win the US Title. Cue Escobar to interrupt, saying he doesn’t like this disrespect. Escobar comes after Knight, who lays him out with the BFT. Cue Paul to jump Knight from behind and knock him cold with the big right hand. Pretty to the point here, with Knight’s match likely coming at Summerslam, which could be weird in Paul’s hometown.

Men’s Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Grayson Waller vs. Andrade vs. Kevin Owens

Hold on though as the Tongans jump Owens during his entrance, with Randy Orton running in for the save. Owens of course says he can fight so the bell rings, with Andrade clearing the ring to start. The limping Owens fights back and they fight to the apron, where Owens clotheslines Andrade into the ring. Andrade is right back with a running sunset bomb to send Waller to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Andrade cleaning house, including the running knees to both of them in the corner. Owens fights up but walks into a double Downward Spiral from Waller. An A-Town Down attempt is broken up so Waller kicks Owens in the bad leg. Andrade and Waller go into the corner but Owens powerbombs both of them down. The Swanton gets two on Andrade so Owens drops him with a Stunner. Waller breaks it up and goes after the knee, only to walk into the Message to give Andrade the pin at 9:54.

Rating: C+. They’re going in some interesting directions with Money In The Bank and that is nice to see. Andrade is someone else who has been looking for something to do since his return and while this isn’t likely his big break, it’s a nice enough spot for him for the time being. Owens has more important things going on and Waller is already a tag champion so let Andrade have the spot instead.

We look at Cody Rhodes retaining the WWE Title against AJ Styles at Clash At The Castle.

Tiffany Stratton mocks Michin for her loss, with Nia Jax running in to jump Michin from behind.

CM Punk is staying overnight in a hospital and Drew McIntyre will be at Raw.

Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa

Non-title. Before the match, we cut to Paul Heyman telling Solo Sikoa that he has done his bidding. However, this goes against some of Roman Reigns’ bidding, as Reigns had said that CM Punk was off limits. Punk is personal to Heyman and Cody Rhodes is only supposed to be in check. Sikoa cuts him off and says Roman isn’t coming back. Heyman is devastated and asks what that could mean as Sikoa leaves, only to follow him to ringside. Rhodes takes the brawl to the floor to start and whips Sikoa into the steps. Not that it matters as the Tongas come in for the DQ at 1:41.

Post match Randy Orton and (the limping) Kevin Owens come in for the save and lay out the Tongans, leaving Sikoa backed into a corner. Sikoa begs off….but then starts to smile. JACOB FATU debuts and cleans house with superkicks, setting up a Samoan drop to put Owens onto the steps. Rhodes gets speared through the barricade and drops Cody onto the apron. A Superfly Splash from the top through the announcers’ table crushes Cody and Fatu poses with the Bloodline to end the show.

Of note: commentary did a great job here of selling that Fatu is the crazy member of the family and put him over as the most dangerous of them all. That’s how you use commentary to make someone feel important and catch the fans who might not know him up in a hurry. Well done there, as that’s the kind of thing that can really boost up a first impression.

Overall Rating: B. This was a VERY story heavy show and it seems that they’re turning their attention towards the bigger matches at Summerslam. I’m curious to see where all of that goes and the Bloodline stuff is the icing on the whole cake. They were moving things forward this week and that made for an interesting show which has me wondering where the stories are going. Good show here, and the bigger stuff is on the way.

Results
Chelsea Green b. Bianca Belair and Michin – KOD to Michin
Carmelo Hayes b. Tama Tonga and Randy Orton – Rollup to Orton
Andrade b. Grayson Waller and Kevin Owens – The Message to Waller
Cody Rhodes b. Solo Sikoa via DQ when the Tongans interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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Smackdown
Date: June 7, 2024
Location: KFC Yum Center, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Corey Graves, Wade Barrett

We have just over a week to go before Clash At The Castle and after last week, it seems that we are going to be seeing AJ Styles vs. Cody Rhodes II for the Smackdown World Title. Other than that, LA Knight and Logan Paul have been circling each other and there is a good chance that we will see that match set up this week as well. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We look back at AJ Styles faking retirement last week and attacking Cody Rhodes to end the show.

An annoyed Rhodes is waiting for Styles.

Here is the Bloodline to get things going. The still nervous looking Paul Heyman says that until Roman Reigns comes back, Solo Sikoa is at the head of the table. The fans want Reigns, which has me wondering how long they can hold off on the return. Sikoa has decided to make a double proclamation tonight, starting with Tama Tonga being named the Right Hand Man. Second, Tonga Loa is officially a member of the team. Heyman tries to wrap it up but Sikoa asks what’s going on.

Heyman should be thanking them for the save against Kevin Owens last week, with Heyman doing just that. In addition, Heyman was here earlier today and heard that Owens is wanting a piece of the Bloodline. Cue Owens (Heyman bails) and the brawl is on but the numbers game has Owens in trouble. The Street Profits run in for the save though, allowing Owens to grab a chair and clear the ring. This feels like it’s going to keep building until Reigns comes back for the big moment and they need to make Sikoa feel that much more evil on the way there.

Post break, Sikoa tells Heyman to make this a six man or it’s Heyman vs. Tama Tonga. Heyman: “I like the six man idea a lot better.”

Jade Cargill/Bianca Belair vs. Indi Hartwell/Candice LeRae

Non-title. The bell rings and here are Isla Dawn/Alba Fyre and Shayna Baszler/Zoey Stark to watch. Belair takes LeRae down to start and hits a quick moonsault for two. Hartwell comes in for a cheap shot though and the posing takes us to a break. Back with Belair getting over for the tag to Cargill so house can be quickly cleaned. The assisted German suplex finishes Hartwell at 6:32. Not enough shown to rate but Cargill and Belair wrecked them after the break.

Post match the other four come in to beat down the champs, only to fight amongst themselves. Cargill and Belair take them out and stand tall.

Nick Aldis tells Cody Rhodes to not get in a fight with AJ Styles on the loading dock but Cody says he’s taking care of this himself.

Apollo Crews is ready….to get jumped by Angel and Berto. Nick Aldis calls for medics but as Crews is taken away, LA Knight comes in to ask where Logan Paul is. Carmelo Hayes pops in to say he’s getting to Knight so Aldis makes the match for later tonight. Aldis implied that this was taking the place of Crews’ match so points for some continuity.

Johnny Gargano vs. Grayson Waller

Tommaso Ciampa and Austin Theory are here too. Gargano knocks him into the corner to start and chops away but a spinning backbreaker puts Gargano down. The rolling Stunner is countered into a belly to back suplex though and they head outside. Gargano’s Sliced Bread leaves both of them down and we take an early break.

Back with Gargano hitting some clotheslines into an enziguri, setting up the slingshot spear for two. An electric chair belly to back suplex drops Gargano for two more but something like a Destroyer out of the corner plants Waller hard. Waller bails outside and pulls Theory into a dive before posting Gargano. Back in and a running flipping Unprettier (picture Cena’s Throwback but landing on the other person instead of grabbing their head) finishes Gargano at 8:16.

Rating: C+. Assuming DIY is going to get the title shot, I’m not sure how logical it was to have Gargano lose here. Then again, at least it’s something different than winning singles matches to set up a tag match. For now though, the match was perfectly fine, with Waller pulling Theory in the way of the dive being completely in line with his way of thinking.

Nick Aldis, with security, tells Cody Rhodes that AJ Styles is arriving. Post break the car arrives with Styles in the sunroof and the OC standing in Rhodes’ way. Rhodes goes into the arena and calls Styles out for a fight RIGHT NOW. Cue Styles to say he doesn’t care what Rhodes wants, but Styles wants a title shot at Clash At The Castle. Works for Rhodes, but he wants it to be I Quit. Nick Aldis comes out to make the match and Rhodes beats up security. With Rhodes held back, Styles gets in a cheap shot.

Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill leave Aldis’ office and announce a triple threat Women’s Tag Team Title match at Clash At The Castle, with Shayna Baszler/Zoey Stark and Isla Dawn/Alba Fyre getting the shots. Makes sense and goes another step towards trying to make the champs feel like they’re in danger. They aren’t, but points for trying.

LA Knight vs. Carmelo Hayes

Knight isn’t impressed to start and takes Hayes outside for some rams into the announcers’ table. A backdrop onto the table makes it worse and we take a break. Back with Knight fighting out of a top wristlock but getting hit in the face for two. Knight avoids something from the top and hits a faceplant, only to charge into a superkick. A slam puts Hayes down again but the LA Elbow (minus the LA, making it just a jumping elbow) misses. The powerslam connects but the BFT is countered into a rollup with trunks for two. Knight reverses the rollup into a rollup of his own for the pin at 8:33.

Rating: C+. This is a match where there was not harmless result, as Knight needed a win to boost him towards the likely US Title shot, but my goodness Hayes needs to win something sooner than later. Other than a fluke rollup against Baron Corbin, he hasn’t won anything of note since earlier this year in NXT. He doesn’t have to be beating top names, but he can beat some lower level names just to build himself up a bit.

Post match Knight promises to bring Smackdown to Logan Paul.

Tiffany Stratton offers to unite with Nia Jax, who looks as annoyed as someone who has to watch a Nia Jax match. With Stratton gone, Michin comes in to throw water in Jax’s face and they have to be held apart.

Video on Bayley vs. Piper Niven.

Here is Bayley for a chat. She mentions the match with Niven but here are Chelsea Green and Niven to interrupt. Niven promises to make Bayley lose again and says that the two of them will be the new champ. Bayley respects Niven, which is why she was watching from the front row at the Mae Young Classic.

She’s lost in front of everyone she’s loved and knows how bad it feels, so she’ll do it again to Niven next week. Niven gets in the ring to talk about her journey from 2008. She worked around the world while Bayley walked into a perfect situation in the Performance Center. Now she has an annoying friend in Naomi and everything handed to her. Niven promises to win the title, with Green mimicking almost every word in a nice touch.

Logan Paul sends in a video and says he’s in Los Angeles for the World Tetris Championships because he wants a real challenger. Knight needs to go back to the midcard where he belongs.

Naomi doesn’t like what Chelsea Green and Piper Niven said out there. Nick Aldis makes Naomi vs. Green for next week.

Kevin Owens/Street Profits vs. Bloodline

Dawkins powers Tonga into the corner to start and hands it off to Ford. The shoulders to the ribs have Tama in trouble but he fights out rather quickly. Loa comes in for the forearms to the head and Sikoa sends Ford outside for the crash as we take a break. Back with the slow beating to Ford continuing, with Loa hitting a basement clothesline.

Ford finally manages to get in a shot of his own and the diving tag brings in Owens to face Sikoa. Owens drops him fast and hits the Swanton for two as everything breaks down. Ford hits a big running flip dive onto the pile at ringside, which just causes Sikoa to chair Ford for the DQ at 9:40.

Rating: C+. This was picking up near the end but then they pulled all of the energy out with the lame ending. It makes the Bloodline look more violent as they would rather swing chairs than compete, but it doesn’t exactly make for the most thrilling conclusion. At least Owens didn’t take another pin though.

Post match the big beatdown is on, with Owens being put through the announcers’ table to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show did a nice job of setting up the Smackdown side of Clash At The Castle, but the problem is that half isn’t very interesting. The show is going to be ALL about Drew McIntyre getting his title shot with Rhodes vs. Styles II not exactly feeling hot, even with the stipulation. Paul vs. Knight should be good as well, but it wasn’t officially announced here. Stuff did happen here and that’s good, but the stuff wasn’t that interesting, which is a problem. Odds are that changes after next week though, so this shouldn’t be a long term issue.

Results
Jade Cargill/Bianca Belair b. Indi Hartwell/Candice LeRae – Assisted German suplex to Hartwell
Grayson Waller b. Johnny Gargano – Running flipping Unprettier
LA Knight b. Carmelo Hayes – Rollup
Kevin Owens/Street Profits b. Bloodline via DQ when Sikoa used a chair

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Smackdown
Date: May 31, 2024
Location: MVP Arena, Albany, New York
Commentators: Corey Graves, Wade Barrett

We are just over two weeks away from Clash At The Castle and the show needs to start coming together. In addition, we still have some fallout from King And Queen Of The Ring, including the official coronation of Queen Nia Jax. Finally, the Bloodline is in action tonight, which feels rather important. Let’s get to it.

Here is King And Queen Of The Ring if you need a recap.

King And Queen Of The Ring recap.

Here is Nick Aldis to introduce Nia Jax for her coronation. Jax brags about the win and demands that Bayley come to the ring right now. Cue Bayley but Piper Niven and Chelsea Green jump her from behind. Bayley gets crushed but Green tells Jax to be ready to face Niven at Summerslam instead. This was to the point and that’s what it needed to be.

AJ Styles goes on to see Nick Aldis and asks for some time to say something, but he only wants to say it once. Aldis agrees.

Naomi checks on Bayley in the trainer’s room and Bayley is good to go tonight.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Austin Theory

Both partners are here too. Ciampa elbows him in the face to start and hammers away, only to walk into a brainbuster onto the knee. Theory gets in some knees in the corner and a hanging neckbreaker to the floor puts Ciampa down again as we take a break. Back with Ciampa fighting out of a chinlock but getting elbowed in the face for his efforts.

Ciampa fights up again and hits a hard clothesline, setting up a reverse DDT for two. Theory gets in another shot but A Town Down is blocked. Waller goes to yell at commentary for some reason and seems to claim credit for Theory’s success. That allows the distracted Ciampa to roll Theory up for the pin at 8:45.

Rating: C+. We continue the fairly slow build towards DIY challenging for the Tag Team Titles, though the champs having some issues makes it a bit more interesting. The idea of “tag teams in singles matches” has been done for years and it’s only going to get them so far. For now though, it’s better than DIY losing another match.

Naomi comes in to see Nick Aldis and, after a mini argument with Blair Davenport, gets a tag match with Bayley against Chelsea Green and Piper Niven. With the women gone, LA Knight comes in to ask if Aldis knows where he can find Logan Paul. Well that’s interesting.

We look at Cody Rhodes defeating Logan Paul to retain the WWE Universal Title at King And Queen Of The Ring.

LA Knight says Logan Paul isn’t here this week, but Knight IS here, so he’ll make it clear: he wants the US Title. Carmelo Hayes comes in to suggest he’s a better candidate for a title shot.

Andrade vs. Apollo Crews

Earlier today, Andrade turned down an invitation to Legado del Fantasma. Andrade snaps off a dropkick to start and slowly stomps away but here is Angel for a distraction. A dropkick sends Andrade to the floor and us to a break. Back with Andrade hitting a high crossbody to leave both of them down. Andrade strikes away and the running knees gives hit Crews for two. Crews is back with the gorilla press drop into the standing moonsault for two. Andrade isn’t having this and elbows him in the face, setting up the double underhook swinging DDT for the pin at 7:04.

Rating: C+. This was a match where the commercial took away so much of the energy, as there is only so much you can do with seven minutes including a break. Crews’ athleticism continues to be impressive but his ship has long since sailed. As for Andrade, a feud with Legado is better than nothing, but it’s not the most thrilling concept.

Post match Andrade walks past Legado del Fantasma so Angel seems ready to deal with this.

Solo Sikoa tells the Bloodline to deal with it when Paul Heyman comes in. Heyman has been trying to make things better for the team but he sees random acts of violence with no bigger plan. He thinks they need Cody Rhodes in check for when Roman Reigns comes back but Sikoa says we already do. Heyman: “With all due respect, who is we?” The answer is cut off by Kevin Owens coming to the ring, with Sikoa telling Heyman to go deal with this. Heyman is starting to snap under the pressure and that opens up a lot of possibilities.

Apollo Crews jumps Angel.

Kevin Owens is in the ring and says he was in Saudi Arabia to help Randy Orton in person. Orton has had his back for weeks now and…here is Paul Heyman to interrupt. Heyman is sounding rather nervous as he says he hopes to come to a mutual understanding with Owens. The fans want Roman but Heyman says no one wants him here more than Heyman himself.

Heyman talks about how Reigns respects Owens but Solo Sikoa and the new members of the Bloodline are going to hurt him. He begs Owens to back off but Owens doesn’t quite buy the kind offer. Owens thinks Heyman sees Sikoa as his next cash cow. In four years of fighting the Bloodline, Owens has been superkicked thirty times at once and thrown off high things, but he’s never going to stop fighting to get rid of them.

He neither wants nor needs Heyman’s help, so Heyman goes on a rant about how he might be trying to redeem himself. Heyman says he is a Hall of Fame wise man and is worried about Sikoa taking over the entire Bloodline SO WHY WILL NO ONE LISTEN TO HIM??? Heyman goes so nuts that he throws the mic and hits Owens, who appears ready to destroy him. Cue the Bloodline but the Street Profits (set to face the Bloodline tonight) run in to even things up. Angelo Dawkins hits a big flip dive to take out the Tongas. And there is Heyman snapping, which is not going to go well for him. I’m not sure how soon Reigns is going to come back, but dang they have a wide open field with this thing and it’s great.

Bloodline vs. Street Profits

Joined in progress with Ford firing off shoulders to Tama in the corner and Dawkins coming in for a double belly to back suplex. Loa gets in a cheap shot though and hammers away on the floor as Paul Heyman is looking terrified on the floor. A slingshot elbow hits Ford but he gets over for the tag to Dawkins. House is quickly cleaned but it’s back to Loa off a blind tag to run Dawkins over. A Saito suplex connects and Dawkins is taken outside for a ram into the announcers’ table.

We take a break and come back with Tama hammering away as Heyman is looking even worse. Dawkins manages to suplex his way out of trouble and it’s a double tag to bring in Ford and Loa. The Profits take over and grab a Doomsday Blockbuster, with Tama having to make the save. Tama gets in a blind tag so Ford’s frog splash to Loa means nothing. Back up and Ford walks into the jumping Downward Spiral for the pin at 12:12.

Rating: B-. This was a way to make the Bloodline look good because the Profits are a pretty established team for them to take down. I’m not sure if the feud continues whenever Bobby Lashley is back, but it might be time for the Profits to move on to something else. For now though, the Bloodline looks good and that’s what matters.

Indi Hartwell is upset at Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair for injuring Candice LeRae…but not upset enough to agree to face Cargill.

Michin is asked about AJ Styles but Nia Jax interrupts. That doesn’t work for Michin, which REALLY does not work for Jax.

Chelsea Green/Piper Niven vs. Bayley/Naomi

Green runs from Bayley to start and hands it to Niven, who crushes Bayley in the corner. That doesn’t seem to matter much as Bayley fights up and hits a clothesline on Green. Naomi comes in and knocks Green to the floor, with the villains being beaten down as we take a break.

Back with Niven missing an elbow, allowing the tag back to Naomi. A running basement dropkick in the corner sets up a split legged moonsault, with Niven having to make a save. The Rear View gets two more with Niven making another save with a backsplash. Niven puts Green on top for the pin at 8:30.

Rating: C. Another pretty to the point match here, with Niven getting to look strong as we are coming up on a show in her home country. Bayley is going to need a title challenger and putting here in there against Niven for the title could be a heck of a moment. The match was just good enough, with Naomi taking the fall to build Niven up that much more.

LA Knight runs into AJ Styles in the back and says if the rumors are true, he respects Styles. With Knight gone, Styles runs into Cody Rhodes and they shake hands. Styles hugs the OC, who have his back out there tonight.

Here is Styles, with the OC, for his big announcement. Styles talks about how he has dwelt on Nick Aldis saying he had to earn another title shot for a week. At this point in his career, he can’t do that though, and we pause for some applause. He just got to have his son’s graduation party and it made him wonder how many of them he missed. Maybe it’s time he became a phenomenal father. Styles thanks the OC for being there and they do the pose one more time. There’s one more thing though, and Styles would like Cody Rhodes out here.

Cue Rhodes, with Styles saying their match at Backlash was one of their best ever. This is still the house that Styles built and Rhodes says they shared their first text after that match. Styles called Rhodes his little bro, but Rhodes says Styles is a good big bro. They have a hug and Rhodes holds Styles’ arm up, only for Styles to channel his inner Mark Henry and beat him down.. The Styles Clash from the steps to the floor drops Rhodes to end the show. They weren’t exactly hiding what they were going for here and that works well enough, as having another title match between them at Clash will be a fine way to go.

Overall Rating: B. This was a show with good enough action, but the main positives came from the storytelling. Odds are we have a Smackdown main event set for Clash, plus Heyman losing his mind and Bayley probably set to defend against Niven. As usual lately, WWE knows how to move things forward while having completely acceptable (at worst) wrestling and that makes for a very easy watch.

Results
Tommaso Ciampa b. Austin Theory – Rollup
Andrade b. Apollo Crews – Double underhook swinging DDT
Bloodline b. Street Profits – Jumping Downward Spiral to Ford
Piper Niven/Chelsea Green b. Bayley/Naomi – Backsplash to Naomi

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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Smackdown
Date: April 19, 2024
Location: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Corey Graves, Wade Barrett

We have just a few weeks before Backlash and that means it is time to crown a new #1 contender. That gets covered this week, as LA Knight meets AJ Styles in a Wrestlemania rematch for the shot against Cody Rhodes at Backlash. Other than that, we very well may be in for some new Tag Team Title belts. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We run down the card.

AJ Styles vs. LA Knight

For the World Title shot against Cody Rhodes at Backlash. Knight grabs a headlock to start and puts the brakes on before Styles can hit the dropkick. They head outside with Knight ramming him into the announcers’ table, as is Knight’s custom. A running dropkick through the ropes puts Styles down again and we take a break.

Back with Knight slugging away but stereo crossbodies leave them both down. They slug it out with Knight getting the better of things and taking Styles up top. The top rope superplex gives Knight two but Styles is back with the Pele. It’s too early for the Phenomenal Forearm so Knight slams him down, setting up the jumping elbow. Styles heads to the apron and manages a quick poke to the eye, setting up the Phenomenal Forearm to go to Backlash at 11:04.

Rating: C+. Styles makes good sense as Cody’s first challenger as Knight would be too popular. Cody vs. Styles will be at least a perfectly acceptable match between two talented stars and Cody should look good as a result. I’m not wild on Knight losing so soon after Wrestlemania, but at least he got his big win there, which is better than nothing at all.

We look back at Tama Tonga debuting and wiping Jimmy Uso out of the Bloodline.

Earlier today, Solo Sikoa, in a very nice suit, meets Paul Heyman in the back and introduces Tama Tonga as the newest member of the Bloodline. Heyman doesn’t seem sure about this but Sikoa cuts him off and wants to know if Kevin Owens is here.

Here is Nick Aldis in the ring to introduce HHH for an announcement. HHH talks about the amazing future that Nick Aldis (and Adam Pearce) are leading us into, so we need Grayson Waller and Austin Theory out here. They get right to the point: the team will now be known as the WWE Tag Team Champions, complete with new belts, which look like the old WWF World Tag Team Titles. Since we have new champions, we need new challengers so let’s do this.

Well also after Naomi says she isn’t letting her friendship with Bayley get in the way of winning the Women’s Title tonight.

Street Profits vs. New Catch Republic vs. Legado del Fantasma vs. AOP

Austin Theory and Grayson Waller are on commentary. Ford headlocks Bate to start but Bate technicals him down without much effort. It’s quickly off to Berto to get in a cheap shot on Ford, setting up a running knee from Angel. The AOP aren’t having this and come in to wreck people as we take a break.

Back with Akam hitting Ford in the face and grabbing an over the shoulder backbreaker. Ford manages to slip out and get over to Bate for a tag as everything breaks down. As the champs can’t focus because of their beautiful new titles, a Tower of Doom (or most of one) leaves some people down, with Bate being double gorilla pressed off the top to make it worse. An assisted powerbomb gets two on Bate but the Republic is back with stereo ankle locks to Legado. Those are broken up and we take another break.

Back again with Rezar powerbombing Dawkins and Bate getting planted as well. The Republic escape the Super Collider and knock the AOP outside as everything breaks down again. Berto’s springboard spinning kick to the face gets two on Dawkins but Dawkins is right back up for the Doomsday Blockbuster. Bate snaps Dawkins’ fingers before the Republic and Ford all hit flip dives to the floor. Back in and Berto clotheslines Bate, setting up Angel’s Lionsault. Ford frog splashes in for the save and the Revelation gives Dawkins the pin on Angel at 17:14.

Rating: B-. This got more time than I was expecting and it worked pretty well. The biggest story here is getting the first challengers set up for the new champs and the Profits are great choices. They’re the kind of team who could conceivably give the new champs a run for their money or even win the titles, but they could also be a good set of first victims. Nice match here, with the time flying by.

We look at Rhea Ripley vacating the Women’s Title due to her shoulder injury.

Bayley is a bit shaken up by what she saw Rhea Ripley do on Raw but she’s not losing tonight.

Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa keep looking for Kevin Owens but Heyman tells him that he (as in Solo) isn’t allowed to make these decisions yet. Sikoa: “Are you done yet?” They come into the arena and, after a break, Heyman talks about being one of the better backstage politickers in WWE. We pause for a WE WANT ROMAN chant, which has Heyman a bit broken up, but Solo takes the mic.

Sikoa says he had to lose a brother last week to gain a new member of the Bloodline in Tama Tonga. Cue Tonga, who is beating Kevin Owens down the aisle. Referees help Owens to the back as Sikoa and Tonga pose, but (the very bloody) Owens comes back, only to get beaten down by the Bloodline again. Nick Aldis eventually comes in and the Bloodline leaves. Heyman is selling the heck out of this stuff, as the fear he is showing makes me want to know what happens when Reigns, or someone else, shows up again.

Post break Nick Aldis drags Paul Heyman to the parking lot where Tama Tonga’s car has rammed into Kevin Owens’. Heyman is aghast but Aldis threatens him with repercussions if he doesn’t get this under control.

Santos Escobar vs. Carlito

Elektra Lopez and Zelina Vega are here too. Carlito hammers away to start and sends him outside, setting up a dropkick through the ropes. Vega poses on Carlito’s shoulders and we take a break. Back with Escobar snapping off a super hurricanrana as Vega is looking terrified. The armbar goes on but Carlito fights up to make the clothesline comeback. The women get into a brawl on the floor and the distraction lets Escobar hit the Phantom Driver for the pin at 7:37.

Rating: C. Not much to this one, which has been the case for almost everything Carlito has done in recent months. They seem to be pointing towards Carlito being revealed as the guy who took out Dragon Lee, but it almost feels too obvious. At the same time, a heel turn could do Carlito some good, as he doesn’t have anything going on at the moment.

Damage CTRL is in a sky box…but Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair pop up next to them to watch the main event.

Cody Rhodes, currently in England on the UK tour, praises AJ Styles and says he’s looking forward to the title match at Backlash.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Bayley vs. Naomi

Naomi is challenging and they fight over wrist control to start. Bayley takes her down into an armbar but Naomi fights up with a springboard bulldog. The Rear View gives Naomi two and we take a break. Back with Naomi hitting a high crossbody for two but Bayley knocks her down for a change. The top rope elbow only hits raised knees though and Naomi grabs a slingshot X Factor.

Naomi’s split legged moonsault hits raised knees and now the top rope elbow connects for two. It’s too early for the Rose Plant and Naomi pulls her into the reverse Rings Of Saturn. Bayley gets to the rope so it’s time to slug it out/yell at each other. Both of them crash out to the floor, where Bayley hits a Bayley onto the announcers’ table…and cue Tiffany Stratton to jump Bayley for the DQ at 11:17.

Rating: C+. There’s a good chance that this is setting up a triple threat for the title at Backlash and that isn’t a bad way to go. Stratton interfering here makes sense but they waited long enough that her interference still felt like a surprise instead of waiting around for her to come in. Naomi has some complaining to do here and we should be in for a showdown when she gets another chance.

Stratton sends them inside for the double Prettiest Moonsault Ever to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. They were in a weird spot with this show as they had to set some things up for Backlash, but with the biggest story being “Roman Reigns isn’t here and the Bloodline is going nuts” and the Draft next week, it wasn’t the most important feeling of a show. What matters is they had a good enough show with some nice action, but everything is changing next week and they knew it.

Results
AJ Styles b. LA Knight – Phenomenal Forearm
Street Profits b. Legado del Fantasma, New Catch Republic and AOP – Revelation to Angel
Santos Escobar b. Carlito – Phantom Driver
Bayley b. Naomi via DQ when Tiffany Stratton interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Smackdown
Date: April 12, 2024
Location: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Corey Graves, Wade Barrett

It’s the first Smackdown after Wrestlemania and the big story is Cody Rhodes finishing the story, meaning it is time to find out what is next. That could go in a variety of different directions and after Raw, we aren’t likely to see the Rock anytime soon. I’m curious about where this an everything else goes so let’s get to it.

Here are Night One and Night Two of Wrestlemania if you need a recap.

We open with a quick Wrestlemania recap.

Here is Cody Rhodes to quite the hero’s welcome, including the YOU DESERVE IT chant that delays the start of his chat. Cody talks about how the Rock interrupted him on Raw and it made him think of someone from Detroit. That someone would say “who the h*** told you tonight was open mic night b****?”

After that line from Cody’s wife Brandi Rhodes from a few years ago on AEW Dynamite, Cody apologizes for the swearing and talks about the Rock handing him something we couldn’t see. Cody doesn’t say what it was but says that with Rock going off to Hollywood, he’s in the rear view mirror. That means it is time to get ready for Backlash in France, where he will be facing one of six wrestlers.

Cody goes over the six options (Santos Escobar, Rey Mysterio, LA Knight, AJ Styles, Bobby Lashley and Kevin Owens) and says in some cases you need to find out who the better man is. We are sold out here in Detroit and he is no longer the hunter but rather the hunted. To those six wrestlers, if you come at the king, you better not miss. For those of you don’t know him, he was undesirable, became undeniable and is now undisputed. This was the short form victory speech from Cody, but he moved towards his first challenger so the wheels continue to turn.

The Bloodline finds Cody Rhodes’ dressing room, with Kevin Owens sticking his head out. Solo Sikoa says he’ll take care of this. Paul Heyman says winning and losing matters here and if you want the locker room back, the title has to come back to the Bloodline. That’s from the Tribal Chief, so Sikoa seems to rethink things.

Sheamus is coming back.

LA Knight vs. Santos Escobar vs. Bobby Lashley

The winner faces the winner of another triple threat match for the Backlash title shot. After seeing a clip of Legado del Fantasma saying they didn’t attack Dragon Lee last week, it’s a brawl to start with Lashley taking over. Lashley and Knight head outside, with Escobar diving onto both of them as we take a break about a minute in.

Back with Lashley cleaning house until Knight knocks him to the floor. Knight takes over on Escobar…and here is Legado to beat him down, including a triple powerbomb. Lashley comes back in but gets beaten down as well, with the Street Profits coming in for the save. With everyone else gone, Knight hits the BFT to pin Escobar at 8:34.

Rating: C+. The action was good but there was a lot packed into this and that might not have been a good thing. Having that many people run in made the match feel secondary and that shouldn’t be the case in a match with some actual stakes. Knight winning should be setting up a rematch with AJ Styles next week and that is a good way to go.

The LWO doesn’t believe that Legado del Fantasma didn’t take out Dragon Lee. Rey Mysterio says he’s done a lot in recent years, but he thinks he has one more run as WWE Champion.

Here is the Bloodline for a chat. Paul Heyman talks about how things went badly at Wrestlemania and brings up Seth Rollins being the big problem. Rollins came in and distracted Reigns, who gave into temptation and went after Rollins so the focused Cody Rhodes could end everything. Cody Rhodes is the new undisputed WWE Champion, but like a phoenix rising from the ashes….and Solo Sikoa cuts Heyman off.

Sikoa says loses matter, so there are consequences to losing, right? Heyman agrees, with Sikoa saying consequences need change. Heyman panics, but Sikoa moves him aside to look at Jimmy Uso. Sikoa slowly hugs him, says he loves him, and then steps aside so the debuting Tama Tonga can jump Jimmy. The beatdown is on and Tama poses, with Sikoa pulling Heyman over to them (Heyman: “NO PLEASE!”).

Heyman gets to do the pose with them and tries to call Roman Reigns, but Sikoa knocks the phone out of his hand and stomps on it. Jimmy gets the chair wrapped around his head in the corner, where Sikoa says he loves him and the running hip attack (Heyman: “THIS IS NOT WHAT THE TRIBAL CHIEF WANTS!”) connects. The Bloodline leaves, with Heyman looking terrified/bewildered and Jimmy looking dead. This was tremendous, with Heyman selling things as only he can and a feeling of “when the Tribal Chief is away, the mice will play”. The Bloodline continues, and now we get to see where things go in the new direction.

Cameron Grimes vs. Bron Breakker

Breakker wrestles him around to start and hits the Steiner Line. Grimes manages some kicks out of the corner but goes up and is kind of World’s Strongest Slammed out of the air. The spear finishes for Breakker at 1:19. If Breakker can be healthy, he’s World Champion in a few years.

AJ Styles is ready for Rey Mysterio and Kevin Owens and hopes LA Knight is watching.

Here is Bayley for a chat and the fans really seem to love her again. She talks about how good it feels to hear that again and how she has been champion before. This time feels different though because she beat Iyo Sky to get here. It represents the most talented locker room she has ever been a part of, but even more than that, it’s because of all of the fans. The fans never gave up on her and she thanks them so much.

Let’s start this off right by giving someone a new opportunity so here is Tiffany Stratton to interrupt. She isn’t sure why she wasn’t invited to Wrestlemania so she accepts the challenge. Bayley wasn’t talking about “Terry” because she had someone else in mind: Naomi. Tiffany: “NAOMI? She couldn’t win a title if it glowed in the dark!” Cue Naomi, with Tiffany saying she already beat her. Naomi takes the coat off and says Tiffany is trying her on the wrong night. She can’t accept Bayley’s challenge just yet because she needs to beat Tiffany right here and now. Bayley is slipping right back into her old style and that is great.

Paul Heyman checks on Jimmy Uso, when Tama Tonga comes in to say by orders of the Tribal Chief (Heyman is scared again), and Solo Sikoa comes in with the taped thumb. Tonga and Sikoa leave. Heyman: “What the h*** does that mean?” Lost and confused Heyman is working very well.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Naomi

Non-title and Bayley is at ringside. We’re joined in progress with Naomi running the ropes but getting knocked down. Stratton takes her into the corner for some shots to the ribs but Naomi hits a knee to the face. Back up and Naomi hammers away, only to be sent outside for a crash as we take a break. We come back with Naomi hitting a middle rope spinning kick to the head. Stratton drops her again and hits a running double stomp for two of her own. The Prettiest Moonsault Ever misses though and Naomi grabs a rollup for the pin at 9:16.

Rating: C. They needed to give Naomi a win to set her up for her title shot and while I could have gone with it not being against Stratton, this was the right way to go. Stratton is going to be around the title picture sooner than later and it wouldn’t shock me to see her cause some mayhem when Naomi gets her shot.

Grayson Waller and Austin Theory brag about winning the Smackdown Tag Team Titles.

The Street Profits and New Catch Republic are watching the video. Nick Aldis says we’ll find the next challengers next week.

Logan Paul brags about beating a legend in Randy Orton and a dunce in Kevin Owens. It was the biggest Wrestlemania ever and that’s because of him.

Chelsea Green/Piper Niven vs. Jade Cargill/Bianca Belair

This is Niven’s first match in about two months. Belair beats up Green to start so it’s off to Niven, who tries going after the braid. That doesn’t work at all as it’s off to Cargill, who hits Jaded for the pin at 1:22. Yeah that worked.

Kevin Owens takes a Detroit Tigers WWE Title belt and, after shoving a CM Punk shirt off the table, talks about how he’s going to win. Also, Dominik Mysterio sucks.

Rey Mysterio vs. Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles

The winner gets LA Knight next week for the shot against Cody Rhodes at Backlash. Styles gets sent to the floor to start but he cuts off Rey’s dive without much trouble. Owens knocks Styles down and hits a Cannonball against the barricade. Rey drops Owens and we take an early break.

Back with Styles flipping Rey into a tornado DDT on Owens but being able to block the 619. Owens is back in and Styles is sent outside, leaving Owens to hit the swinging superplex on Mysterio. With everyone back in, Owens German suplexes both of them at once for a rather nasty landing and a triple breather. Rey tries the 619 on Styles but Owens breaks it up and hits a Stunner to send Rey outside. The Swanton hits knees so Rey and AJ go up. Styles hits a Styles Clash to send Rey onto Owens, which is enough to give Styles the pin at 9:14.

Rating: B-. They did some cool stuff in here but Styles was the only winner that made sense here. Styles vs. Knight II for the title shot is a good way to go and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Styles move on. Styles is a perfect choice to be Rhodes’ first challenger, as beating him would mean something but it’s not wasting a big title shot. For now though, nice main event to set up next week.

LA Knight comes out for the staredown with Styles to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The Bloodline stuff was the highlight here, with Tama Tonga being added in a good moment. Other than that, they set up a #1 contenders match to get us the Backlash main event and gave us Bayley’s first challenger. Throw in squashes for Bron Breakker and Jade Cargill and this was a fun show which also played off what we saw at Wrestlemania.

Results
LA Knight b. Santos Escobar and Bobby Lashley – BFT to Escobar
Bron Breakker b. Cameron Grimes – Spear
Naomi b. Tiffany Stratton – Rollup
Jade Cargill/Bianca Belair b. Chelsea Green/Piper Niven – Jaded to Green
AJ Styles b. Kevin Owens and Rey Mysterio – Super Styles Clash to Mysterio

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