Smackdown
Date: July 5, 2024
Location: Scotia Bank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Corey Graves, Wade Barrett

We are a day away from Money In The Bank and that means it is time to get the final push towards the show. The ladder matches are officially set and now we are probably going to be seeing people sitting on ladders and talking to each other. Other than that, the Bloodline has gotten rid of Paul Heyman and now we are going to be seeing the start of the fallout. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Jey Uso to get things going. He wants to win Money In The Bank but here is LA Knight to interrupt. Knight was the favorite last year and look what happened to him. Tomorrow, the people will be saying YEAH, not YEET. They get into a catchphrase off until Carmelo Hayes interrupts, saying no one wants to hear that.

Chad Gable cuts them off to say he’s been going through all kinds of problems in the last few weeks. Andrade interrupts and doesn’t say much before Drew McIntyre interrupts to brag about having CM Punk’s bracelet. McIntyre mocks most of the other people, including asking how Jey got across the border. The fight is on with Knight and Uso knocking McIntyre to the floor and standing tall. This was as paint by the numbers as you can get.

Bayley is in the back when Chelsea Green interrupts, threatening to cash in on Bayley soon. Piper Niven jumps Bayley, with Green saying that’s how she can cash in.

Post break, Bayley has gotten a match with Niven tonight.

Street Profits vs. Pretty Deadly

B-Fab is here with the Profits. Ford wrestles Wilson to the mat to start as Barrett is swooning over Pretty Deadly’s attire. Prince comes in and gets double hiptossed in short order, only to have Wilson hammer Dawkins down in the corner. We take a break and come back with Dawkins getting two off a sunset flip but getting knocked back into the corner. That doesn’t last long either though as Dawkins gets over to Ford for the house cleaning. Ford gets caught on top but Dawkins makes a blind tag and makes a save. Dawkins knocks Prince off the apron and hits a big dive. Ford’s frog splash pins Prince at 9:45.

Rating: C+. The Profits continue to get built back up, which shows that they might have been better off not being associated with Lashley in the first place. It’s a bit weird to have Pretty Deadly come back and lose, but at least one of the teams is getting a nice boost. For now, they had an ok match, but it’s nothing that is going to have an impact for any time.

A-Town Down Under is ready to retain the Tag Team Titles, with Grayson Waller giving Austin Theory a big pep talk.

We look back at the Bloodline wrecking Paul Heyman last week.

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

Joined in progress with Cargill kicking Hartwell in the face but some double teaming brings Cargill down. Cargill fights up and it’s a double knockdown, allowing the tag off to Belair so the pace can pick up. Belair kicks LeRae down and brings Cargill back in for stereo Jaded/KOD and the pin on LeRae at 4:12.

Rating: C. I’m surprised this wasn’t more of a squash, as Cargill and Belair are still the most dominant team in the division. Odds are they’ll get a title shot in the near future and we’ll see where things go from there, but for now they’re still wrecking teams like Hartwell and LeRae. The division could still use more fresh blood, but at least there are some regular teams.

Post match Belair and Cargill say they’re coming to get the Women’s Tag Team Titles back.

Video on DIY vs. A-Town Down Under.

Here are Kevin Owens, Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes for a chat. Rhodes says they have heard enough from the Bloodline so they are ready for a fight. Orton is ready to end that fight with an RKO but it’s off to Owens, with the fans approving. Owens would rather talk about the last four days rather than the last four years, because he got a call from his dad.

Apparently his mom was rushed to the hospital, where he and his family have watched his mom fight for a few days. His mom is still in the hospital and won’t be at Money In The Bank, but that would be a problem for his mother. She did everything to make Owens’ dream come true, and she would be furious if he missed a show because of her. Excellent stuff here from Owens, which tends to be the case when you have a great talker with something important to talk about.

We get a video on the history of the Tag Team Titles, with even Demolition getting a mention.

Bayley vs. Piper Niven

Non-title and Naomi/Chelsea Green are here too while Iyo Sky is watching from the crowd. Niven runs her over to start and they head outside. Bayley is sent into the steps and we take an early break. Back with the Rose Plant being blocked and Bayley grabbing a sleeper, only to get planted down.

Bayley gets in a knockdown of her own as Naomi and Green get in a brawl on the floor. Naomi gets the better of things so Sky jumps the barricade and decks her. Cue Lyra Valkyria, Zoey Stark and Tiffany Stratton to brawl at ringside, with Stratton moonsaulting onto them. Bayley avoids Niven’s moonsault and hits the Rose Plant for the pin at 7:40.

Rating: C+. As you might have been able to tell, this was much more about the insanity going on outside rather than the match itself. They had to do something to give the women’s match a final push but it only worked so well. Not exactly a great match, but they could only do so much with so much else going on.

Post match Nia Jax runs in to lay Bayley out but Michin runs in to make the save with a kendo stick.

Money In The Bank rundown, complete with Trish Stratus being announced as the official host.

DIY talks about their history in this building.

Tag Team Titles: DIY vs. A-Town Down Under

A-Town Down Under is defending and jump them to start, only to get knocked outside for stereo slingshot dives. We take an early break and come back with Gargano in trouble but managing a twisting Canadian Destroyer to plant Waller on the floor. Theory is right there to cut him off though and Gargano gets dropped for two back inside.

We take another break (we aren’t even eight minutes into the match) and come back again with Ciampa hitting Willow’s Bell so Gargano can superkick Waller for two. Waller hits Theory by mistake and gets rolled up for two more. The Shatter Machine hits Waller for a very near fall and you can feel some energy go out of the place on the kickout.

Theory saves Waller from getting taken out but it’s Project Ciampa to drop Waller again. Meet In The Middle gets two, with Theory putting the foot on the rope. Waller’s rollup with trunks gets two but Gargano pulls him into the Gargano Escape. Theory’s save is cut off with a Sicilian Stretch and the double submission gives us new champions at 14:15.

Rating: B. This took some time to get going but they nailed the big ending, which was all that mattered. DIY getting the titles gives them by far their biggest moment on the main roster, which they’ve been needing for a long time. Other than that, it likely brings an end to A-Town Down Under, which seemed to have reached their peak, at least for the time being.

Solo Sikoa holds the lei in his hands and says it makes him the Tribal Chief. This isn’t what he wanted but it’s what had to happen. Roman Reigns was not man enough to defend the title from Cody Rhodes so Sikoa is going to take it back himself. Then if Reigns still wants it, he can come take it from Sikoa.

Overall Rating: C+. The ending helped but this was a show where they were stuck in a tough spot. Other than the main event, there was very little here that mattered as it was mainly about filling in time on a show that had to take place before the big event tomorrow. That rarely makes for a good show but they did well in the end and gave us a nice moment. There’s nothing worth seeing besides that, but it did end on a high note.

Results
Street Profits b. Pretty Deadly – Frog splash to Prince
Jade Cargill/Bianca Belair b. Indi Hartwell/Candice LeRae – Jaded to LeRae
Bayley b. Piper Niven – Rose Plant
DIY b. A-Town Down Under – Double submission

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 28, 2024
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re in the World’s Most Famous Arena and it could be interesting to see what that means for the new version of WWE. The big story coming out of last week’s show is the debut of Jacob Fatu as the Bloodline is looking stronger than ever. That could make for some serious trouble for Cody Rhodes/Kevin Owens/Randy Orton, who are facing the Bloodline at Money In The Bank. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look back at last week’s Bloodline ordeal, with Solo Sikoa suggesting that Roman Reigns isn’t coming back and then the debut of Jacob Fatu as a wrecking ball.

The Bloodline, minus Jacob Fatu, arrives. Paul Heyman asks where Fatu is but gets no answer as Solo Sikoa and the Tongans come to the ring for a chat. Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens and Randy Orton aren’t far behind and the brawl is on. Owens hits a huge Swanton off some equipment to put Sikoa through a table as Nick Aldis and security come out to break it up. Hot start to the show here.

Post break Aldis can’t get the good guys out of the ring so they beat up security. With security gone, threats are made to the Bloodline. Rhodes talks about how this arena deserves a World Title shot but instead he has to deal with something he ended at Wrestlemania. When he looks at Solo Sikoa, he doesn’t see a Tribal Chief, but rather a seat filler. That was a good line.

Post break, we look back at what we just saw.

Nick Aldis has the Cody Rhodes/Kevin Owens/Randy Orton leave the arena.

Women’s Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Jade Cargill vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Candice LeRae

Cargill shrugs off some double teaming attempts to start and neckbreakers both of them. A superkick sends Stratton outside and Cargill throws LeRae onto her for the big crash. Cue Nia Jax and we take a break. Back with Bianca Belair at ringside as well and Cargill fighting out of trouble. Stratton avoids a charge to send Cargill outside, where Belair cuts off Jax’s stalking. Cue Indi Hartwell to post Cargill, allowing LeRae to grab a rollup for two on Stratton. Not that it matters as Stratton is back up with the Prettiest Moonsault Ever to finish LeRae at 9:08.

Rating: C+. They kept this moving and had a good way to avoid Cargill winning while moving Stratton forward. It wasn’t exactly a game changing performance from any of them, but it did what it needed to do on the way to the match that matters. Stratton is certainly a contender to win the briefcase and that is exactly where she should be right now.

Bayley and Naomi find Stratton annoying and wonder what happens if Naomi wins Money In The Bank. Blair Davenport comes in to mock Bayley, with Naomi swearing vengeance.

The Pride comes in to see Nick Aldis, who says they can’t fight the Bloodline tonight but they might be able to do it next week. Pretty Deadly returns and suggest a musical but get a match with the Pride instead.

Solo Sikoa tells Paul Heyman that Jacob Fatu isn’t here but tonight, Heyman is officially becoming his wise man.

Men’s Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Santos Escobar vs. LA Knight vs. Logan Paul

Non-title and Paul brings Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton (who helped beat the New York Knicks) to show New York what a real winner looks like (with the feed cutting, suggesting a lot of swearing). It’s a brawl to start with Knight getting double teamed down. Paul and Escobar tease a fight but Knight is up again, only to get dropped again. Escobar gets sent outside, leaving Paul to plant Knight and take over. Paul dives onto Knight but gets taken out by Escobar as we take a break.

Back with Escobar hitting a super hurricanrana for two with Paul making a save. Knight slugs away on Paul and DDTs Escobar for two. Knight’s spelling elbow is cut off by Escobar so Knight slams him down for the elbow instead. Escobar is back up with a Phantom Driver to Knight, leaving Paul to make the save this time. Knight German superplexes Escobar off the top so Paul drops a Swanton for…two. Haliburton loads up the knuckles but New York Knicks’ star Jalen Brunson jumps the barricade for a staredown. The distraction lets Knight roll Paul up for the pin at 12:22.

Rating: B-. The NBA stars were a nice touch and made the match/show feel a bit more important. Other than that, this should get Knight into the ladder match, where Paul can cheat him out of the win and likely set up a title match at Summerslam. Escobar not being the designated victim was a nice surprise, but this was all about Knight vs. Paul.

Post match everyone but Escobar has a staredown, with the villains leaving.

Baron Corbin talks to Apollo Crews, who is happy that Santos Escobar has no chance of being Mr. Money In The Bank. Carmelo Hayes comes in to brag about how he’ll win Money In The Bank.

We get a tribute video to Sika.

Andrade talks about what it would mean to win Money In The Bank.

Women’s Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Blair Davenport vs. Naomi vs. Indi Hartwell

Naomi dropkicks them both down to start but a double crossbody is cut off. Davenport tries to get the pin but Hartwell doesn’t like it, meaning the alliance lasts all of 18 seconds. They go outside with Davenport taking the other two down as we take a break. Back with Naomi making Hartwell DDT Davenport to leave everyone down for a breather. Naomi hits a spinning middle rope kick to the head to put Davenport down before hitting some running forearms in the corner.

Hartwell gets in a shot of her own and covers both of them for two, with commentary not quite getting why. Back up and they all trade forearms until Naomi knocks Davenport down in the corner. The split legged moonsault misses though and they head outside, with Jade Cargill coming out to jump Hartwell as payback for earlier. Naomi’s Bubba Bomb into a rollup finishes Hartwell at 9:28.

Rating: C. I wasn’t feeling this one as it didn’t exactly come off as smooth, with some of the spots just not quite clicking. It’s also a bit much to have the qualifying matches be triple threats, as the novelty, or whatever novelty there might be, wearing off quickly. Not the worst match, but it didn’t exactly work.

DIY is ready for their Tag Team Title shot next week. Austin Theory comes in to say he and Grayson Waller will win next week, but Johnny Gargano suggests that Waller is only in this for himself. Waller comes in to jump Gargano but Theory gets him out of there.

Here is the Bloodline for an acknowledgment ceremony. Paul Heyman handles the induction but Solo Sikoa cuts him off and says he’s introducing the newest member of the Bloodline: Jacob Fatu, Sikoa’s personal enforcer. Sikoa has the Tongans and Fatu acknowledge him, which goes rather quickly. That leaves Heyman, who is rather hesitant. He loads up the lei and says he acknowledges….that Sikoa IS NOT his Tribal Chief.

Sikoa Samoan Spikes Heyman and Fatu adds the top headbutt before a TripleBomb (with Fatu as Reigns) puts Heyman through the announcers’ table. Fatu gives Sikoa the lei to end the show. The countdown to Reigns’ return continues and now we pretty firmly know which side Heyman is going to be on. I believe that’s called the battle lines being drawn.

Overall Rating: B-. The opener and ending segment were the good parts of the show, with the rest being more things that needed to be covered rather than all that interesting on its own. That is only going to get you so far and while the show wasn’t bad, it was being carried by the Bloodline. Hopefully next week is better, as while this wasn’t terrible, it was beneath what Smackdown, and WWE in general, has been doing lately.

Results
Tiffany Stratton b. Jade Cargill and Candice LeRae – Prettiest Moonsault Ever to LeRae
LA Knight b. Logan Paul and Santos Escobar – Rollup to Paul
Naomi b. Blair Davenport and Indi Hartwell – Rollup to Hartwell

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

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

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

Smackdown
Date: March 29, 2024
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut
Commentators: Corey Graves, Wade Barrett

We are just over a week away from Wrestlemania and WWE is already in the northeast for the final push towards the show. That means things are already intense and there is a good chance that we are going to be getting some fallout from the Rock attacking Cody Rhodes on Raw. Jade Cargill is here as well so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a quick look back at The Rock attacking Cody Rhodes on Raw. More on this later.

Randy Orton/Kevin Owens vs. Pretty Deadly

Owens jumps Wilson to start and drops a quick backlash for an early two. Orton comes in to hammer away on Prince so Wilson tries to tag himself in…but he’s not holding the tag rope so it doesn’t count. Well that’s not something you see everyday. The villains take Orton outside for a drop onto the announcers’ table and we take an early break.

Back with Orton belly to backing his way out of a chinlock and the tag bringing Owens in again. A DDT gives Owens two as everything breaks down. Owens comes back in but Orton is taken outside for a drop onto the announcers’ table. Cue Logan Paul with the brass knuckles to drop Owens, allowing Prince to steal the pin at 7:02.

Rating: C. This was a way to advance the triple threat at Wrestlemania and that is not a bad way to go. Paul is at his best when he’s messing with people or things that that’s what you had here, with Owens getting a pretty humiliating loss to a goofy team. That isn’t going to sit well with Orton and odds are Paul knew that coming in.

Post match Orton pulls Paul out but Pretty Deadly makes the save. Owens breaks that up and Pretty deadly is laid out, with Orton chasing Paul to the back. The chase is on and Paul jumps into a car and drives off.

Iyo Sky talks about how Bayley formed Damage CTRL to leach off of them but Sky made Bayley relevant. Then the team outgrew Bayley so they did what had to be done. Sky stands up to end the interview but gets jumped by Bayley. They destroy the green screen and are finally separated. Good brawl, but we were told what would happen before the break and that hurt things.

Here is Nick Aldis for a chat. He’s happy to bring out Jade Cargill for her first official appearance as a member of the Smackdown roster. The contract is signed and Cargill says there are some talented stars around here, but none of them are here. That woman oozes star power at a level you do not see very often.

Damage CTRL doesn’t like Bianca Belair so Dakota Kai is taking her out tonight.

Nick Aldis runs into Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre, who have dropped the witchcraft stuff but don’t say anything. Aldis keeps walking and runs into AJ Styles, who asks if LA Knight isn’t here. Aldis says he asked Knight not to be here, but Styles says Aldis should have told him.

Wrestlemania Tag Team Titles Qualifying Match: Austin Theory/Grayson Waller vs. Street Profits

Ford flips out of a double suplex to start and hands it off to Dawkins, who runs Waller over on the floor. We take a break and come back with Dawkins suplexes his way out of trouble, allowing the diving tag to Ford. A springboard spinning back elbow to the face puts Theory down for two and the Doomsday Blockbuster gets the same. Theory’s rolling neckbreaker is cut off with a sitout powerbomb but we cut to the back where Karrion Kross and Scarlett have taken out Bobby Lashley and B Fab. The distraction lets Theory raise his knees to block the frog splash and pin Ford at 6:21.

Rating: C+. Well what we saw of it was good, but as is the case so often in modern wrestling, there is only so much you can get out of a match that runs less than seven minutes and includes a commercial plus a backstage brawl. This should set up a six man between Lashley/the Profits and the Final Testament, which is a feud that needs to wrap up already as it’s long since stopped being interesting.

Post match the Final Testament comes in for the beatdown with Bobby Lashley making a failed save attempt.

We look back at Dominik Mysterio costing Rey Mysterio a match with Santos Escobar last week.

Here is Legado del Fantasma for a chat. Santos Escobar is here to brag about his win last week. He was hoping for Rey’s knee to get infected and amputated (geez) but he’ll settle for just getting a win. All it took was the help of one man, so here is Dominik Mysterio for a chat. Escobar says Dominik was right and, after Dominik is booed out of the building, promises to ruin Rey.

Cue the LWO, with Rey saying he believed he was done with Dominik. But now Rey has the chance to beat some respect into both of them. The challenge for Dominik/Escobar vs. Rey/a partner of his choosing at Wrestlemania. That would be the newest member of the LWO: Dragon Lee. Cue Lee for the brawl as the match seems likely for Wrestlemania.

Naomi wishes Bianca Belair luck and says she has her back tonight. Belair is rather pleased and they’re in this together against Damage CTRL.

Judgment Day isn’t happy with what is going on with Rhea Ripley not even knowing what Dominik Mysterio was going to do.

Wrestlemania Tag Team Title Qualifying Match: New Catch Republic vs. Legado del Fantasma

We’re joined in progress with Dunne in trouble but he gets over for the tag to Bate as house is quickly cleaned. A standing shooting star hits Berto and the ring is cleared, with Bate hitting a big dive as we take a break. Back with Bate in trouble and getting double super gorilla pressed for two. Bate gets over for the tag seconds later though and the Birminghammer gives Dunne the pin at 7:19.

Rating: C+. Just like in the previous tag match, how much can you get out of a match that goes about seven minutes with a break? It doesn’t help that Legado was already beaten down from the pre-match brawl so the Republic doesn’t even look that great for winning. But at least we now have a sixth team for the 12 man ladder match, because we have a 12 man ladder match.

We look back at the Rock beating down Cody Rhodes to end Raw. The beating continued after the show went off the air.

The Bloodline promises to take out Jey Uso next week.

Here is AJ Styles, who says he should have had LA Knight locked up last week. Styles doesn’t buy that Knight isn’t here and thinks he might be the cameraman. That’s a no, but here’s someone coming through the crowd…and that’s not Knight either. One of the security guards is Knight though and even though Styles sees him on the Titantron, the beatdown is on anyway. Styles bails through the crowd.

Video on Tiffany Stratton.

Next week: the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal is back.

Bianca Belair vs. Dakota Kai

Belair starts fast and knocks Kai into the corner for the running shoulder. Some rolling suplexes have Kai in trouble but she knees her way to freedom and we take a break. Back with Belair raining down right hands in the corner, followed by a tilt-a-whirl gutbuster. A Glam Slam into a moonsault gives Belair two but Kai manages a knee to the back for the same. The exchange of forearms goes to Belair but Kai manages to send her to the apron. A running knee only hits post though and Belair grabs a superplex. The KOD gives Belair the pin at 9:26.

Rating: C+. There is nothing wrong with giving a star a win and that is all they were trying to do here. Kai is the weakest link in Damage CTRL and having her lose to Belair at one of the last shows before Wrestlemania is hardly some career killer. Odds are we’re getting ready for a big tag match at Wrestlemania so we can probably call this a mini preview.

Post match the Kabuki Warriors come in for the beating but Naomi makes the save. The numbers game catches up to her until Jade Cargill comes in for the real save.

Overall Rating: C+. Oh yeah we are firmly in the “we’re almost to Wrestlemania so please do not screw anything up” period. That means we don’t have much time left to wait but at the same time, there is only so much to be gotten out of a show like this one. There was a likely Wrestlemania match set up and two more teams qualified for the ladder match but that’s about it. This is a completely skippable show, but it’s probably the last skippable show for a few weeks and that is a great feeling.

Results
Pretty Deadly b. Randy Orton/Kevin Owens – Brass knuckles punch from Logan Paul
Austin Theory/Grayson Waller b. Street Profits – Knees to Ford’s ribs
New Catch Republic b. Legado del Fantasma – Birminghammer to Angel
Bianca Belair b. Dakota Kai – KOD

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: March 15, 2024
Location: FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee
Commentators: Corey Graves, Wade Barrett

The Rock is here again and that alone makes this feel important. With just over three weeks before Wrestlemania, the show is really starting to come together and there is a good chance that we’ll get a few more adjustments this week. That might include a battle of the Usos being set so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes agreeing to face the Bloodline at Wrestlemania with quite the set of stipulations. Rhodes slapped Rock to end the show, making things a lot more serious.

Here is the Rock to get things going. After a long introduction, Rock says he usually torches every city he’s in, but this week is different. He started his career right here in Memphis on Channel 5 (big pop for that) and then at the Big Top Flea Market. Rock was Flex Kavana back then (he doesn’t get it either but he went with it) and now he is back home. Since this is the home of the blues and country, we’re going to have a little song tonight.

With some musical accompaniment, Rock sits down for a song about what he’s going to be doing to Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes. Rock threatens to beat them both, maybe even with his fanny pack, but he might even go after Mama Rhodes. That leads him into a musical story about how Cody was conceived (complete with a Stardust picture) due to cheap condoms.

As for Rollins, yeah he’s weird but he’s not even as popular as his wife. We get a shot at Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant before mocking the Cody Crybabies. The song ends and the fans cheer for Rock, who just mocked all of them because evil Rock is too good to overcome. Rock talks about the slap from Cody and brings up Cody crying about being able to hand the title to his mother. That brings Rock to Mama Rhodes, with Rock promising to make Cody pay both nights at Wrestlemania.

The only belt Cody is going to get is a weightlifting belt that Rock pulls out, which he is going to use to beat Cody bloody. Then after Roman Reigns beats Cody, rock is going to hand it over to Mama Rhodes and say….what can I say except you’re welcome. If you smell what the final boss is cooking. This was pure Rock charisma and it’s no wonder that the fans were going nuts for him after every mean and horrible thing he said.

Wrestlemania Tag Team Title Qualifying Quarterfinals: Legado del Fantasma vs. LWO

Angel chops del Toro up against the rope to start and hands it off to Berto, who misses a charge into the corner. Wilde comes in for a double basement superkick, setting up the double running flip dives as we…don’t take a break for a change. A double elbow and assisted springboard moonsault gets two on Berto and now we take the break.

Back with Berto elbowing del Toro for two and knocking him into the corner. A double middle rope gorilla press slam gets two on del Toro but he’s right back with a Spanish Fly for a breather. Wilde comes in to clean house but Angel throws him into a kick to the ribs from Berto for the pin at 9:10.

Rating: C+. This is one of the good ideas of a series of qualifying matches like this one as you can throw a bunch of established feuds out there with fresh stakes. The match wasn’t anything break but having people flying around all over the place is always a good way to go. It’s the kind of thing that has worked forever in wrestling and it worked well again here.

Here is LA Knight for a chat. After taking the mic from Kayla Braxton, Knight talks about how he’s been looking for AJ Styles, who thinks Knight needs to be humbled. Well he’s standing right here, so why not come out here and humble him? There’s no Styles, which doesn’t shock Knight at all. Styles will go all the way to Australia but he can’t come to Memphis? Knight says if Styles can’t show up here, how about he shows up at Wrestlemania? We get the catchphrase and here is Styles to jump him with a chair and accept. This was checking off a box that was all set to go.

We look at Randy Orton attacking KSI and sending Logan Paul running last week.

Paul comes in to see Nick Aldis and wants to know what kind of punishment Orton is facing after last week. Aldis thinks Paul should request that apology in person, which Paul doesn’t like. How can he expect Aldis to do his job when he can’t even find Paul a Wrestlemania opponent? That’s a rookie mistake if I’ve ever heard of one.

Summerslam is coming to Cleveland.

A fired up Jimmy Uso accepts Jey Uso’s challenge for Wrestlemania.

Randy Orton vs. Grayson Waller

Austin Theory is here with Waller. Orton spends so much time posing that Waller gets annoyed but here is Logan Paul to interrupt/join commentary. Waller jumps him to start but Orton hammers away in the corner, only to be dumped outside. Orton takes over out there as well but stops to glare at Paul, allowing Waller to send him into the announcers’ table.

We take a break and come back with Orton fighting out of a cravate. Orton hits the powerslam and they go outside, where Waller is dropped onto the announcers’ table a few times. Theory’s distract fails and it’s the hanging DDT but Waller bails before the RKO. Instead Orton drops Theory and now the RKO can finish Waller at 7:37.

Rating: C. Not bad here as Orton was never going to be in any serious danger to Waller, even with Theory out there. We’re pretty clearly moving towards Paul vs. Orton, with Kevin Owens possibly involved as well, so keeping Orton looking strong over a goon is a good way to go. They didn’t have a great match or anything here, but they did what they needed to.

Post match the beatdown is on but Kevin Owens makes the save. Cue Nick Aldis to announce a triple threat match for the US Title, with Orton and Owens getting the title shots. Paul: “Oh no.”

We look at Bayley being thrown out of Damage CTRL on the way to her title shot at Wrestlemania.

Dakota Kai is ready to destroy Bayley before she can get to Iyo Sky at Wrestlemania. Damage CTRL runs the show.

Santos Escobar vs. Dragon Lee

The rest of Legado del Fantasma is here with Escobar. Lee wastes no time in knocking him to the floor for a running flip dive. A running hurricanrana takes Berto off the apron but Lee walks into the Phantom Driver for the pin at 1:58. Remember when Lee was the next big thing earlier this year?

Post match the beatdown is on but Carlito makes the save. He’s taken out as well but Rey Mysterio makes the real save. Mysterio issues the challenge to Escobar for next week and promises to slap the smile off his face.

Wrestlemania Tag Team Title Qualifying Quarterfinals: Pretty Deadly vs. New Catch Republic

Bate and Dunne take turns working on Wilson’s arm to start with Dunne shifting over to the fingers for some extra pain. Wilson manages to send Dunne outside though and Prince gets in a cheap shot to take over. Back in and Dunne fights out of trouble without much effort, allowing the tag to Bate for the house cleaning. The very spinning airplane spin has Prince in trouble and we take a break.

We come back with Bate muscling Wilson up with a suplex, allowing the tag back to Dunne to pick up the pace. Prince has to escape an armbar and it’s back to Bate for stereo kicks to the head in the corner. Wilson makes the save and everything breaks down, with the Republic being sent into the post. A middle rope bulldog/face plant combination gets two on Bate but Dunne is back up. The Birminghammer finish Prince at 13:11.

Rating: C+. Good match here with Pretty Deadly getting in more offense than I would have expected. This sends the Republic on to a match with Legado del Fantasma for a spot in the six way at Wrestlemania, which is quite the complicated setup. I’m not even sure how many quality teams there are for such a match, but at least we’ll have one smaller team in there for some impressive looking insanity.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Bayley vs. Dakota Kai

The rest of Damage CTRL is here with Kai. Bayley wastes no time in starting the beating but stops to glare at Damage CTRL. That’s enough for Kai to get in a slap, which earns her a drive into the corner. The fans chant for NXT’s Trick Williams for some reason as Bayley sends her face first into the apron to take over. Kai is down on the floor and gets surrounded by Damage CTRL as we take a break.

Back with Asuka offering a distraction so Kai can get in a standing double stomp out of the corner. Bayley knocks her off the top though and there’s the top rope elbow for two. Sane gets in another cheap shot though and it’s Kai kicking Bayley in the face. A powerbomb out of the corner plants Kai but Sky comes in with the belt for the staredown. Kai grabs Bayley’s leg and Sky decks Bayley for the DQ at 7:33.

Rating: C. That’s a bit of a weird way to go as you would think that Bayley could use a win on the way to Wrestlemania. Kai is fresh back in the ring after her injury but it’s not like she is anywhere near Bayley’s level in the first place. Damage CTRL coming in is a fine way to go, but I’m a bit surprised by the lack of Bayley getting a pin.

Post match the beatdown is on so here is Naomi, who gets beaten down as well. The fans chant for Bianca Belair but have to settle for Sky hitting Over The Moonsault to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Well you can’t say they didn’t get a lot done. This show had the rather snazzy opening from the Rock plus three Wrestlemania matches being announced. That’s quite the use of two hours and as usual, it shows that things can go well even when the wrestling was just ok. Wrestlemania is shaping up and now we have a few more weeks to really set things up for Philadelphia.

Results
Legado del Fantasma b. LWO – Kick to the ribs to Wilde
Randy Orton b. Grayson Waller – RKO
Santos Escobar b. Dragon Lee – Phantom Driver
New Catch Republic b. Pretty Deadly – Birminghammer to Prince
Bayley b. Dakota Kai via DQ when Iyo Sky interrupted

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: February 9, 2024
Location: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, North Carolina
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Corey Graves

As has been the case multiple times this year, and then everything changed. This time it was at the Wrestlemania media event, as Cody Rhodes changed his mind and decided that he would he challenging Roman Reigns instead. This sounds simple enough, but there was a huge X factor in the Rock, who got into it with Rhodes and has joined forces with Reigns in a “my family is better than your family” feud. I think we might have some fallout tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long recap of the press event.

Here is HHH for a chat, with Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce waiting in the ring. HHH talks about how we are on the Road To Wrestlemania but things took a hard turn yesterday. For now though, he needs to set the record straight. There are some people who don’t know their role but tried to assert their authority when they don’t have any. HHH doesn’t care where you sit because one thing is abundantly clear: the answers come one place and one place only and you are looking at him.

The main event of Wrestlemania XL will be Roman Reigns defending against Cody Rhodes. If there are some people who don’t like that, it doesn’t matter what you think. Aldis says it’s time to shift focus to Seth Rollins and the World Heavyweight Championship. The new #1 contender will be determined in the Elimination Chamber and qualifying matches begin tonight.

We see the twelve wrestlers who will be fighting for those shows: Randy Orton, Bronson Reed, Kevin Owens, Logan Paul, AJ Styles, Miz, Bobby Lashley, Ivar, Drew McIntyre, Sami Zayn, Dominik Mysterio and LA Knight (seemingly in no particular order). We’ll start right now with this qualifying match.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Drew McIntyre vs. AJ Styles

Before the match, McIntyre comes to the ring and mocks CM Punk’s injury (complete with the shirt) and no, Punk isn’t making a dime off of it! Hold on though as LA Knight joins commentary as McIntyre strikes away at Styles to start. A backbreaker sets up a rather harsh armbar to keep Styles down. They go outside with McIntyre sending him hard into the timekeeper’s area as we take a break.

Back with Styles fighting back and getting in his half of a double knockdown. McIntyre takes him up in the corner but Styles pulls him out with a sitout powerbomb for a near fall. A quick Futureshock plants Styles but he cuts the Claymore off. McIntyre cuts off the Phenomenal Forearm just as quickly though and they head outside. Styles almost gets into it with Knight, allowing McIntyre to shove Styles into Knight, who isn’t pleased. Knight gets on the apron to go after Styles, whose rollup to McIntyre is missed. The angry Styles decks Knight but walks into the Claymore for the pin at 11:15.

Rating: B-. One thing I like about qualifying matches is a situation where it seems that one person is the obvious winner but the other one isn’t a total non-factor. Styles getting into the Chamber wouldn’t have been an insane thought and that helps a lot. Odds are we’ll be seeing Styles again when Knight is trying to qualify and that makes things more interesting.

Sami Zayn is facing Randy Orton in his qualifying match and if that is his path to the title, so be it.

A NASCAR champion was here earlier.

Pretty Deadly is not happy with Wilson’s hand being hurt by Pete “Do-nay” and swear revenge.

We look back at Bayley leaving Damage CTRL and setting up her Wrestlemania title match.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Bianca Belair vs. Michin

Belair powers her around to start but Michin is back with some kicks to the head. A running kick to the chest gets two on Belair, who bails out to the floor for a breather. We take an early break and come back with Belair slugging away. Michin kicks her in the face to put Belair back down, only to miss a Cannonball. The handspring moonsault is almost countered with raised knees but Belair sticks the landing. A spinebuster gives Belair two but Michin is able to catch her on top with a superplex. Eat Defeat connects to send Belair outside but a Styles clash takes too long. Belair hits a KOD for the pin at 7:13.

Rating: C+. This gets some bonus points for Michin getting in a good bit of offense. Belair winning isn’t exactly a surprise but I would much rather they have a competitive match instead of letting Belair run her over. Michin is someone who doesn’t seem likely to become a major star, but she can be a good middle of the road hand for matches like this one.

Bron Breakker comes in to see HHH and isn’t sure if he should sign with Raw or Smackdown. Before HHH can say anything, Paul Heyman comes in to interrupt. Breakker leaves and Heyman says that is a heck of a talent from a wacky family. A serious HHH asks what Heyman wants so Heyman says he’ll be back next week….with Roman Reigns. And the Rock. HHH says he’s looking forward to it.

Here is Bayley for a chat. She seems relieved that the fans are happy to see her and talks about how much Damage CTRL meant to her. Bayley put everything into Damage CTRL and then they kept mocking her behind her back. That hurt her…and here is Dakota Kai to interrupt. Kai says she didn’t know anything about what the rest of the team was doing but Bayley doesn’t buy it.

Bayley says Kai was always there with the rest of them but Kai says she always believed in the team. Kai misses the original trio because she wouldn’t be here if not for Bayley. It looked like Bayley’s plan was working and she thought it was going well but then everything fell apart.

Bayley asks where she stands but here are Iyo Sky and the Kabuki Warriors to interrupt. The still injured Kai bails….and then comes back in with a chair. Bayley sees her coming but Kai swings at Sky and the Warriors instead. With the three of them gone, Kai drops the chair and Bayley is confused. Bayley and Kai stare at each other but nothing happens. Points for adding some intrigue here, because Bayley facing Damage CTRL 4-1 wasn’t exactly a realistic fight.

Randy Orton talks about how he was on the shelf for over a year and has learned to be patient. Inside the Chamber, the only constant is the RKO.

Bobby Lashley and company are ready for Wrestlemania season, including his Elimination Chamber qualifying match on Raw against Bronson Reed.

Pete Dunne/Tyler Bate vs. DIY

The winners get a Tag Team Title shot at Elimination Chamber. Gargano and Bate start things off with a pinfall reversal sequence, giving us a standoff. Dunne and Ciampa come in and go to the floor, where Dunne misses a moonsault. Ciampa knocks him onto the announcers’ table with the other two coming outside as well. Gargano knocks Bate down and we get some DIY clapping to send us to a break.

Back with everything breaking down and all four knocking each other down. Bate is up with a giant swing/airplane spin at the same time but Gargano breaks up the double Tyler Driver 97. Ciampa knees Bate in the face and hits Project Ciampa for two. Bate is back up to slug away at Ciampa, who kicks him in the face. The solo Tyler Driver 97 is blocked and Gargano superkicks Bate into the corner. That lets Dunne come back in for the Bitter End and the pin at 8:25.

Rating: B-. Dunne and Bate getting the shot is interesting as it sets up a completely fresh match. It’s also a nice sign for the future of the tag division as it shows what happens when you take two talented people with nothing going on and give them something to do. DIY will be fine, but at some point they need to win something that matters on the main roster.

Dominik Mysterio is ready to win the Elimination Chamber so he and Rhea Ripley can have matching titles. He doesn’t care who he faces, but here is Kevin Owens to promise Dominik a beating next week. Owens will even dedicate it to Rey Mysterio. Cue R-Truth, who thinks Owens is the Miz. Truth: “Don’t let Nick catch you!” Owens: “Nick Mysterio?” Truth: “Nick Aldis!” Fans: “WE WANT TRUTH!”

Logan Paul comes in to see the General Managers and has no idea why he’s in an Elimination Chamber qualifying match. Those matches are for unqualified people and that’s not true for him. Next week he’s fighting in UTAH? IN UTAH??? He’ll do it, just because he’s going to Wrestlemania and leaving as a double champion. Nick Aldis makes Paul vs. Miz in a qualifying match next week. Paul is not pleased. No mention of Paul’s next US Title challenger being announced as was advertised.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Randy Orton vs. Sami Zayn

Zayn starts fast by sending him outside and teases the dive, only to flip back into the middle when Orton moves. Back in and Orton hammers away before heading outside again. This time Zayn drops him onto the announcers’ table as we take a break. Back with Orton hitting the top rope superplex, setting up the snap powerslam to put Zayn down again.

The hanging DDT is cut off with a backdrop though and Zayn hits the big suicide dive. Orton is fine enough to drop Zayn onto the announcers’ table, meaning the second hanging DDT attempt can connect. Zayn grabs a quick Blue Thunder Bomb for two but Orton is right back with the RKO for the pin at 10:47.

Rating: B-. I don’t think there’s any surprise that these two had a good match but again, it was nice to have a feeling that either could win. Zayn has seemingly been pushed as needing to win the World Title so giving him a chance to get into a big #1 contenders match wasn’t out of the question. Orton is the right choice to go forward though, as he’s still feeling like one of the biggest stars around at the moment.

Post match Drew McIntyre comes out for a staredown with Orton to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling was pretty run of the mill but what mattered here was the atmosphere. This show had a bunch of stuff that felt big as they have turned on Wrestlemania Mode. That is a feeling you can’t shake and it was in full force this week. The matches had consequences and it was a show where things were happening. In a word, it felt focused and that is a great thing to see at the right time.

Results
Drew McIntyre b. AJ Styles – Claymore
Bianca Belair b. Michin – KOD
Tyler Bate/Pete Dunne b. DIY – Bitter End to Gargano
Randy Orton b. Sami Zayn – RKO

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

Smackdown
Date: February 2, 2024
Location: Legacy Arena, Birmingham, Alabama
Commentators: Corey Graves, Wade Barrett

We’re done with the Royal Rumble and that means we are officially on the Road To Wrestlemania. That means we are going to need some decisions from the Royal Rumble winners, one of which will be announced tonight as Bayley makes her announcement. Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes are here as well so let’s get to it.

Here is the Royal Rumble if you need a recap.

The Bloodline arrives.

Long Royal Rumble recap.

Commentary welcomes us to the show. It’s a smart move to remind people that Barrett is a 5x Intercontinental Champion. A lot of people might not know that and it gives him some instant credibility.

Here is Logan Paul for a chat. He hates Alabama but has to praise Kevin Owens, who hurt him more than Floyd Mayweather Jr. Owens even made him bleed…..but then Owens still lost. Paul talks about how tough he is and mocks Seth Rollins and CM Punk’s recent injuries. He lists off some nicknames before getting interrupted by Owens himself. Owens talks about how much he liked hitting Paul, because hurting him was better than winning the title.

Paul says that was Owens’ one and only shot because he took the bait of the brass knuckles. Owens talks about how he’ll do anything to win a match, but he just got caught. Paul insults Owens’ smell, but Owens says he bathed in Prime (Paul’s energy drink) before he came out here. Either way, there’s no rematch, so Paul is off to find a better challenger.

Kevin Owens vs. Austin Theory

Logan Paul is on commentary and Grayson Waller is at ringside. They trade headlocks to start with Theory knocking him down and choking a bit, much to Paul’s approval. Owens is back up with a backsplash into a Cannonball but Theory backdrops him onto the apron. We take a break and come back with Owens fighting out of a chinlock. A knockdown sets up a missed Swanton so Theory hits a rolling Blockbuster for two. Back up and Paul slips in the brass knuckles but Owens takes them away. After dropping Waller, a right hand to Theory finishes for Owens at 10:48.

Rating: C+. It seems like Owens is staying in the title picture and this was a good way to get him back in the hunt after the bad loss. Sometimes it’s fine just to put someone out there and give them a win over a somewhat credible star and they did it just fine. Owens has bigger things coming, but this was about setting the table and that needed to be done.

Post match Owens chases Paul off.

We look back at Naomi returning in the women’s Royal Rumble.

Naomi has officially signed with Smackdown….and so has Tiffany Stratton, who slaps Michin and runs off.

Bianca Belair is trying to find out what she has to do to get a Wrestlemania title shot. Logan Paul interrupts and wants a match tonight, but gets into an argument with Belair.

Legado del Fantasma talks about their unbreakable bond. A toast is made.

Pretty Deadly vs. Tyler Bate/Pete Dunne vs. LWO vs. Legado del Fantasma

The winners face the winners of another four way on Raw, with the winners getting a Tag Team Title shot at Elimination Chamber. Bate works on Prince’s arm before handing it off to Dunne to do more of the same. Everything breaks down and Wilde is launched off the middle rope for the huge assisted dive onto a bunch of people.

We take a break and come back with Dunne getting the tag to clean house as everything breaks down. Zelina Vega holds the ropes so the LWO can hit stereo dives, followed by Vega diving onto Elektra Lopez. Pretty Deadly’s twin magic doesn’t work as Dunne snaps his fingers and the double Tyler Driver 97 finishes for Bate at 8:47.

Rating: C+. As usual, there is only so much you can do with this many people and so little time. Bate and Dunne are a good tag team and it’s nice to see WWE rebuilding their tag division. No one in here felt off and if there are four other teams on Raw (which there should be), you have quite a division between the two rosters. Having one set of titles helps that much, and there are some interesting possibilities for the Elimination Chamber title match.

We look at Bayley and Rhea Ripley arguing on Raw until Nia Jax interrupted and scared Bayley.

Damage CTRL, minus Bayley, doesn’t think much of Bayley, who happens to be listening from the other room. So she’s Batista with less tattoos?

Here is Bayley, with Damage CTRL, to talk about her Wrestlemania decision. She has done everything she can at Wrestlemania and her career has been a lot more downs than ups. The whole time though, she had her Damage CTRL friends with her because they’re family. The team laughs a bit but then gets serious when she turns around. She wants to be the best and that means beating the best, which brings her to Rhea Ripley.

Sometimes you have to do what your heart tells you to do, like proving people wrong when they said they were your friends. Bayley calls Damage CTRL out for laughing and drops some Japanese, which scares them a bit. She picked it up from all the talking they’ve done behind their back (they know the jig is up) and doesn’t get why they did this.

All she wanted was Damage CTRL to be the best….and they beat her down. Bayley whips out a pipe and cleans house before staring Iyo Sky down. With Sky bailing, Bayley makes the Wrestlemania challenge and the match seems on. That was good stuff as the villains knew the jig was up and didn’t bother wasting time getting to the point.

Final Testament vs. Bobby Lashley/Street Profits

It’s a brawl before the bell and Lashley is left alone to spinebuster Kross. The Hurt Lock is loaded up but Scarlett runs in, only to have B Fab make the save. Lashley spears Kross down and the villains leave. No match.

Bron Breakker is about to sign with Smackdown when Adam Pearce comes in to say he has an offer for him on Monday. Breakker is willing to listen and says he’ll see Pearce on Raw. Jade Cargill comes in to talk with Aldis, who throws Pearce out. Pearce says be careful of Double 0 Salesman.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Michin

Michin starts fast and grabs a suplex but Stratton pops up and takes her down without much trouble. Stratton asks what time it is as we take a break. Back with Michin hitting a heck of a slap and hammering away. An Alabama Slam gives Stratton two and it’s a Regal Roll into the Prettiest Moonsault Ever for the pin at 7:42.

Rating: C. This was a “hi, nice to meet you” match from Stratton as she beats someone the fans know well enough. Stratton is quite the athlete and got to showcase that here, though she’s going to need to do some of her promos to really make it work. For now it’s a nice start, but there is only so much you can get out of this kind of a presentation.

It’s time for Cody Rhodes’ decision, so here is the Bloodline, with Roman Reigns wanting some acknowledgment. Reigns talks about how Seth Rollins talked called his title the important title, but Reigns has beaten everyone who is going after that title. Rollins tried to carry the title and now he’s limping around. Sure Reigns wrestles ten times less than Rollins, but he makes ten times more. Do you want Rollins money or Tribal Chief money?

Cody Rhodes is an idiot and has values and all that, so Reigns isn’t begging him like the other guy. You can be the best #2 in the industry or take a crack at #1 again. After Reigns killed that promo, here is Cody to interrupt. Back from a break and Cody asks if we can do this more privately. Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso leave, allowing Cody to say he disagrees with Seth Rollins saying the WWE Title is the Hollywood Title.

Cody says that is the title Bruno Sammartino held and the title that was taken from his father’s hands. So what is finishing the story? Reigns has said everything around here belongs to him, so if finishing the story taking the title, or taking everything? Cody wants the title and is coming for Reigns…..but not at Wrestlemania.

Cody took counsel this week and one person knows him very well….and here’s the Rock (Reigns’ eyebrows popped up when the music hit). Cody and Rock shake hands, with Rock whispering something to Cody that makes him nod. Cody leaves and Rock stares Reigns down…as the show ends with nothing being said, but we do get a graphic for a Wrestlemania Press Event on Thursday.

Oh yeah this is going to get some people mad and I don’t quite get it. Cody has had his Wrestlemania main event. Against Reigns. For the title. In an NFL stadium. Rock is 53 years old and has a very complicated schedule. If this is the time to get that one big match out of him, you do it when you have the chance. Cody can have his (second) match with Reigns later and even then there’s no guarantee he’s getting the title. Rock vs. Reigns is he biggest match possible right now and if they can do it in front of 60,000+ in Philadelphia, it’s going to be an amazing moment.

Overall Rating: B. This show wasn’t about the wrestling but rather setting up the Wrestlemania title matches. Bayley vs. Sky won’t headline anything but it’s a solid middle of the pack match. Rock vs. Reigns is one of those dream matches that you get every so often and yeah, WWE is going to have to twist things around a lot for it to happen but maybe, just maybe, they have something else in mind for Cody, either at Wrestlemania or down the line. This wasn’t about what happened this week but rather setting things up for Philadelphia and that went really well.

Results
Kevin Owens b. Austin Theory – Right hand with brass knuckles
Tyler Bate/Pete Dunne b. Pretty Deadly, LWO and Legado del Fantasma – Double Tyler Driver 97 to Prince
Tiffany Stratton b. Michin – Prettiest Moonsault Ever

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: January 19, 2024
Location: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

It’s a big week as Roman Reigns is back, this time for the four way contract signing for the Royal Rumble title match. That alone should be enough to carry the show, though we still have the rest of the Smackdown side of the card to be set up. That should include some new Rumble participants, which can make for some interesting moments. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s main event, with Randy Orton showing up at the end to score the win.

The Bloodline welcomes Roman Reigns, who says he’s here to fix things. With Reigns gone, Solo Sikoa says he’ll fix everything.

Here is Nick Aldis to emcee the contract signing, meaning we get AJ Styles (who signs before anyone else can come out), LA Knight (signs as soon as he comes out), Randy Orton (three signatures) and….well Paul Heyman, who wants to look over the contract before Roman Reigns signs. Aldis says that’s fine, because the three who have signed can wrestle for the VACANT WWE Universal Title.

Heyman gets on the apron to say he admires the mediocre job that Aldis has done. He praises Aldis’ fashion sense but says no one can sell this kind of decision to anyone, because Reigns should be defending the title in a one on one match. Knight cuts it off and says that one on one match should be his, because the Bloodline cost him the title at Crown Jewel. Styles says Knight walked over him to get the title shot and the fight is on, leaving Orton to grab Heyman by the tie. Orton promises to take out Solo Sikoa tonight and then go on to RKO Reigns at the Royal Rumble. Good stuff here and it set up at least one match tonight.

Post break, AJ Styles gets a match with LA Knight made for tonight.

LWO vs. Legado del Fantasma

Zelina Vega is here with the LWO. Escobar bails from Carlito to start, allowing Angel to get in a cheap shot from behind. Del Toro comes in and springboards onto Angel, with Wilde coming in to take over. Humberto comes in and the LWO hit stereo dives to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Wilde in trouble and being dragged into the wrong corner so Garza can hit a running dropkick to the ribs. Wilde manages to flip into the air for a DDT (that was sweet and left Escobar stunned), allowing the hot tag off to Carlito. House is cleaned but Humberto hits a nice springboard spinning kick to Carlito’s face. Back up and Carlito hits Humberto with a chokebomb into the Backstabber. Escobar makes a blind tag though and rolls Carlito up for the pin at 8:25.

Rating: C+. They kept this moving as you might have expected but it still feels like they’re just killing time until we get to the big Escobar vs. Rey Mysterio showdown. Bringing back Legado is a good thing as there’s already a history to the team and we could get a nice variety of matches out of the thing. This was a good start and Carlito can take a bunch of losses without really being hurt.

Pretty Deadly is ready to face Tyler Bate and Butch.

Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits are ready for the Final Testament. Just name the time and the place.

Pretty Deadly vs. Tyler Bate/Pete Dunne

Yes Pete Dunne as the long awaited name change has FINALLY come through. Bate takes over on Wilson to start and hands it off to Dunne for some finger cranking. An armbar and leg stomp have various parts of Wilson in varying degrees of pain, followed by Bate’s airplane spin to the floor. We take a break and come back with Bate getting caught in the corner for a running uppercut. The chinlock doesn’t last long though as Bate gets over to Dunne for the tag to initiate the house cleaning. Bate takes out Wilson, leaving Dunne to give Prince the Bitter End for the pin at 7:22.

Rating: C+. This was all about one thing and it worked well, as this was the more aggressive Dunne, who looked good in his return. It’s not some huge change from Butch but there is a certain edge to him that wasn’t there before. Thankfully they’ve done what should have happened a long time ago and Dunne clearly still knows how to be his old self.

We recap Logan Paul vs. Kevin Owens, with Paul threatening Owens with a lawsuit over a shot with the cast.

Pretty Deadly is livid over it being Pete Dunne instead of Butch and swear no more.

Here is Kevin Owens for the KO Show. Owens isn’t happy about it but introduces his guest: Logan Paul. Cue Paul, who says he would be honored to be here but he isn’t. It’s his show now because he is the show. Owens might not know it, but he is the reason Paul is in WWE. We see a clip of Owens Stunnering him at Wrestlemania XXXVII, which made 70,000 people cheer. That was when he realized he needed to show the world he could do this, though Owens says he barely remembers it.

Paul was just one of the people Owens Stunned, but yes Paul did become really good at this. At the end of the day though, Paul isn’t one of them and certainly isn’t a Kevin Owens. Paul: “Thank God!” Paul talks about everything he has done and everything he has accomplished, while Owens is just himself. Owens: “I don’t know what any of that meant.” He calls Paul a joke and that joke will end at the Royal Rumble.

Paul says he wasn’t listening to any of that and we hear about their knockout abilities. He’s ready to KO KO, who reminds Paul of how much punishment he can take. Owens goes to take off the cast but Paul decks him, setting off the brawl. Paul gets in another cheap shot and stands tall to wrap it up. The match and story are already set so it’s nice to see some extra building, with Paul having a motivation of his own.

Roman Reigns yells at the Bloodline but Solo Sikoa steps up to say last week was on him. Tonight, he’ll fix things.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Kayden Carter/Katana Chance vs. Unholy Union

The Union (Alba Fyre/Isla Dawn) is challenging and Damage CTRL is on commentary. Carter gets jumped to start and a running knee gives Dawn two. A superkick gets the same but Carter gets back up and takes Dawn into the corner. Chance hurricanranas Dawn down onto Fyre for two but Dawn gets in a cheap shot. Fyre’s rollup gets two but it’s a Canadian Destroyer into into the assisted spinning moonsault for the pin to retain at 2:52.

Post match the Kabuki Warriors take the title belts and seem to get a title shot.

We get a quick tribute to Pat Patterson, who started the Royal Rumble and would have turned 83 today.

The Final Testament is ready to hurt Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits next week.

We look at Carmelo Hayes vs. Austin Theory ending in a no contest last week.

Hayes says he’d love to face Theory again so here is Theory to say…well he doesn’t want to do it again next week. Grayson Waller accepts for him, with Theory saying Waller has to quit doing that.

AJ Styles vs. LA Knight

Knight slugs away to start and hits a quick belly to back suplex. Styles grabs a rather hard headlock on the mat though, with Knight having to send him into the corner. Back up and Styles strikes away, only to have Knight punch his way out of trouble. Knight’s powerslam connects but Styles avoids a running knee in the corner. Styles sends him into the barricade, only to have Knight drive him face first into the announcers’ table instead. Cue Jimmy Uso for a distraction, with Solo Sikoa coming in to Spike Knight for the DQ at 4:45.

Rating: C. They started fast here but the match was more of a way to set up the main event than anything else. You don’t want one of them taking a fall on the way to the Royal Rumble so having Sikoa Spike one of them for the DQ was the smart way to go. Not much of a match, but they’re saving the big stuff for the Rumble.

Post match Sikoa Spikes Styles as well before saying “two down and one to go”. He wants Randy Orton out here night, but we’ll have to wait for a break.

Randy Orton vs. Solo Sikoa

Nick Aldis, with contract, is at ringside. The beating is on fast and Orton is knocked into the corner. The running hip attack connects and Orton is sent outside as we take an early break. Back with Orton throwing Sikoa over the announcers’ desk and hitting the hanging DDT. Cue Jimmy Uso but LA Knight cuts him off, sending Uso running…right into AJ Styles. That brings Styles to the ring, allowing Sikoa to load up the Spike. Orton isn’t having that though and RKO’s him for the pin at 5:18. Not enough shown to rate but the last two matches were pretty much all one big angle.

Post match Knight drops Styles but gets RKO’ed. Styles gets one of his own but Reigns comes in with the Superman Punch to Orton. Reigns signs and drops the contract in front of Aldis. The spear is loaded up…and countered into the RKO to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This definitely wasn’t a week about the wrestling, but the focus on the four way throughout the night was a good way to go and the Dunne reveal/return in the middle was a nice bonus. They threw a bunch of stuff out there in one night, though a good deal of it didn’t quite feel like it mattered. They got the important part though and if they don’t screw anything up next week, the Smackdown half of the Rumble is pretty set.

Results
Legado del Fantasma b. LWO – Rollup to Carlito
Tyler Bate/Pete Dunne b. Pretty Deadly – Bitter End to Prince
Kayden Carter/Katana Chance b. Unholy Union – Assisted spinning moonsault to Fyre
LA Knight b. AJ Styles via DQ when Solo Sikoa interfered
Randy Orton b. Solo Sikoa – RKO

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Smackdown
Date: January 12, 2024
Location: Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, Nebraska
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

We are just over two weeks away from the Royal Rumble and after last week’s rather boneheaded move, Roman Reigns is defending against AJ Styles, LA Knight and Randy Orton at the same time. Other than that, the Royal Rumbles could use some more entrants so we might get to cover a few names this week. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s triple threat #1 contenders match, which saw the Bloodline interfere for the no contest. Then the Royal Rumble title match was made a four way, shocking no one paying attention.

Grayson Waller vs. Cameron Grimes

Austin Theory is here with Waller. Hold on though as here is the Bloodline to jump Grimes from behind. Theory and Waller bail and we have no match.

Paul Heyman grabs the mic and mocks Nick Aldis for putting Roman Reigns in a four way match. Aldis pops in to say the match is on no matter what. As for tonight, it’s the Bloodline, including Roman Reigns, in a six man tag….despite Reigns not being here. The team can find a third entrant, but otherwise it’s handicap match a go-go.

Video on Angel and Humberto joining forces with Santos Escobar.

Post break Heyman says that Reigns isn’t here tonight so the team will have to find a replacement.

LWO vs. Angel/Humberto

Zelina Vega is here with the LWO and Santos Escobar is on commentary. The fight is on fast to start with the LWO sending them outside for the big double flip dives. Back in and Del Toro hammers away on Angel, setting up a springboard missile dropkick to the floor. A low bridge sends del Toro outside though and we take a break. We take a break and come back with a basement dropkick hitting del Toro for two.

Del Toro rolls over for the tag off to Wilde though and house is quickly cleaned. Angel crotches Wilde on top though and a double super gorilla press brings him back down. Humberto rolls Wilde into a powerbomb for two but Wilde is right back with a poisonrana. It’s back to del Toro for the big flip dive to the floor as Carlito comes out to jump Escobar. That leaves Wilde to roll Angel up, only to have Angel sit down on him and grab the rope for the pin at 9:58.

Rating: B-. The match got some time and it was the kind of entertaining spectacle that you would have expected. What mattered here was having four guys go nuts with one high spot after another and once the match got going, that is what they had. It keeps the feud going, and all we’re doing now is waiting for Rey Mysterio to get back so the real stuff can begin.

Carmelo Hayes is in Nick Aldis’ office where it sounds like contract negotiations are taking place. Hayes mentions the Royal Rumble but Nick Aldis and Austin Theory interrupt. That’s not cool with Hayes, so Aldis makes Hayes vs. Theory for tonight.

The LWO isn’t happy with their loss but Paul Heyman pops in to offer an apple in exchange for teaming with the Bloodline tonight. Carlito takes the apple but would rather fight Santos Escobar.

We look back at Kevin Owens becoming #1 contender to the US Title and knocking out Logan Paul after the match.

Logan Paul isn’t here tonight but sends in a video, threatening to sue Owens over an assault with a weapon. If Owens has the cast at the Rumble, his title shot is gone.

Tyler Bate and Butch are at a coffee shop, with Bate thinking they would make a good team going forward. Butch isn’t sure because the Brawling Brutes are in the past but Bate suggests that Butch find out what his name is going to be. Nothing is said but Butch is thinking about it.

Bianca Belair vs. Bayley

The rest of Damage CTRL is here with Bayley. They start fast so Bayley can take her down by the hair, which doesn’t have Belair happy. An exchange of clotheslines puts both of them down but Bayley is back up to wrap the arm around the rope. Belair isn’t having that and runs her over, only to get clotheslined in the back of the head. Some slams put Bayley down but she sends Belair throat first into the ropes. The threat of a quick KOD is broken up so Belair rams her into the buckle as we take a break.

Back with Bayley working on the arm but Belair manages a quick spinebuster. The comeback is on but Bayley ties her in the corner for a running knee. Bayley goes extra evil by tying Belair’s hair around the ropes….so Belair uses it as a rip wire in a creative spot. With the hair untied, Belair bends Bayley’s back around the post before slamming her ribs first into another post.

Back in and Belair hammers away in the corner, followed by a backbreaker for two. Belair throws her out of the corner and hits the handspring moonsault for two more. Bayley sends her into the corner again and drops the top rope elbow for her own near fall. A charging Belair is sent outside but she’s fine enough to nail a spear on the way back inside. The KOD finishes for Belair at 16:26.

Rating: B. As usual, these two have very good chemistry together and it was on display again here. Belair continues her march through Damage CTRL on the road to the title match while Bayley’s latest loss further damages her standing with the team. There is a good chance that Belair will get her shot against Sky at the Royal Rumble and that is not a bad idea given the story they’re telling.

Kevin Owens is down for the Royal Rumble, and offers to have Logan Paul on the Kevin Owens Show next week.

Damage CTRL is not pleased with Bayley but Dakota Kai gives her a pep talk.

Here are Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits for a chat. They’re not happy with the AOP and Karrion Kross, who have gotten into a fight they can’t win. The challenge is on but Kross and company pop up on screen to say this is a new era of pain. The team is officially dubbed the Final Testament but they don’t show up.

Pretty Deadly offers their services to Paul Heyman. He points out that it’s one spot instead of two and facepalms as they leave.

Video on Carmelo Hayes. Again: these quick hype packages on people Smackdown fans might not know are such a great idea.

Paul Heyman offers Bobby Lashley a chance to take out his aggression in the main event. Lashley says the only time he wants to be in the ring with the Bloodline is when he’s facing Roman Reigns.

Carmelo Hayes vs. Austin Theory

Grayson Waller is here with Theory. They trade headlocks to start until a dropkick puts Theory down. A thumb to the eye cuts Hayes off though and Theory elbows him in the face. Back up and Hayes ties him in the ropes for the Fade Away (springboard jump backwards into a Fameasser). A DDT onto the apron plants Theory again and we take a break. Back with Theory hitting the rolling dropkick but Hayes reverses a suplex to take him over instead.

An atomic drop into a springboard clothesline sets up a facebuster for two on Theory. A superkick looks to set up a Codebreaker but Theory puts him on top instead. What looks to be a super Spanish Fly doesn’t go right though and they both land on their heads, which is enough for the referee to stop it at around 8:55. The problem was Hayes’ foot got caught on the rope and he couldn’t flip forward, which brought Theory down as well.

Rating: C+. Ignoring the scary ending, this was another nice showcase for Hayes, who really can do some incredibly athletic things. At the same time though, there is always the chance that something like this could happen. Theory was his usual self here, but all that matters is both of them being ok after that really scary ending.

The medic checks on them and their limbs are all moving so it seems like a bad double bell ringing.

Paul Heyman says he couldn’t find anyone worthy of the Bloodline and he is NOT worried. Jimmy: “OG, I’M WORRIED!” Sikoa: “I’m not.” Jimmy: “If Solo’s not worried, I’m not worried!”

Bloodline vs. LA Knight/Randy Orton/AJ Styles

Hold on though as the Bloodline jumps Orton from behind with Sikoa hitting a Samoan Spike. Knight and Styles argue over who starts until Uso jumps Knight to get things going. A swinging neckbreaker puts Uso down and a running crotch attack to the back gets two. Sikoa comes in but gets clotheslined to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Styles in a nerve hold, followed by Sikoa’s running hip attack. Styles slugs away at Jimmy and it’s a double knockdown, meaning Sikoa can pull Knight away so there’s no tag. Knight is back up but Styles yells at him instead of tagging. Jimmy’s superkick misses Styles and hits Knight instead….but Orton is back (Heyman’s disgusted glare is great). The tag brings in Orton, who hits the hanging DDT and RKO to finish Jimmy at 11:42.

Rating: C+. Not much of a match here, with Orton coming in at the end and barely doing anything. That seems to be a trend with him lately and that is not a bad thing. The fans are going to cheer him no matter what so let him come out there, hit his two moves, and soak in the cheers. Other than that, it gets us one step closer to the Rumble and everything should work well, especially when Reigns gets back.

Post match the winners all hit their finishers on Sikoa and TripleBomb him through the announcers’ table to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show did a nice job of covering a bunch of stuff, as everything is lading towards the Royal Rumble and that means all they have to do is get to the end of the month. There was nothing on here that you really needed to see, but it kept getting us closer to one o the most important shows of the year. The ans going nuts for Orton is always worth hearing though, and the Bloodline getting wrecked to end the show was a nice moment.

Results
Angel/Humberto b. LWO – Rollup to Wilde while grabbing the rope
Bianca Belair b. Bayley – KOD
Carmelo Hayes vs. Austin Theory went to a referee stoppage
LA Knight/AJ Styles/Randy Orton b. Bloodline – RKO to Uso

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: January 5, 2024
Location: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, British, Columbia, Canada
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

It’s the first Smackdown of the year and in this case it’s New Year’s Revolution. The big main event will determine who challenges Roman Reigns for the World Title at the Royal Rumble. On top of that though, the Rock showed up on Raw and seemed to call out Reigns for a showdown. We almost have to, ahem, acknowledge that here so let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the Rock’s return and line about Reigns.

Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman arrive, with Reigns literally laughing off a question about the Rock.

US Title #1 Contenders Tournament Finals: Kevin Owens vs. Santos Escobar

Escobar has Angel and Humberto with him and cue Logan Paul to join commentary. The bell rings and cue the LWO to take out Angel and Humberto, allowing Owens to hit a Cannonball and frog splash for a fast two as we take a break. Back with Escobar knocking Owens off the top and taking over on the bad hand.

Owens fights out and grabs a chinlock so Escobar is right back on the hand in a smart move. Escobar sends him hard into the barricade as the fans chant for Logan, who gets up to pose in a smart move. Back in and Owens catches Escobar coming off the top with an atomic drop into a DDT for a needed breather. Owens goes up top and Escobar is right there, only to get caught with the swinging superplex (Graves: “Logan, don’t ever try to superplex Kevin Owens.” Paul: “What happens?” Graves: “This.”).

We take another break and come back with Owens superkicking him out to the floor but the Swanton hits raised knees. Escobar snaps off a top rope hurricanrana for two, only to have Owens catch him on top with a super Regal Roll for two of his own. The Stunner is blocked so Owens hits a superkick but his pop up powerbomb is countered into another hurricanrana. The second powerbomb attempt works though and the Stunner sends Owens to the Royal Rumble at 16:49.

Rating: B. This got rolling near the end as they were trading moves and counters until Owens finally caught him with the big one. While there was the downside of Owens being the pretty obvious winner since the tournament started, it was nice to see the whole thing paid off with a good match. At the very least, we’ll get more of Owens and Paul taking awesome shots at each other for a few weeks until the title match at the Rumble.

Post match Paul congratulates Owens and mocks the idea of a Canadian being the US Champion. Paul brags about himself and gets dropped with a right hand.

Video on Randy Orton, who is in the #1 contenders match tonight.

Post break Austin Theory and Grayson Waller console Logan Paul but get in a shoving match with Cameron Grimes.

Here are Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits for a chat. Lashley talks about having a rough 2023 because he didn’t have the success he wanted. Then he hooked up with the Street Profits and things got better. The Profits talk about how they want the Tag Team Titles, while Lashley is going to enter the Royal Rumble. Cue Karrion Kross and Scarlett (now a brunette), plus Paul Ellering of all people. The AOP jump Lashley and the Profits from behind as the return that was all but revealed two weeks ago comes true.

Video on AJ Styles.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Iyo Sky vs. Michin

Michin is challenging and the seconds all stay in the back. They fight over a lockup to start until Sky flips away from her for a standoff. Sky takes her to the mat for a double stomp but Michin gets in a whip to the floor. There’s the big dive to drop the champ and we take a break. Back with Sky escaping a powerbomb but Michin’s gutwrench suplex gets two. A half crab sends Sky over to the rope so they head to the apron, where Sky snaps off a nasty German suplex.

Since it was just a German suplex on the apron, Michin is able to block Over The Moonsault and hit a dragon suplex for two. They go to the corner and it’s a super Styles Clash for a rather near fall, with Sky having to grab the rope. Michin misses another suicide dive though and the running knees in the corner set up Over The Moonsault to retain the title at 10:21.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure if there was much of a reason to believe Michin was going to win the title here but it was nice to see someone fresh getting into the title picture. Michin is a good hand who can work well with a lot of people and she did well enough here. It might not have been a great match, but for a title defense on a special show, it did exactly what it needed to do.

Paul Heyman is asked about the Rock and isn’t pleased with Rock inviting himself to the Head Of The Table. Rock has not received an invitation and is just trying to go viral, like John Cena, Brock Lesnar or Cody Rhodes, who like to interrupt Roman Reigns. CM Punk is back and talks about being an OG Paul Heyman Guy, but Heyman has upgraded from friend to advocate to Wise Man. Heyman promises Reigns will smash any of his opponents at the Royal Rumble to wrap things up, as he sounded a good bit shakier than usual here, which is exactly what he should have been doing.

Damage CTRL congratulates Iyo Sky on retaining her title and now the team wants the Women’s Tag Team Titles. And the Royal Rumble, but Bianca Belair comes in to say she’ll be in the Rumble and beat Bayley next week as a bonus.

Pretty Deadly vs. Butch/???

Butch’s mystery partner is….Tyler Bate from NXT. Bate and Wilson go to the mat to start with Bate flipping out of a headscissors and getting two off a rollup. Butch comes in for a basement dropkick to the back, followed by stereo running dives to take out Pretty Deadly on the floor.

We take a break and come back with Butch fighting out of a chinlock. That’s enough for the diving tag to Bate so house can be quickly cleaned. The airplane spin leaves Wilson down and the rebound lariat/German suplex combination puts him down again. Prince gets in a cheap shot but Wilson can’t grab what looked to be a Twist of Fate. A double Tyler Driver 97 finishes Wilson at 7:53.

Rating: C+. This was about bringing in Bate for his first match on Smackdown and it went well enough all things considered. I could go for Butch getting away from the Brawling Brutes and if he won’t be a singles star, pairing him with Bate is far from the worst idea. At the same time, it’s almost weird to see Pretty Deadly losing, but I’m sure they’ll be fine going forward with that kind of charisma.

Video on LA Knight.

Ashante Thee Adonis comes in to see Nick Aldis to say he’s a starving dog. Aldis says he doesn’t feel sorry for him but he has believed in Adonis since the beginning. He promises some ideas for him going forward.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

AJ Styles vs. LA Knight vs. Randy Orton

For the shot against Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble. We’re joined in progress after a break with Knight being knocked into the corner but Styles takes Orton into another corner for the stomping. Knight is back with a running clothesline to put Styles on the floor, with Knight following to send both of them face first into the announcers’ table over and over.

Orton drops them both onto said table but Styles does it right back to him in a nice counter. The fans deem this awesome as Orton breaks up the Phenomenal Forearm and hits the hanging DDT. Knight breaks up the RKO though and Orton is sent into the steps. Styles dives onto Knight to leave them all down as we take a break.

Back with Styles hitting the basement forearm to Knight and knocking Orton out to the floor again. Orton fights back and sends Styles into the steps before taking over on Knight back inside. A quick BFT drops Orton but Styles breaks up the cover at the last second. Knight and Styles slug it out with Styles getting the better of it, setting up the springboard 450 for two. Orton is back in with the RKO to Styles but this time Knight (who got busted open somewhere in there) makes the save….and we’ve got the Bloodline. The big beatdown is on and we’ll call it a no contest at about 16:30 shown.

Rating: B-. Gah that ending took down what was turning into a good match. Knight did better than I would have expected here, as he was in there with bigger stars but more than held his own in a big match. Orton and Styles were their normal selves but their long breaks seem to have done good for both of them. That being said, we’re now going with Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman being dumb enough to think this idea is going to work?

Post match the beatdown is on, with Reigns and company laying waste to the other three. Nick Aldis comes out and tells Paul Heyman (the Bloodline can’t hear him) that Reigns has just earned himself a four way at the Royal Rumble.

Overall Rating: B-. The best thing I can say here is that it felt like things mattered, which is what this show needed to accomplish. The wrestling was good enough and the show flew by, though that ending felt more like Reigns and Heyman turning into morons for the sake of setting up a new title match. The rest of the show was good enough, but the main event mattered more than anything else and it left the show on a weaker note.

Results
Kevin Owens b. Santos Escobar – Stunner
Iyo Sky b. Michin – Over The Moonsault
Butch/Tyler Bate b. Pretty Deadly – Double Tyler Driver 97 to Wilson
AJ Styles vs. LA Knight vs. Randy Orton went to a no contest when the Bloodline 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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Smackdown
Date: December 22, 2023
Location: Resch Center, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Commentators: Michael Cole, Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

We’re taped this week for what might be the final Smackdown of the year. Things got interesting to end last week’s show as AJ Styles made his return to go after the Bloodline. At the same time though, he also went after LA Knight, which could have some Royal Rumble implications. 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 the challengers lining up, including the returning AJ Styles.

Here is Styles to get things going. Styles talks about how Randy Orton and LA Knight want to face Roman Reigns. He can’t blame them, but he’s at the front of the line to face Reigns. Cue Knight to say he gets Reigns first and the fans are going to be saying his name, but Styles can be first on Knight’s list.

Styles brings up Knight using Styles’ absence to get into the Crown Jewel title shot but here is Orton to interrupt. Orton says this ring is his home but Knight says the Bloodline hasn’t taken him out yet. Cue Nick Aldis to say the three of them can fight in two weeks for the Royal Rumble shot at Reigns. Works for Styles, who tells them both to stay away tonight when he faces Solo Sikoa.

Shotzi/Bianca Belair/Zelina Vega/Michin vs. Damage CTRL

This is Holiday Havoc, the Christmas themed street fight. It’s a big brawl to start with Belair dropkicking Sky into the corner to start. Bayley makes a save but Shotzi is back in with a present. That would be a chair but Bayley blocks the drop toehold onto said chair. Instead Shotzi uses the chair for a springboard dive onto Bayley.

Shotzi hits a big dive but the villains clear the ring with kendo sticks. Belair and Shotzi get their own sticks for their own house cleaning but it takes too long to set up a table. We take a break and come back with everyone down until Vega sends Sky outside. Belair sunset flips Bayley for two and a Doomsday Dropkick, with a trashcan over the head, drops Sky for the same.

Vega drops Sane but gets misted by Asuka, allowing the villains to go for some big boxes. Those contain…Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre, who wreck Sane and Asuka. Bayley gets caught with the KOD and Michin gives Sky Eat Defeat. The top rope backsplash through the table gives Michin the pin on Sky at 12:43.

Rating: B-. I can go or these goofy, completely out there matches and that’s what we had here. It was a fun, goofy match and that’s all it needed to be, though Michin is likely to get a one off title shot out of this. There are worse ways to go for her and throwing in the returns of Dawn and Fyre make this all the more interesting.

Jimmy Uso talks to Solo Sikoa about audibles as Roman Reigns looks annoyed. He wants Nick Aldis here now.

NXT North American Title: Butch vs. Dragon Lee

Lee is defending and works on the wrist to start. Butch punches him in the face but Lee manages a slingshot dropkick in the corner. The running dive to the floor is cut off though and we take a break with Lee in trouble. Back with Butch stomping on the hands until Lee snaps off a running hurricanrana over the top and out to the floor. They get back inside where Butch hits a sitout powerbomb for two, setting up a chop off.

Lee gets the better of things and hits his own sitout powerbomb for two of his own. Butch gets tied in the Tree of Woe but is fine enough snap Lee’s fingers. Since fingers aren’t needed, Lee hits the top rope double stomp for two. Butch’s Bitter End is countered as well and Operation Dragon retains the title at 9:46.

Rating: B-. More good stuff here with Lee getting to have another match against a more than capable opponent. That is more than you get most of the time and it worked well here. Lee’s status is growing more and more every week and the more title defenses he gets under his belt, the higher he’ll go. Good stuff here, though can we place find something else for Butch to do?

We recap the US Title #1 contenders tournament.

Paul Heyman brings Nick Aldis to Roman Reigns, who does not like Aldis booking matches without running them by Reigns first. Adam Pearce understood that, but Aldis says he’s the sharp end of the stick around here. Tonight, Solo Sikoa is facing AJ Styles and Sikoa will be fine. He’s a big boot who took care of John Cena in a way that even Reigns didn’t. Aldis is looking forward to getting to know Reigns better. This was good stuff from Aldis here, as he didn’t back down from Reigns and gives him a bit of a new adversary.

US Title #1 Contenders Tournament Semifinals: Kevin Owens vs. Carmelo Hayes

We get an insert interview from Logan Paul (these are GREAT ways to keep him involved when he’s not around) who says Hayes’ first win was impressive but now he has to face the DISGUSTING Kevin Owens. They lock up to start with Hayes taking him down for an early two. An exchange of near falls lets Hayes hit a dropkick and Owens seems impressed. Owens comes back with a right (as in still broken) hand, allowing Hayes to pull him out to the floor.

That’s fine with Owens, who sends Hayes into the steps as we take a break. Back with Hayes grabbing a slam, followed by an ax kick for two. A spinning faceplant gets the same but Owens puts him on top for a hanging DDT. They trade kicks to the face until Owens blasts him with a clothesline. Hayes manages a Codebreaker but Nothing But Net misses, allowing Owens to hit a pop up powerbomb for two more. The Swanton and Stunner send Owens to the finals at 10:20.

Rating: B-. That’s a fine way to get rid of Hayes, who came in and got a win on the main roster before losing to a bigger star. This wasn’t meant to bring Hayes up full time and they didn’t do anything they shouldn’t have done. At the same time, Owens has felt like the obvious winner of the tournament since the beginning so him in the finals was almost expected.

The OC comes in to see AJ Styles, who hasn’t been in touch. Karl Anderson asks if they’re good. Styles: “I don’t know. Are we?”

Karrion Kross promises to take away something else from other people. Of note: he seems to say the word “authors” and as the lights are lashing, two large men can be seen standing around him. Authors of Pain perhaps?

United States Title #1 Contenders Tournament Semifinals: Bobby Lashley vs. Santos Escobar

The Street Profits are here with Lashley, who starts fast with a running shoulder in the corner. Escobar manages to go up top but gets pulled out of the air and sent outside. We take a break and come back with Escobar hitting a suicide dive. The running knees in the corner connect twice in a row but Lashley fights his way out of a superplex attempt. Cue some men in masks to jump the Profits though, with the distraction letting Escobar grab a rollup for the pin at 8:19.

Rating: C+. That’s a smart move as not only did WWE need a way to get the almost unstoppable Lashley out of the way, but it also avoids the fans cheering for him over Kevin Owens in the finals. Escobar also seems to have some backup now and that could very well set up a nice six man tag against the LWO when Rey Mysterio is back.

Post match the masked men are revealed as Humberto Carrillo and Angel Garza.

Butch is upset by his loss but he lost to the better man. Pretty Deadly comes in to mock him and the fight is on, with Nick Aldis coming in to tell Butch to find a partner for two weeks from now. That sounds Sheamus-y.

Logan Paul isn’t impressed by his potential opponents. As usual, he’s at his best when he’s talking down to people and that was on high here.

Here’s what’s coming in two weeks. Earlier tonight, a graphic confirmed that next week will be a Best Of show.

AJ Styles vs. Solo Sikoa

Styles strikes away to start but gets dropped with a shot to the face. Sikoa is knocked outside for a knee from the apron, followed by a slingshot forearm as we take a break. Back with Sikoa hitting a backdrop and sending Styles back first into the post. Another whip sends Styles face first into the bottom buckle and the running Umaga attack makes it worse.

Styles fights back and drops him as well, setting up a Lionsault for two. The Phenomenal Blitz connects but Sikoa grabs a pop up Samoan drop for another near fall. A forearm to the face looks to set up the Phenomenal Forearm, which is countered into a missed Samoan Spike. Styles gets back up and hits the Phenomenal Forearm, only to have Roman Reigns run in for the DQ at 11:33.

Rating: C+. I’m a bit surprised that Styles didn’t get a pin here but he did have Sikoa in trouble until the screwy ending. What matters is that Styles is back in the ring and looked like his old self. I don’t know if he’ll win next week, but having Styles back in any role on the roster is going to be something that helps out quite a bit.

Post match Jimmy Uso comes in to help with the beatdown but Randy Orton and LA Knight make the save. The Bloodline is cleared out but the other three get in a fight to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a pretty nice show with some good action and quite a few returns. They’ve also set up a pretty stacked card for New Year’s Revolution, which should be a big time event to send us on to the Royal Rumble. You have to do well n the way to a Best Of show next week and they did well enough, though I wouldn’t call anything here worth going out of your way to see.

Results
Shotzi/Bianca Belair/Zelina Vega/Michin b. Damage CTRL – Top rope backsplash through at able to Sky
Dragon Lee b. Butch – Operation Dragon
Kevin Owens b. Carmelo Hayes – Stunner
Santos Escobar b. Bobby Lashley – Rollup
AJ Styles b. Solo Sikoa via DQ when Roman Reigns interfered

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