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Hey there people, it’s Friday and so it’s time for WWE Smackdown. Tonight Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens will go face to face to set up their Survivor Series bout. The Bloodline stuff continues to roll, everyone except Roman Reigns is trying to recruit Seth Rollins into War Games and after Solo Sikoa helped Bronson Reed defeat Seth on RAW it seems even more likely that Seth will team up with his old Shield buddy when War Games rolls around.
RAW also gave us the women’s War Games bout with the mash of faces vs. heels despite the tension between a few of the heel factions. LA Knight seems to have found a new challenger in Shinsuke Nakamura who returned to TV last week, Tommaso Ciampa is close to going off the deep end but he and Johnny Gargano are likely to get a few more tag team matches before that happens.
Roman Reigns ended last week by trying to call Paul Heyman but Heyman’s phone was smashed by Solo Sikoa and Roman is still without his wise man, but he will need to find someone to be the fifth for their team and Roman having to actually share words with Rollins tonight could be decent drama. We’re going to get Bianca Belair vs. Blair Davenport vs. Chelsea Green tonight to advance in the women’s US title tournament, and frankly my money is on Green.
Belair has other fish to fry and Blair has been kind of a damp squib since coming to Smackdown while Green advancing opens up some fun possibilities. Eletkra Lopez will be in action, she hasn’t worked TV since Mania 40 so we’ll see how she measures up to B-Fab’s first match last week. There’s a decent chance WWE will be taping next week’s Smackdown tonight so on one of those shows we should get something with Carmelo Hayes or Andrade.
Logic would suggest that Poochie is getting close to returning as well and since her husband is on Smackdown I’m sure she’ll be here when she returns. Anyway that’s the preamble so let’s get to the action.
We get a recap of last Smackdown focused on the Bloodline stuff and Bronson Reed joining forces with Solo’s crew and Roman not being able to contact Heyman.
To the ring and here comes Solo Sikoa and company, now including Bronson Reed. Solo gets a mic and wants acknowledgement then brings up being one week away from War Games, and his group is ready for it. But Roman isn’t ready, in fact he’s not even here yet.
But when he does get here Solo wants him to meet in the middle of the ring and accept the terms of surrender. Then once Roman surrenders they can acknowledge Solo. He stumbled over a few words there and Solo is still not great speaking in these spots in general.
Bianca Belair heads to the ring for our first match which will be up after this break.
We come back to Blair Davenport meandering to the ring. Chelsea Green follows.
Match #1 – Triple Threat Match: Bianca Belair vs. Chelsea Green vs. Blair Davenport
Green with some early offense then everyone trades roll ups for a bit but no pins can be found. Green clotheslines Blair out of the ring then Belair runs her over and hits a standing moonsault. The crowd is with Green as she and Belair work, diving Sunset flip from Green but Blair breaks up the pin then clobbers Green with a right hand.
Belair then hits a plancha onto Green on the floor but Blair attacks her on the apron and wraps her braid around the ropes then follows with a double stomp to the back of Belair as we go picture in picture.
Blair with some more offense to Belair, pretty standard control stuff. Green returns to the fray with a neckbreaker on Blair then she tries for pins on both women but can’t get a 3 count. Blair gets squished in the corner a few times then Green throws Belair out of the ring and takes a bow.
Green pulls Belair back into the ring and hits a gordbuster then follows with a sliding Flatliner for a 2 count. Blair tries to throw Green out of the ring, that gets hung up in the ropes but Green stays out of frame as Belair starts firing up on Blair. Green tosses Blair out of the ring but Blair then starts running over Green with her comeback sequence. Delayed vertical suplex to Blair as well as we return to the broadcast. Belair goes for a 10 punch on Blair, Green gets involved though and Green with a Rough Rider to Belair.
Blair then hits a double stomp to Green only for Blair to crush her with a spinebuster. Handspring moonsault from Blair is blocked by knees. Green with a dropkick to Belair then lands with a senton on Blair. Blair avoids the Unpretty Her, Blair then hits a double German suplex on both of them but can’t find a pin. Green gets rammed in a corner by Belair but then Blair posts herself.
Blair clocks Green and climbs up top but Green kicks her and climbs up top with her to deliver a superplex but here’s Belair to follow with a 450 Splash on Belair then Blair and Green fight over the cover but neither finds. it. Ultimately Blair gets a cover on Belair for a 2 count.
Around then we see in the back that Jade Cargill has been left laying on the hood of a car with a broken windshield. Belair is torn but runs to the back to check on Jade leaving Blair and Green alone. Green back in the ring, Blair lands a superkick but Green then hits the Unpretty on Her and wins.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Chelsea Green won in 9:50
Rating: 3 stars
Thoughts: You know what, even with Blair still struggling to get the crowd into her and the ending designed to protect Belair this was pretty solid stuff from everyone. Well done ladies.
Green celebrates and we get another commercial break.
Post break Belair leaves with Jade in an ambulance while Bayley and Naomi look on distraught.
LA Knight heads to the ring to a big pop. Escobar follows but before the match starts we get a Shinsuke Nakamura video. He’s been watching LA Knight and claims he’s riddled with insecurities, and he begs the crowd for attention.
Knight lives in fear of losing what he’s obtained, and those fears are justified. This is the beginning of his end. That allows Escobar to attack Knight before the bell. Some nice stuff from Nakamura here, letting him speak Japanese with subtitles and nice visuals has been great.
Match #2 – US Title Match: (c) LA Knight vs. Santos Escobar w/ Berto, Angel, and Elektra Lopez
Escobar continues the attack but Knight comes out of the corner with a clothesline. Escobar then sends Knight out of the ring and hits a plancha as we head to break.
We come back to Escobar working Knight in the corner but Knight starts to come back with chops only for Escobar to cut him off and hit an enziguri from the apron then follows with a hilo. A weak looking rest hold from Escobar, Knight then fights out of it and they trade some strikes ultimately ending with Knight landing a slingshot shoulder block.
Jabs from Knight then a discus clothesline. Neckbreaker from Knight gets 2. Escobar with some kicks to fight back then he sets Knight on the top rope and they fight up there but Knight headbutts Escobar down then follows with the megastar elbow attempt but Nakamura appears on the entrance stage to distract him.
Knight gets crotched on the top rope then Esocbar is up for an avalanche hurricanrana. Escobar up top again and hits a Frog Splash then tries the Phantom Driver but Knight counters into the Blunt Force Trauma and wins.
OFFICIAL RESULT: LA Knight retained the title in 8:13
Rating: 2.5 stars
Thoughts: Acceptable match but more about furthering Knight and Nakamura.
Immediately after the match Nakamura attacks then posts Knight a few times before landing a gnarly looking Kinshasa to the back of the head in the corner. Nakamura then heads out like a boss.
We get a recap of the situation with DIY, the Motor City Machine Guns, and the Street Profits from last week. In the back Johnny Gargano pleads his case to the Guns, the Guns are upset their match was ruined last week.
Johnny thinks they can fix this with a tag team title match, but the Guns think the Profits still deserve the shot. The Profits wander over and talk about how Ciampa is bad news.
The original Bloodline arrive at the venue all four strong.
After this break WWE champion Cody Rhodes goes face to face with Kevin Owens.
Post break in the back Nick Aldis asks Nia Jax if she knows anything about the attack on Jade Cargill, Jax denies involvement. Nick then jobs over to Cody Rhodes who’s heading to the ring. Nick hasn’t heard from Owens though and isn’t sure he’s here, Cody is sure Owens wont miss this opportunity and heads to the ring.
Cody gets a mic and says it’s time to go face to face with Owens and reminds us that Randy Orton isn’t here but Cody knows Owens is here and wants him to head to the ring. Owens can be heard and enters through the crowd with a mic, he’s a little insulted because he was summoned only because Cody wants him here.
Cody says Owens was summoned, not be in the crowd but stand in the ring with Cody. Owens says he’s not getting what he wants this time. Cody looks to head to Owens but security get between them. Owens says if Cody wants to fight him, then he asks why Cody is upset.
This whole thing is Cody’s fault. Owens marches towards the ring now and says this is Cody’s fault because Owens spent 4 years fighting the Bloodline every week. They tried to end him over and over, Roman tried to end his career but he couldn’t do it and Owens kept fighting before Cody even came back. Well then Owens fought alongside Cody, he helped him at Mania 39 and 40.
Then what happened? Roman needed help because he’d pissed off everyone else and who says “yes” to that but Cody Rhodes. Cody teamed with the man who tried to end the career of Owens. So yeah this is all Cody’s fault.
Cody says “enough”, if Owens wants to justify his actions however he does then fine, but Cody teaming with Roman had nothing to do with Owens. This is about Owens making himself a victim, he has to be held down in his head, well no one holds Owens down more than Owens.
His self sabotage is next level. He’s fixated on being the top guy not realizing this is a team effort to begin with, Owens has been the man here for a decade, a grand slam champion and loved by fans and everyone knows it except Owens.
the last time they were in the ring in Berlin Owens couldn’t pull the trigger on Cody and if he had he could be standing here WWE champion and he blames Cody for that weakness. But now Owens finally pulled the trigger, just on the wrong guy. Randy is a legend, and was the friend of Owens and he did not deserve what Owens did to him.
Cody offers to fight Owens right here because there’s plenty of show left, or at Saturday Nights Main Event, or in Canada at Survivor Series, and Owens should know this is coming and the ball is in Owens’ court. Owens says Cody can have his match, but when Owens says it’s happening and it’s definitely not happening tonight.
But when it does happen, Owens will just do his job and this time he’ll be quite happy to pull the trigger. Just think though, he crossed a line with Randy but he loves Randy and he hates Cody. Owens heads out and Cody says Owens doesn’t hate Cody, he just hates himself. That gets to Owens. Well now they’re in agreement, and Cody warns Owens that he wont hesitate to cross every line either.
Pretty great stuff from both men, Owens explained himself and Cody accurately cut through the justification to get to the heart of the matter.
We get a recap of the opening segment, in case we missed it.
The Bloodline talk and bring up that they need a fifth for War Games. Sami is out of ideas. Jey brings up Cody, Jimmy thinks about it but Roman shoots it down. That’s old news and they’ve moved on. Sami says they could try Seth again after what Reed did but Roman still doesn’t like that.
Roman says they don’t need anyone else, this is all that matters, all they need, if they’re together they’re good. And if they die they die together. Jimmy and Jey seem down for that, Sami is still in but wants to know the plan. Roman doesn’t know what the plan is yet.
To the ring and here comes Bayley followed by Naomi. They’ll be in tag team action after this break.
Post break we see Cody walking in the back, he walks past Carmelo Hayes and Hayes can’t keep his mouth shut. Hayes and Cody get into a scuffle but Nick Aldis breaks things up and Hayes storms off.
Back to the ring and here come out representatives for team surname.
Match #3 – Tag Team Match: Bayley and Naomi vs. Candice LeRae and Tiffany Stratton w/ Nia Jax
There are 33 minutes between matches. Tiffany and Naomi start, Naomi with punches but Tiffany fights back, and then Naomi lands a superkick to the body. Hurricanrana from Naomi but Tiffany avoids a bulldog and powders behind Jax. Everyone comes over and the heels with cheap shots to take over. Back in the ring Tiffany tags in Candice but Naomi with a double mule kick and tags in Bayley.
Bayley hits a suicide dive. She expected a trip from Jax, but it didn’t come. A dropkick to Candice on the floor, and we head to break.
We come back to Tiffany slamming Bayley but then missing a double stomp. Bayley snaps Tiffany between the ropes but Tiffany blocks the tag and then tags in Candice. Candice and Tiffany bicker before Candice hits a senton on Bayley then cheap shots Naomi.
Jawbreaker from Bayley but Candice with an enziguri then a Lionsault from Candice and Tiffany follows with a double stomp but Naomi breaks up the pin. Naomi and Candice brawl on the floor then Bayley avoids a handspring back elbow. Bayley crawls for a tag but Jax slightly mistimes her interference to prompt the bell.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Bayley and Naomi won via disqualification in 7:45
Rating: 2 stars
Thoughts: Gutted by the commercial break, I’m still a little unsure of Candice’s addition to the Tiffany and Jax story as well.
The big brawl is on now and Iyo Sky shows up to run wild before Jax runs her over. Iyo fights back with a head kick then springboard dropkick. Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Mogan show up,
Rhea Ripley shows up next and she’s got a kendo stick, the Smackdown heels powder and Ripley runs wild on Raquel and Candice to send the heels packing. Ripley and Iyo help up Bayley and Naomi as the segment ends.
After this break we’ll get Montez Ford vs. Tommaso Ciampa.
Post break here comes Montez Ford. Tommaso Ciampa follows, both men still using their tag team themes and both men are flying solo.
Match #4: Montez Ford vs. Tommaso Ciampa
They start brawling right away with Ford on top first but then Ciampa fighting back. Dropkick from Ford to take over and he looks to stay on top. Ciampa with a cross chop to cut Ford off and then he lands a knee. Clothesline from Ford then an enziguri, he could almost jump over Ciampa’s whole body.
Ciampa to the floor and Ford with a sick dive, his leaping is still incredible. Back in the ring Ciampa sends Ford out of the ring and hits a running knee to ram Ford into the announce table and send us to break.
We come back to Ford avoiding an avalanche Air Raid Crash and hitting a powerbomb to put both men down. Running back elbow from Ford and he starts to fire up. Back suplex from Ford then a standing moonsault with the greatest of ease all for a 2 count. Ciampa fights back with a boot then they begin trading strikes.
Kick from Ford but then he takes a Stun Gun and Ciampa follows with a twisting facebuster for a 2 count. Ciampa wants the Fair Tale Ending but Ford slips free and lands a jumping knee then a kick. Ford springboards into a sickening knee from Ciampa, Ford blocks a Fairy Tale Ending with a rana pin and gets the 3 count.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Montez Ford won in 7:49
Rating: 2 stars
Thoughts: I imagine if you got the full match without the break this would be much higher. I’d like more of these two, this was a nice taste of what they could do.
Ciampa attacks after the bell and Dawkins shows up to fight him off. Johnny Gargano comes down to try and settle things but that allows Ciampa to attack Dawkins. Johnny pulls Ciampa out of the fight and tries to calm things down. Ciampa shoves Johnny down and here come the Guns and Ciampa scurries off. Sabin and Shelley flank Johnny and Ciampa loudly asks what team Johnny is as he walks back up the ramp.
Next week we’ll get Cody Rhodes vs. Carmelo Hayes, the next triple threat for the women but Jade Cargill wont be in it so they’ll find a new participant.
Solo Sikoa heads to the ring with his crew again as we head to break.
Post break Solo’s crew is in the ring, and here’s the music for Roman Reigns. Roman and company head to the ring. Everyone stares down but Solo has a mic and wants to talk. Solo says they’re not here to fight, in fact he still loves Roman and all of them and that never changed. But they have to understand, if they join him they can run WWE for decades, and they still don’t have a fifth man, a wise man, or a choice at this point.
So surrender, join Solo’s team, or the four of them will die in this ring. Solo hands Roman the mic. Roman considers but we hear Paul Heyman’s “Ladies and gentlemen” to a massive reaction and the wise man himself heads down towards the ring with a mic.
Heyman introduces himself and reminds us that he got put through a table so maybe his math is off but there’s no way to do War Games 4 on 5. That math doesn’t compute to the wise man. But it wont be 4 vs. 5, it will be 5 vs. 5 and Heyman has the fifth.
Out comes CM Punk and the brawl is on. The good guys clean house and Roman and Punk with stereo finishers to Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa. Roman and Punk stare each other down and Roman questions why Punk is involved in this. The original Bloodline reconvene in the ring staring at Punk, there’s trepidation but no further violence as the episode ends.
Overall thoughts
For the presumptive first half of a double taping this was a pretty packed episode. Some quality wrestling, angle advancement, only a handful of relatively minor bobbles to be found along the way too. Cody and Owens had a suitably intense promo segment, Paul Heyman returned which is always welcome, CM Punk being the fifth for War Games is a slightly off kilter choice but not in a bad way since the Heyman connection does a lot to bridge that gap. Jade getting taken out was an interesting call, we'll have to wait and see how that plays out though. All in all Very Good tonight and we're rolling right along to Survivor Series: War Games.
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