Posted on 8/29/126 by Bob Magee
– Our show opened with a recap of CM Punk vs. Kevin Owens
for the Undisputed WWE Championship from last week’s
SmackDown in Toronto, as well as the chaos involving Sami
Zayn at the end and after the match.
Kevin Owens kicks off SmackDown
After the recap, we went straight to “live” action in Ottawa
as Kevin Owens made his way to the ring. Owens got a warm
reception from the Ottawa crowd, a short two hour drive from
his hometown of Marieville, Quebec.
Inside the ring, as Owens got ready to talk, the crowd sang
“Ole Ole Ole” before he started by saying that this wasn’t
the way he was hoping to come back to Ottawa. He said that
in the last twelve years, he had lost many WWE Championship
matches, but none of them felt as bad to lose as the one
last week in Toronto against CM Punk. Owens said that last
week, everything was perfect. He got himself ready to be
cleared for action in nine days just so he could be at
SummerSlam. Owens said that he did it so that he could win
the WWE Championship not just because of he wanted to win in
front of other Canadians. He picked Toronto because he
wanted his parents to see him win, as he recounted about how
two years ago, Owens’ mother was fighting for her life. She
kicked out, but travelling became impossible since then.
Owens said that his mother did the impossible as she drove
to Toronto just to see her son win. Unfortunately, Sami Zayn
prevented that.
Owens admitted that he had done so many bad things to Sami
over the years, but what Zayn did to him last week was
unforgivable, as it robbed him of a perfect scenario. Owens
said that he was going to deal with Zayn in short time, but
he acknowledged that Punk was beat by him. Owens vowed that
he and Punk weren’t done, as Punk himself walked down in the
ring.
Punk threatened to send Owens packing from Ottawa as if his
last name was Tkachuk (referencing Brady Tkachuk leaving the
Ottawa Senators to join the Florida Panthers). At that
moment, Gunther’s music played and out came the self-
appointed “Ring General”. Gunther said that enough was
enough and that he figured it out why Owens and Punk hated
each other so much. He said that the two saw their arrogant,
obnoxious selves when they looked at one another. Gunther
said that he was glad that Owens’ mother kicked out, it was
just unfortunate that Owens himself didn’t. The carousel of
challengers continued as Finn Balor stepped in.
Balor said that everyone was getting real tired of Gunther’s
antics, and that neither him or Owen has a win over him.
Nick Aldis booked Gunther, Owens, and Balor in the main
event of SmackDown tonight, with the winner becoming the No.
1 contender for the Undisputed WWE Championship.
This was a fine segment. I liked Owens acknowledging his
motivations of facing Punk in Toronto and tying it in to
wanting his mother see him win the big one after so many
near-misses. The triple threat match will surely have a
screwy finish, unfortunately.
***************
– Backstage, Chelsea Green was seen with a protective mask,
as Tiffany Stratton asked if she was really going to go out
there in her condition right now. Green said that she was
cleared and she’d be there to back up Stratton against Nia
Jax & Lash Legend.
Chelsea Green & Tiffany Stratton vs. The Irresistible Forces
(Nia Jax & Lash Legend)
Stratton tried to run at Lash to start the match, but she
found herself in a bad predicament, caught in a reverse
bearhug. Stratton got out of it and attempted to fight back,
but the backbreaker put a stop to that. Lash attempted to
choke Stratton, but that failed as the former Women’s U.S.
Champion connected with the handspring stunner. That caused
Lash to stagger right into a neckbreaker from Green. Jax
tagged in and found herself hit with a double dropkick from
Stratton and Green. Jax then got blasted with the double
knees to the back of the neck. Samoan Drop attempt by Jax
was countered, but Green couldn’t capitalize with an Un-
Pretty-Her. Jax then delivered a hard headbutt to the face
of Green as we took a commercial break.
Back from commercial as Lash slammed Stratton after taking
advantage of some hesitation on Stratton’s part to tag in
Green. The cover, but Green broke up the pin Jax stepped in
and drove Green’s face to her knees to cause even more pain
to the broken orbital bone. Green rolled out of the ring and
was being checked on by WWE medical staff. Meanwhile, Lash
had Stratton locked in a bearhug deep. Stratton tried to
escape, but she ran into a right-hand strike from Lash for
the near-fall.
Jax tagged in, but she missed with the running splash.
Stratton again tried to fight with all she had, but Jax took
her down with a clothesline. The Irresistable Forces
continued their isolation of Stratton, but Stratton avoided
Jax’s leg drop. Stratton broke free from Lash’s grip and
used Jax as a launching pad for a reverse Shiranui on Lash.
With some needed separation, Stratton tried to tag Green in,
but she was being escorted by the medical staff. Green ran
to the ring and tagged in. She then hit a nice missile
dropkick on Jax upon entering the match. Lash got sent to
the outside, while Green hit another dropkick on Jax. On the
top rope, Green hit a big crossbody on Jax to the outside.
At ringside, Legend caught a leaping Stratton and tossed her
to the barricade. In the ring, Jax punched Green in the face
and got her with the Samoan Drop.
Nia then got the pin with an Annihilator.
The Irresistable Forces def. Chelsea Green & Tiffany
Stratton via pinfall
Standard “challenger pins the champion” to get a title match
booking. Other than that, not really much to write home
about. Just a middle of the road match. That said, Green
being booked as a valiant babyface worked well.
***************
– In General Manager Nick Aldis’ office, Danhausen stepped
in and began to talk friendly with him. That’s when Gunther
(or as Danhausen called him, “Gooner”) entered the scene.
Gunther complained about being made to jump through hoops
just to get a title shot. Aldis assured him that there’d be
no other changes to the triple threat match later. As
Gunther left, Danhausen asked Aldis if Gunther was being
literal when he said “the ghost of Finn Balor”, but Aldis
told him it was a figure of speech.
WWE Women’s U.S. Championship: Jacy Jayne (c) vs. Paige
Jayne huddled with Lainey Reid and Fallon Henley for some
strategy to start. Paige ran at her and got slammed hair-
first by Jayne. Paige avoided Jayne’s senton and took
advantage with repeated kicks to the midsection. With Jayne
on the outside, she got hit by a cannonball from Paige. In
the ring, Jayne caused a distraction to the referee, which
allowed Lainey Reid to hit Paige with a kick to the face as
we took a break in the action.
Back from the break, Paige escaped the resthold from Jayne
as she then hit a running neckbreaker on her. Both women got
back up and exchanged strikes in a back-and-forth duel.
Jayne won out with the step-up enzuigiri on Paige. Jayne
took a bit too much time, which allowed Paige to fight back
with the fisherman’s suplex, then a German suplex. Paige
connected with the Paige-Turner for a very close near-fall.
Jayne responded with the kick to Paige, but she got reversed
into a P.T.O. attempt that went nowhere. The headbutt from
Paige, as she looked for Ram-Paige. Henley and Reid ran in
and tried to get involved. They got kicked aside, as Jayne
hit a slow-looking roll-up to retain the title.
After the match, Nikki Bella attacked Paige, hitting the
Rack Attack 2.0 on her.
Jacy Jayne def. Paige via pinfall to retain the WWE Women’s
U.S. Championship
This was an alright match with a weird finish, and a pretty
standard post-match beatdown angle. It is what it is.
***************
– We got a recap of Cody Rhodes & Randy Orton’s
confrontation last week. After that, we saw Cody Rhodes
meeting with Finn Balor. Rhodes said that the situation with
Orton and the “no title if they fight” stipulation has been
weighing down on him. Balor said that Rhodes shouldn’t let
this make him go down a dark path he can’t come back from.
Balor noted that by the time Rhodes was done with Orton,
he’d be the new WWE Champion after winning the contender’s
match tonight.
– Elsewhere, Trick Williams looked for Li’l Yachty and asked
if he was sure if he was ready to face Baron Corbin. Yachty
said that he couldn’t stand being disrepected by Corbin, and
that at Sunday Night’s Main Event, he was going to last the
five minutes against Corbin. Then Williams would come and
face Corbin for the title. As Yachty left, Corbin confronted
Williams and told him that he didn’t need to be
entertaining, as he was the U.S. Champion.
Let’s Hear From Cody Rhodes
“The American Nightmare”, “QB1”, and the man of a dozen
other nicknames both good and bad, made his way down to the
ring to address his match at Sunday Night’s Main Event
against Randy Orton.
“Ottawa, what do you wanna talk about?” started Rhodes in
his usual manner. Rhodes said it was time to talk about
Randy Orton, and as much as he wanted to beat him senseless
here and now, he didn’t know if it’d accomplish the “Killing
the Legend Killer” thing. He then pivoted on the number 15,
the titles that Orton would’ve it. He then said that every
time Orton ascends, he’d screw up. Rhodes talked about how
he was there firsthand on the many occasions that Orton
screwed up, he only got a slap on the wrist, when guys got
shown the door for way less. According to Rhodes, Orton
screwed up again by getting in-between Rhodes and the most
important championship at SummerSlam. So, at Sunday Night’s
Main Event, it wouldn’t be Randy beating Randy, it’d be Cody
beating him.
At that moment, Randy Orton himself emerged from the back
and got into the ring to confront Rhodes once more. Orton
said that if Rhodes wanted to talk about accountability, he
needed to be honest. Orton admitted that he had zero
accountability in the past, and that Rhodes was in the front
seat of it. He needed someone to be his driver, his “bitch”.
And Rhodes raised his hand willingly. Orton tried to goad
Rhodes to take a swing.
Orton said that after his 100 day vacation after
WrestleMania when he kicked Rhodes so hard it disfigured
him, he returned at SummerSlam just to make sure Rhodes
wouldn’t beat CM Punk for the title. He again tried to get
Rhodes to punch him in the face. Orton then took a shot at
Rhodes’ dog Pharaoh, asking if that dog died. Orton then
pivoted that at Sunday Night’s Main Event, he’d beat Rhodes
and punt him again in front of his family and friends. Orton
asked if Rhodes “trailer park trash mother” would sit front
row to beat his ass. Or his “trashy wife”.
Rhodes said that he knew that this was Orton’s M.O. to get
out of Sunday Night’s Main Event. He said that he was
counting the days to Sunday Night’s Main Event, where we
were going to find out Orton was going to be a once-in-a-
lifetime superstar like his dad Dusty, or a screwup like
Orton’s dad, Cowboy Bob Orton. Rhodes concluded by telling
Orton that he’d see him in Atlanta, as Randy was going crazy
about this being a step too far.
I’m sure the actual Sunday Night’s Main Event match will be
good, but I did find this segment a bit silly. Like two
schoolyard boys trying to cause a fight to get the other in
trouble with the principal. I will say that the teases of
Cody maybe turning heel are at least bit interesting, and
I’m hoping there’s meat to that bone.
***************
– Backstage, Tatum Paxley was interviewed about her match
with Michin later tonight. She whispered a secret to
interviewer Jackie Redmond, which caused her to leave.
Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss informed Tatum that the three
of her would have a match against Jade Cargill and the
Baddies at Sunday Night’s Main Event.
– Rey Fenix was interviewed about facing against his brother
Penta for a shot against Roman Reigns in Mexico City. Ricky
Saints barged in and said that they should skip to the part
where Fenix returns to SmackDown and face him for the AAA
Cruiserweight Championship. Fenix then offered a rebuttal by
promising that he’d return to SmackDown as a World Champion
and shut Saints up.
Tatum Paxley (w/ Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss) vs. Michin
(w/ Jade Cargill & B-Fab)
Michin piefacd Paxley to star the match as she looked for a
waistlock on her. Paxley got out of it and backflipped out
of the hold. Paxley avoided Michin’s kick and leapfroged
over her. Michin rested in between the ropes, as Paxley got
sent out of the ring. Big apron kick to the face of Paxley
by Michin. Meanwhile, Paxley recovered and hit a moonsault
from the apron on Michin to send us to commercial.
Back from the break, Michin and Paxley were fighting it out
in the ring. A hard elbow from Michin caused Paxley to get
knocked down. This led to a surfboard stretch hold from
Michin. However, Paxley reversed it into a pin attempt.
Michin kicked out as she missed with the cannonball into the
corner. Paxley attempted a roll-through pin, but only got
two. Paxley then hit a superkicked on Michin as she got her
second wind. The step-up enzuigiri from Paxley left Michin
reeling, as did the boot from the outside. Michin responded
with a sitdown powerbomb and looked to have the Styles
Clash. Paxley countered it into a backdrop, followed by the
rolling kick. One Cemetery Drive later, and this one’s in
the books.
Tatum Paxley def. Michin via pinfall
This was a fine match to establish Paxley, and I think they
did well with that.
***************
– We got a recap of Blake Monroe attacking Giulia during her
entrance, with the scheduled match between the two never
taking place. After the recap, Monroe was interviewed about
her motives of “jeopardizing” her own debut. Monroe said
that the match with Giulia was beneath her, and that she’d
compete when she had an opponent to her standards. Giulia
ambushed Monroe and laid in a few shots on her before
throwing her into the barricade.
– Kevin Owens prepared for his match, but Randy Orton met
him and said that he was right about Cody Rhodes. As Owens
expressed joy at Orton coming around, Randy didn’t forget
about how Owens dropped him on his head with a package
piledriver. Owens backed away, stating that he’d get back to
Orton about that.
– We got a promo from The M.F.T.s as they took a shot at
Shinsuke Nakamura and his new partner, Kyoki. They promised
that the’d destroy Nakamura and Kyoki. Elsewhere, Damian
Priest said that he and R-Truth had the best summer ever,
but maybe it was now time to get back to business in singles
action. The War Raiders confronted the two and this led to
an AAA Tag Team Championship match to be made for Mexico
City, much to Priest’s slight dismay.
– In Nick Aldis’ office, Nia Jax demanded that she get a WWE
Women’s Championship within the next two weeks, or she’d go
take it by force. After Jax and Lash Legend left, The Miz &
Kit Wilson appeared and stated that he owed them. This led
to Aldis booking Miz and Wilson in a match against Shinsuke
Nakamura and Kyoki, otherwise known as “Bakusai”.
Undisputed WWE Championship No. 1 Contender’s Match: Kevin
Owens vs. Finn Balor vs. Gunther
Gunther attacked Balor just as he got to the ring to get
this match started. This opened him up for Owens to go after
him immediately. Owens then got laid out by a Gunther big
boot. Balor re-entered the match, but was tossed aside by
Owens. Senton to Gunther by Owens was followed by the
Swanton, but Balor broke up the count. Balor chopped at
Owens, as he hit the basement dropkick on him. Big chop by
Gunther put Balor on the ground.
Gunther taunted the crowd and nearly got rolled-up by a
recovering Balor. Gunther looked for a powerbomb, but Balor
countered and sent him out of the ring. He looked to hit a
dive to the outside, but Kevin Owens stopped him from
getting any speed. That got him sent out of the ring, but it
allowed Gunther to nearly trap Balor in the sleeper hold.
Balor broke the grip and finally hit the diving attack from
the ring to the outside on Gunther to send us to one final
commercial break.
Our main event continued from commercial with Gunther
hitting big boots on Owens and Balor. Owens recovered and
hit superkicks on his foes. The Pele kick from Balor to
Owens meant that all three men were down and out. Balor
nearly got the Coup De Grace, but he missed. Cannonball to
Gunther by Owens, and a Slingblade to Owens by Balor. The
shotgun dropkick to Owens by Balor as he headed up top
afterwards. Owens intercepted, and so did Gunther. Big
lariat to Owens by Gunther, then the hard chop to Balor’s
chest. Sleeper hold by Gunther, but it left him open to the
Coup de Grace from Balor.
Spinning neckbreaker by Balor to Gunther. Shotgun dropkick
as Balor tried again to go to the top rope. Coup de Grace
connects. The cover, but Sami Zayn pulled Balor out of the
ring and threw him over the top rope. Zayn said he was going
to ruin the match as he knocked the referee out. In the
ring, Owens hit Gunther with a Stunner, but no referee to
make the count. Zayn knocked down as a second referee ran
in. CM Punk ran in and started to fight with Zayn at
ringside. Zayn slid in the ring as Punk and Owens fought.
Zayn struck Owens with the Undisputed WWE Championship. He
then did the same to Balor and Gunther, and then Punk.