Posted on 9/19/126 by Bob Magee
– Previously on SmackDown, Sami Zayn won the Undisputed WWE
Championship off of CM Punk last week through questionable
means.
Nick Aldis opens SmackDown
The night opened proper with the SmackDown General Manager
in the ring, as he said that he had to deal with people who
rubbed him the wrong way, but you had to do it with a smile.
Per the request of the new Undisputed WWE Champion, Aldis
introduced Sami Zayn.
Zayn had a big smile on his face, but the Corpus Christi
crowd was not as enthused to see him, raining down the boos
on Zayn. Once the new champ entered the ring, he got off one
“Well” before the fans chanted and booed at him. Zayn asked
Aldis if it was funny that the crowd was booing him. He said
that it must’ve killed Aldis to give Zayn that warm yet
slightly disingenuous introduction to him. Zayn was a little
more surprised with the reaction he got from Corpus Christi.
He noted how “Justice for Sami” wasn’t just for him, but for
everyone else, even those that booed him. A very delusional
Zayn said that being WWE Champion was a symbol of hope and
perserverance, as he raised his Undisputed WWE Title high
(which still had CM Punk’s sideplates).
Zayn said that he believe not only in justice, but in
equality, which meant that with those challengers coming
after his title, Aldis should treat them with the same
amount of level of obstacles that he gave him. Before Zayn
could continue his tirade, the music of Johnny Gargano
signaled the arrival of Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae (or
as Michael Cole mistakenly called her, “Candice Michelle”).
Zayn welcomed Gargano to the celebration, but got a reality
check when Gargano mentioned the deal he struck: if he
helped Zayn against CM Punk last week, he was first in line
for the title shot. Zayn refused to acquiesce, but Gargano
wasn’t gonna have any of it. Gargano said that he was first
in line as he made the challenge for the Undisputed WWE
Championship tonight in Corpus Christi.
Aldis stepped in and said that Zayn might be the champion,
but he didn’t make the matches. Aldis said that Gargano had
his chance a couple of weeks back, and that the man next in
line was actually CM Punk. That brought out Kevin Owens, as
surly as ever.
Owens and said that if we were looking at anyone who
deserved title matches, but Candice LeRae interrupted him.
Owens cut her off and delivered a Stunner on Gargano. Aldis
broke the news to Owens by stating that he didn’t reward bad
behavior, but he explained all of Zayn’s actions that all
started when Zayn cost him his WWE Title match in Toronto
back in August. Aldis was about to make a decision, but a
paranoid Zayn grabbed him by the collar and stated that he
is the champion. Aldis reiterated who made the matches, as
he set it for tonight: Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn for the
Undisputed WWE Championship.
Aldis left and said “That last reign, it was five days,
let’s see if we could get it past seven.” Zayn tried to beg
off, but Randy Orton interrupted for our opening match
coming up next.
A fine opening segment to set up our likely main event
tonight, which will likely have Johnny Gargano pay back KO
stunning him to allow Zayn to keep the title. This
“delusional asshole champion” gimmick for Sami is honestly
good, and the Undisputed WWE Title scene being so unruly and
chaotic is quite interesting, to say the least.
**********
Men’s Money in the Bank Qualifier: Randy Orton vs. Rey Fenix
vs. Trick Williams
This match was “sponsored” by the new Wolverine game on
PlayStation 5. Whether one can put the game’s mixed reviews
and the current mixed reception for WWE’s booking and draw a
connection, I’ll leave it for you to decide.
Our match got underway with Orton striking down Fenix as he
and Trick got into it. Fenix recovered and got Williams with
the dropkick before he went after Orton. Fenix avoided Orton
as the Viper crashed into the ringpost, before he got
Williams with the moonsault from the middle turnbuckle.
Williams launched Fenix with the standing flapjack before
giving him the backslap. Stomp barrage by Williams on Fenix,
who got sent out of the ring with a clothesline. That led to
Orton hitting Fenix with the back suplex on the commentary
table. Williams got one too for his troubles as Yachty
approached him. Bad mistake as Orton poked him in the eye
and slammed him with the back suplex as we took a break in
the action.
Back from commercial with Orton stomping away on Williams in
the ring before he put him on the top turnbuckle in a seated
position. Fenix came in but got clotheslined on the apron
from the ring by Orton. Trick was lifted up for a superplex,
but Fenix leapt from the apron and did a flip into a
powerbomb on Orton to send him and Williams crashing. Frog
splash by Fenix nearly got the three. Fenix then used
Williams and Orton as makeshift kicking bags, but Orton
blocked it. Throw to the ropes, but Fenix feinted from the
middle rope and got the spinning kick on Orton. Recovering
from that, Orton unleashed clotheslines and powerslams on
both his opponents.
Orton was about to hit his draped DDT on Williams, but Fenix
intercepted and hit him with the Goodbye Amigo kick. On the
top rope, Williams recovered and sent Fenix out of the ring
for a rough landing. Williams blasted Orton with the cyclone
kick for a near-fall. Fenix rolled in with the poison rana
and nearly got the three. Superkick by Fenix to Williams as
he leapt right into an RKO from Orton. Williams blindsided
Orton with the Trick Shot knee strike before pinning Fenix
to qualify for Money in the Bank.
Trick Williams def. Rey Fenix & Randy Orton via pinfall
This wasn’t half bad at all, and I appreciate they didn’t do
something cliched like Baron Corbin screwing over Trick or
Cody Rhodes attacking Randy Orton, so credit for that.
**********
– As Johnny Gargano was licking his wounds, Sami Zayn tried
to get him to help later by subtly trying to manipulate him.
Gargano said he understood what Zayn was saying, though he
didn’t seem all that interested by the look on his face.
– We heard from the M.F.T.s and Bakusai ahead of their tag
match coming up on SmackDown, in a match sponsored by the
Brad Pitt dog movie, “Heart of the Beast”.
– Backstage, Tatum Paxley offered a good luck candle to
Alexa Bliss, but Charlotte Flair wasn’t going to have it.
Bliss calmly stated that she needed to focus as she left.
Flair blew out one of Paxley’s candlesm not knowing it was
for bad luck.
Bakusai (Kyoki & Shinsuke Nakamura) vs. The M.F.T.s (Tama &
Talla Tonga) (w/ Haku)
Kyoki and Tama got the match going, but the former went
after Talla Tonga on the apron. Tama tried to intercept, but
got fended off. Kyoki kicked Talla off the apron and then
eventually took down Tama. Double dropkick for both Tongas
from Kyoki as we did indeed take a commercial break a minute
into this match.
Back to square one from commercial as Kyoki and Tama were
fighting it out. Tama chopped away at Kyoki, but got hit
with chops of his own. Hurricanrana from Kyoki as Talla
tagged in. Kyoki was caught by Talla, but he landed on his
feet. Dropkick as Kyoki was soon caught in the grasp of
Talla. Chokeslam countered into a DDT by Kyoki. On the
outside, Talla and Tama got blitzed by a two-for-one
dropkick by Kyoki. Back in the ring, Nakamura tagged in and
used his partner as a weapon to slam him onto Talla for the
two-count.
Talla hit Nakamura in the throat, but he missed on the
running attack to the corner. Nakamura perched from the
middle turnbuckle nd he took down Talla for another near-
fall. Tama took out Kyoki by throwing him to the apron while
he tried to get involved. Haku hit Nakamura with the walking
stick to cause the DQ as he drove the stick down on
Nakamura’s throat.
Kyoki was taken out with a double big boot/leg clipper combo
from the Tonga brothers.
Bakusai def. The M.F.T.s via Disqualification
I honestly don’t know why this match was even booked in the
first place without much fanfare. And the fact it ended with
a dumb DQ finish and M.F.T. beat down segment was certainly
a choice… not sure if it was the right one in isolation.
**********
– Kevin Owens stated that in the same building where he
debuted on the main roster to beat John Cena, he was going
to beat Sami Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Championship. Finn
Balor cut in and stated that he was going to do things the
right way to win the WWE Championship.
– Elsewhere, Nick Aldis was congratulating Chelsea Green for
her win last week while Danhausen interrupted and stated he
was answering calls from Gunther and someone named “Mickie”
(specifically, Aldis’s wife, Mickie James). After that,
Nikki Bella said she was coming for Green’s WWE Women’s
Championship.
Cody Rhodes Interview
Rhodes said he wasn’t here to give any excuses for what
happened at Sunday Night’s Main Event. Michael Cole said
that a lot of people called Rhodes “QB1”, but that the
problem was that all the folks who stood with Rhodes at
WrestleMania 40 when he won, they’ve stabbed him in the
back.
Rhodes said that he should’ve seen it coming, that maybe he
could’ve hit before he got hit. Perhaps he might’ve been
naive with him as Champion it would’ve gone differently, but
it did not. Rhodes noted that it wasn’t going to be the end
of QB1 and he was playing for a different team now.
Cole asked Rhodes what he was going to do to Randy Orton the
next time he saw him in the ring. Rhodes said that he’s seen
the discussion of turning towards the darker path (i.e.
turning heel). Rhodes noted that all his successes that he’s
had was always him. He knew who he was, and he was
uncompromised. Rhodes noted that how being uncompromised got
him big wins against Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Roman Reigns,
and Randy Orton. Rhodes said that that the situation was
going to come up again, and he wasn’t going to make the same
decision that he did at Sunday Night’s Main Event.
**********
Women’s Money in the Bank Qualifier: Jade Cargill vs. Jacy
Jayne vs. Alexa Bliss
Cargill sized up Jayne and Bliss as the bell rang. Jayne
slammed Bliss down with a hair pull as she backed into
Cargill. Jayne rolled out of the ring and started to yell at
the fans on the top of the announce table. Bliss got out of
the ring and dropped Jayne face-first on the commentary
table before she threw her back into the ring. While Bliss
dueled with Cargill in the ring, she was pulled out of the
ring by the legs.
Back inside the ring, Cargill took Jayne down with a
shoulder tackle followed by the scoop slam. Jayne ducked
underneath a Cargill punch and sent her to the ropes for a
hurricanrana. Jayne sent Cargill over the top ropes before a
dropkick from Bliss took out Cargill. Stomps to Jayne as
Cargill pulled Bliss. Cargill shoved Jayne into Bliss, as
she got Jayne with the Black Hole Slam as we took a time
out.
We returned to Jayne placing Bliss onto the top rope looking
for a suplex before Cargill stepped into the ring and hit
the powerbomb tower of doom spot (anyone feeling a sense of
deja vu?). Cargill threw Jayne into the corner before she
hit cascading running attacks on Bliss and Jayne on opposite
ends of the ring. Cargill missed when going after Jayne as
she crashed shoulder-first into the ring post. Bliss
unleashed a combo on Jayne before throwing her out of the
ring. Cannonball by Bliss from the apron to Jayne on the
outside. Cargill slammed Bliss onto the apron but got pushed
into the steel steps by Jayne. In the ring, Bliss got
wrecked by the knee from Jayne, but it somehow wasn’t enough
for the three.
Jayne crashed face-first into the turnbuckle as Bliss headed
up top. Jayne instinctively rolled out of the ring to avoid
Twisted Bliss, but that just allowed for Bliss to retarget
her and Cargill for the double crossbody. In the ring, Bliss
connected with Sister Abigail, but Cargill stopped the count
by pulling at the referee’s legs. Bliss went after Cargill,
but her Sister Abigail attempt was turned into Jaded. The
cover, but Jayne broke it up and got the three with a steal
of a win.
Jacy Jayne def. Alexa Bliss & Jade Cargill via pinfall
That match was decent but they hit a couple of the same
beats as the men’s match earlier, right down to the finish
where the winning wrestler steals the victory. Yes, it
played out slightly differently than in
Orton/Williams/Fenix, but twice in the same night strikes me
as lazy booking. Might be the AI prompts offering repeated
bookings when “book triple threat match finish” was typed
in. At least I would hope not and it’s just regular human
laziness.
**********
– Backstage, Giulia was being interviewed before Lash Legend
& Nia Jax interrupted. Giulia stood her ground and talked
smack right to Lash’s face.
– Trick Williams & Li’l Yachty were chatting with themselves
before they saw Sami Zayn. Williams said that he hoped Zayn
won tonight so that he could take the title from him once
again.
– Damian Priest talked about why he attacked R-Truth,
stating that he was a bad man for what he did to Truth at
TripleMania last weekend.
Undisputed WWE Championship: Sami Zayn (c) vs. Kevin Owens
Owens attacked Zayn just as the ring announcer was finishing
his pre-match announcements. Stomps in the corner by Owens
on Zayn, who retreated to the outside. That only earned him
a brief reprieve as Owens cracked him with a clothesline and
we took a break a minute into this match.
This main event title match returned as Zayn dropped Owens
across the top rope before hitting him with punches from a
mounting position. Hard Irish whip to the corner by Zayn
caused Owens to hit the turnbuckle hard. Zayn viciously
stomped on Owens in the corner before the referee got him to
back away. Off the middle rope, Zayn hit Owens in the arm.
Zayn went up top, but Owens intercepted and punched at him.
Zayn raked his former friend in the eye but he couldn’t
capitalize as he got hit with the superkick upon landing.
Owens got up and hit a pair of running sentons on a downed
Zayn. Massive KO Cannonball into the corner to Zayn. Owens
followed that up with the Attitude Adjustment, doing that in
the place wher ehe beat John Cena. This time, Zayn kicked
out at two. Owens looked for a Stunner, but that got
countered into the Blue Thunder Bomb for the near-fall.
Another break in the action here with nine minutes of show
left.
Back from commercial as Zayn and Owens fought on the top
rope. Zayn went down hard to the mat, with Owens hitting a
Swanton Bomb for a very close near-fall. Candice LeRae and
Johnny Gargano interfered as the latter distracted the
referee. Tornado DDT by LeRae behind the ref’s back. That
led to a Helluva Kick by Zayn on K.O.! One, two….
2.9999999999!!!!!!! Zayn looked for one more Helluva Kick,
but he got surprised by Owens’ Pop-Up Powerbomb. Stunner by
Owens! One, two…. Gargano put the foot of Zayn on the bottom
ropes.
Owens saw that and took his rage out on Gargano at ringside.
Just as Gargano was going to be powerbombed through the
commentary table, Zayn made the save. That only got Zayn
sent through the table instead! Owens went back in the ring
and intercepted as Gargano was hit with a Stunner just as he
was going to get Owens with the Undisputed WWE Championship.
CM Punk emerged from under the ring and hit Owens with the
Undisputed WWE Championship instead! The slow cover by Zayn…
One, two…. no? Miscommunication by the referee? Helluva Kick
not long after and this title match is done after an odd
finish.
After the match, Punk went after Zayn and hit the GTS on
him. Punk also hit a GTS on Owens as we ended SmackDown.
**********
A standard SmackDown main event match marked by a weird
communication error of sorts between the referee and Zayn on
the pin, in a moment that Maffew of Botchamania fame will no
doubt have a field day with. Aside from that, the world
title being such a Wild West scenario with everyone going
after one another is quite refreshing.
As for the rest of the night’s action, it was nothing to
really to write home about, and on the other hand, nothing
was really offensively bad, other than the odd repeated
booking tropes in the two triple threat matches.
All in all, a pretty run of the mill SmackDown. Not good,
not bad. Just… kind of there.