Posted on 2/21/126 by Bob Magee
– From the home of the NHL’s Florida Panthers, we were
welcomed to the show by Joe Tessitore. We saw RHIYO walking
backstage, spotting the mysterious crate and paying no mind
to it. Tonight, Rhea Ripley subs in for IYO SKY as she
fights Giulia. Elsewhere, the three men and women competing
in their respective Elimination Chamber qualifying matches
were shown.
– A recap of last week’s Cody Rhodes/Jacob Fatu/Sami Zayn
Elimination Chamber Qualifier match was shown, notably
showing Drew McIntyre’s involvement in the finish.
Cody Rhodes kicks off SmackDown
“The American Nightmare” made his way to the ring to open
our show. He entered to a good reaction from the crowd.
“What do you wanna talk about?” started Rhodes in his
customary manner. However, before he could say anything of
note, he was interrupted by Jacob Fatu.
The man screwed out of the Elimination Chamber Qualifier win
last week by Drew McIntyre entered the ring and addressed
Rhodes. Fatu said that Rhodes wouldn’t even be out here
speaking about Elimination Chamber if it wasn’t for the
aforementioned McIntyre. Fatu talked about how he had Rhodes
and Sami Zayn beat last week, but his concern at the moment
wasn’t about Rhodes.
Fatu talked about how his concern at the moment was strictly
about Drew McIntyre as he called out the Undisputed WWE
Champion so he could “dogwalk his ass” all over Ft.
Lauderdale. Instead of McIntyre, Nick Aldis interrupted
Fatu.
Aldis said that he knew that Fatu wanted a shot at McIntyre,
so he decided to give McIntyre a night off. There was too
much at stake with Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania
around the corner. Aldis offered to speak with Fatu
backstage so that Rhodes could have his allotted mic time.
Speak of the devil, as Drew McIntyre himself was in the
building. He said that he loved SmackDown so much that he
bought his own skybox to watch the show. McIntyre taunted
Fatu, which caused the irate Samoan to try and go after him.
Security tried to stop Fatu, but they were thrown around,
which prompted Aldis to stop him. The SmackDown GM
encouraged Fatu to calm down as he instructed the security
to get McIntyre out of the building. Aldis mentioned that he
was willing to talk to Fatu about wanting his hands on
McIntyre as the two left.
McIntyre said that the whole world was after him because he
was the champion. Rhodes corrected him as he got the last
word and called McIntyre an “asshole”.
At this point, the idea of a (likely) Rhodes vs. McIntyre
title match at WrestleMania does not move me in the
slightest. I’m more interested in the McIntyre vs. Fatu feud
at this point. It should be concerning that what’s
ostensibly going to be the “main” SmackDown world title feud
for WrestleMania will feature what’s likely the least
interesting match heading into the two-night Las Vegas show.
***********
– Carmelo Hayes and Ilja Dragunov were backstage talking
about their respective matches tonight. Hayes encouraged
Dragunov to take care of his business against Tama Tonga,
while Dragunov wished Hayes luck in his Elimination Chamber
qualifying match.
– Nick Aldis chatted with Jacob Fatu backstage and promised
him to give Drew McIntyre, but just to have a little
patience in the meantime. Fatu warned Aldis that he wasn’t
going to wait much longer as he left the building.
Tama Tonga (w/ The M.F.T.s) vs. Ilja Dragunov
Dragunov started off by blasting Tama in the corner with
chops a-plenty. Tama responded with a hard elbow as he then
pummeled Dragunov in the corner with punches to the face.
Dragunov struck back with headbutts, as he and Tama traded
strikes. Tama threw Dragunov into the middle turnbuckle
hard, but missed with a running attack.
Dragunov hit Tama with a running boot, followed by a German
suplex. With Tama stunned in the corner, Dragunov struck him
with a running boot that sent him out of the ring as we took
a break in the action.
We returned from commercial as Tama was in control of this
match. As Tama taunted Dragunov, he was met with some
vicious strikes from the former U.S. Champion. An exchange
of blows between the two concluded with a double-down as
Dragunov and Tama took each other out with a double
clothesline.
Both men got themselves back up and the hard-hitting duel
continued. Tama’s attempted reverse DDT was turned into the
interlocking German suplexes by Dragunov. With the grip held
firmly around Tama’s waist, Dragunov managed to hit two of
these suplexes until Tama escaped. However, Tama could not
escape Dragunov’s subsequent Constantine Special for the
near-fall. Dragunov headed up to the top rope , but Tama
recovered and got him with a modified Flatliner for a two-
count.
Tama lifted Dragunov up and had him in an underhook
position, but he was countered into a standing throw.
Dragunov headed to the top rope again, as he had Tama in his
sights for the Senton. Dragunov had Tama dead to rights for
the H-Bomb until J.C. Mateo got on the apron to provide a
distraction. The roll-up failed from Tama as the match
lingered on. Tonga Loa got on the apron to cause a momentary
distraction, which allowed Tama to hit the not-so-hidden
blade of the Cutthroat for the three.
After the match, Solo Sikoa addressed the crowd and said
that this was going to happen as this was The M.F.T’s show.
Dragunov jumped at Sikoa, but he was subsequently taken down
by the M.F.T.’s numbers game. Matt Cardona tried to make the
save, but he fell in short order. Apollo Crews soon joined
in, but he got destroyed by the clothesline of Talla Tonga.
Before The M.F.T.s could continue doing their damage, the
lights went out and we got a video from The Wyatt Sicks.
Uncle Howdy addressed Sikoa in the video, and he said that
it was time for everyone to see if Sikoa could stand in the
ring alone. The next time Howdy stood in the ring, he was
going to stand alone. It was time to see if Sikoa was man
enough to do the same.
Tama Tonga def. Ilja Dragunov via pinfall
This was shaping up to be a good, hard-hitting match, right
up until the expected M.F.T. interference ending. All that
bleeding into Wyatt Sicks nonsense didn’t help matters as
I’m honestly sick of this Wyatts vs. M.F.T.s feud. It’s
overstayed its welcome and it’s high time everyone moved on
from this feud that’s really benefited nobody on either
faction.
***********
– Nick Aldis confronted Drew McIntyre and put the Undisputed
WWE Champion on full blast for his recent antics over the
past few weeks and how he’s made things difficult on him.
Aldis threatened McIntyre to keep pushing him and he’ll see
what happens.
– Randy Orton was interviewed about being in the Elimination
Chamber when Aleister Black and Zelina confronted him. The
two spoke in cryptic riddles, but were responded by a
challenge from Orton, who told Black to fight him in the
ring tonight.
– Elsewhere, Lash Legend & Nia Jax were interviewed. Jax
said she’d be on her way to winning the Elimination Chamber
on the way to winning the Women’s Tag Titles. We learned
that the two would be facing Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY for the
tag titles.
Jade Cargill addresses recent events
The WWE Women’s Champion had some choice words to say,
stating that she defended her title on her time. Cargill
said that Jordynne Grace tried her best, but her best wasn’t
good enough.
Cargill said that everyone was loud online, but when you
step up to her, everyone folds. She said that Liv Morgan was
going to make her decision on Monday, and that she’d be
there on Raw for it. Cargill said whether it was Morgan or
the Elimination Chamber winner, it didn’t matter because at
WrestleMania, she will still be “that bitch”.
Run of the mill promo for Cargill. Not really much else
there is to it, which is fitting, given the same could be
said of Cargill’s WWE Women’s Title reign as of right now.
***********
– As Cargill made her exit, she was interrupted by Charlotte
Flair, who was making her way for the Elimination Chamber
Qualifier match coming up next. Flair and Cargill had a bit
of a staredown at the top of the ramp before the latter was
backed off.
Elimination Chamber Qualifier: Charlotte Flair vs. Kiana
James vs. Nia Jax
We got things underway as Flair struck James with a big
elbow and grabbed her. She threw James into Jax, but got
taken down by a shoulder tackle. James recovered and tried
to barter a truce between her and Jax, who soundly rejected
the offer. Flair got James in the corner and hit her with a
kick. Jax got both James and Flair with consecutive pop-up
headbutts. With both women stunned on opposite corners, Jax
hit them with repeated running hip attacks and we took a
break at this point.
Back from the commercial break as James and Flair fought it
out. Flair headed to the top and connected with the diving
crossbody on James as she then chopped away on her two foes.
Flair hit her signature somersault clothesline on James as
then focused her attack on Jax. After she ended up on the
apron, James superkicked Flair, but ended up on the
shoulders of Jax. Flair connected with a kick that knocked
both down. Flair on the top rope with the moonsault on both
Jax and James. One, two… NO!
Flair hyped herself up, as she reversed an attempted
powerbomb by Jax into a hurricanrana. Jax recovered and hit
an awkward-looking Samoan Drop on Flair. James got herself
back up and showed impressive strength with a Samoan Drop of
her own for the near-fall. James headed to the top rope as
Jax rolled out of the ring. Meanwhile, Flair got back up and
intercepted James on the top turnbuckle. The two mixed it up
until Flair hit an avalance Spanish Fly for a very close
2.9999999 kickout.
Flair tried to run across the ropes, but Jax pulled her out
of the ring and threw her into the ringpost. As Jax put
Flair back into the ring, she was hit with a boot by James.
Jax attempted to respond with a running charge, but she
ended up running right into the steel steps. Back in the
ring, Flair had Jax in the Figure Four, but Jax hit the leg
drop on her. Jax pulled James into the drop zone for the
Annihilator, but Flair broke the count up with a dropkick.
Flair and Jax dueled in the middle of the ring, as the
latter dropped Jax across the top rope throat-first. On the
top rope, Flair tried for a high-risk move, but was
intercepted by Jax with the attempted avalanche Samoan Drop.
Flair turned that into a powerbomb, as she then locked in
the Figure-Four. Flair arched for the Figure-Eight on Jax,
but James slid in at the last second and got the pin on
Flair, who was unable to kick out.
Kiana James def. Charlotte Flair & Nia Jax via pinfall to
qualify for the Women’s Elimination Chamber
This match was a bit sloppy at times, but I still enjoyed
it, and the finish with James sneaking a pin on Flair while
in mid-Figure-Eight submission was nice. James also getting
the win was a very pleasant surprise.
***********
– Royce Keys made his apperance in the form of an excerpt of
his interview on Stephanie McMahon’s podcast.
Oba Femi vs. Kit Wilson
Wilson rolled out of the ring as the bell rang and took a
microphone. He addressed Femi and said he wanted to read him
a poem, as he felt like that his opponent grew the last time
they met. This poem, entitled “An Ode to Oba Femi” was about
how Wilson supposedly saw the greatness in Femi. He said
that when he looked at Femi’s eyes, he saw a teddy bear.
Femi grabbed Wilson’s mic and said that it was quite nice,
as he wanted to hear another poem from Wilson. Under threats
from Femi, Wilson read another poem about how men are toxic.
As Wilson spoke a line in the poem about how he hated Femi,
the match started proper as Femi shelled Wilson with his
running uppercuts in the corner.
Femi threw Wilson halfway across the ring before he lifted
him up for Fall From Grace for the three.
Oba Femi def. Kit Wilson via pinfall
The match was okay, but I can’t find myself laughing at Kit
Wilson’s “anti toxic masculinity” gimmick. Credit to Kit for
trying to move heaven and earth to make it work, but I just
not entertaining due to the implications of the gimmick
being made to lampoon WWE’s critics.
***********
– In front of The Mystery Box, Nick Aldis was confronted by
R-Truth, who said that inside the box was an Elimination
Chamber “Award”. Aldis instructed a stagehand to send The
Mystery Box to Raw. Damian Priest entered the scene as Truth
mistakenly thought he was in the Elimination Chamber Match.
As Aldis told Truth off about his error, he was told by
Truth that he liked him better when he was bald.
Tiffany Stratton vs. Alba Fyre (w/ Chelsea Green)
Stratton grabbed Fyre’s leg and then locked her in a
headlock. Stratton showed impressive athleticism as she
stepped on the ropes and kept her headlock on. She leapt
over Fyre afterwards and placed her in a prone position
across the ropes for a running hip attack. Stratton swept
Fyre by the legs as she hit a springboard senton.
Fyre seemed overwhelmed by Stratton’s attack until a rake of
the eyes allowed her to hit a springboard DDT from the
ropes, which took us to the commercial break.
We returned from break as Stratton was on fire with an
acrobatic running attack into the corner. Fyre responded
with a superkick as she got the advantage back. On the top
turnbuckle, Stratton recovered and had Fyre caught into a
superplex that she rolled into a modified brainbuster for
the near-fall. Stratton tried for an Alabama Slam, but Fyre
reversed it into the Gory Special. One, two… NO! Fyre had
Stratton in position for a powerbomb, but she countered it
into an Alabama Slam instead. On the top rope, Stratton
attempted a Prettiest Moonsault Ever, but Fyre pushed her
out to the ringside area. A wheelchair-bound Chelsea Green
got up and hobbled to her feet to yell at Stratton at
ringside. This allowed Fyre to hit a suicide dive on
Stratton.
In the ring, Stratton got her knees up to block Fyre’s
Swanton Bomb, but found herself hit with blocked knees of
her own after a running hip attack. Stratton bounced right
back and made no mistake with the Prettiest Moonsault Ever
for the pin and win.
Tiffany Stratton def. Alba Fyre via pinfall
This was a solid little match. Stratton and Fyre worked well
here.
***********
– Cody Rhodes chatted with Sami Zayn and said that Zayn had
nothing to be ashamed of. However, Zayn didn’t see it that
way, as Rhodes had something to be ashamed of due to what he
did last week to get the win. Rhodes defended himself,
stating that it’s an opportunity that he needs to take in
order to be a champion. An angered Zayn said that Rhodes
didn’t know what it was like to do the right thing and have
it blow it up to the face. Rhodes yelled right back and said
that he tried to do the right thing in Germany and it cost
him everything. He concluded by stating that Zayn’s only
enemy is himself as he walked off.
Trick Williams appeared to a big reaction and taunted Zayn.
He told him that Rhodes wasn’t a good friend as he bragged
about winning the Elimination Chamber Qualifier up next
before leaving. Zayn ran off and confronted Rhodes and
apologized to him, stating that when he becomes WWE
Champion, to remember that he had a little help along the
way. The crowd was heard booing Zayn during his apology.
Elimination Chamber Qualifier: Trick Williams vs. Carmelo
Hayes vs. Damian Priest
This match kicked off with Williams trying to negotiate an
alliance with Hayes, but Priest hit both with a clothesline.
Hayes responded with a dropkick, as Priest countered with a
standing flapjack. Williams re-entered the fray and tried to
fight Priest. He found himself stunned in the corner as
Hayes was thrown for the inadvertent splash in the corner.
Priest looked strong early as he countered Hayes’
springboard leg drop and threw him onto a downed Williams.
Hard elbow by Priest to the face of Hayes only got a two-
count.
Williams showed great athleticism by landing on his feet on
a Priest chokeslam. Priest got out of the way of a
springboard clothesline from Hayes, who hit Williams in the
crossfire instead. Hayes targeted Priest with La Mistica,
but Priest countered with a suplex for the near-fall as we
took a break.
This match continued from commercial as Williams and Priest
traded strikes before both were down on their knees. Just in
time for Hayes hitting them with the double springboard
legdrop. Outside the ring Hayes hit Williams with a shotgun
dropkick into the timekeeper’s barricade before he connected
with the Frog Splash in the ring on Priest for the near-
fall. As Priest rolled out of the ring to recover, Hayes was
looking for the dive. Williams put a stop to that with a
spinning kick to Hayes. Uranage by Williams on Hayes only
got a two-count in the process. Williams trashtalked Hayes,
but was met with hard chops to the chest by the U.S.
Champion. Hayes attempted a springboard, but he was
clotheslined out of the ring by Williams.
Priest pounced on Hayes to send him onto the announce table.
Priest left the ring and got thrown into the announce table.
In the ring, Williams connected with another spinning kick
on Hayes with great impact, but that was again a near-fall
for the rookie. Williams put Hayes on the top rope and
looked like he was going to hit the superplex. Priest got
back up and intercepted with the Razor’s Edge on William.
One, two…. NO! Hayes on the top rope, and he hit Nothin’ But
Net on Priest. Did he have the match won? No, as Williams
broke the count just in time as all three men were down and
out.
Williams and Hayes traded blows until Priest used his kicks
on both men. Williams and Hayes with a temporary alliance as
the showed momentary teamwork on Priest with a double team.
With Priest out of the conversation, Williams and Hayes
fought it out in the ring until Hayes connected with First
48 on Williams. On the top rope, Hayes’ top rope dive was
intercepted with a hard elbow from Priest. Razor’s Edge
attempted by Priest, but Williams blasted him with a
Trickshot knee that sent Hayes crashing out of the ring in
the process. One more Trickshot by Williams on Priest
brought him the three in this fantastic match.
Trick Williams def. Damian Priest & Carmelo Hayes via
pinfall to qualify for the Men’s Elimination Chamber
One hell of a match. Hayes is reliable in his spot as a
workhorse and Williams carries himself quite well in this
bigger focus he’s gotten since getting the call-up to
SmackDown. Trick has done really well with the opportunity
given and it’s easy to see why many are high on him right
now.
***********
– The entire SmackDown tag team division where seen hanging
around The Mystery Box as Candice LeRae walked with Nick
Aldis. Johnny Gargano was shown lying on top of The Mystery
Box. Jordynne Grace appeared as LeRae took exception to this
interruption. Aldis booked Grace vs. LeRae for next week, as
he noted that Gargano wasn’t feeling too “crate”.
– Jade Cargill was seen taking pictures with her title when
B-Fab confronted her. She was also joined by a returning
Michin, who once again called her shot against the WWE
Women’s Champion.
Giulia vs. Rhea Ripley
This was originally meant to be Giulia vs. IYO SKY until it
was changed last-minute.
Our match got underway as Ripley and Giulia locked horns
before the two got into a shoving contest. Some chain
wrestling here to start us off. Giulia slapped Ripley in the
face as she got her with a cravate sleeper hold. Ripley’s
strength allowed her to put Giulia on the top rope, as she
again blocked a tornado DDT attempt. Ripley connected with a
vertical suplex in the aftermath.
Ripley attempted Riptide, but Giulia escaped and slammed her
foe down to the mat with a grab of the head. Giulia kept the
momentum with a missile dropkick from the middle turnbuckle.
Giulia maintained the attack on Ripley, as she dodged a
running shoulder charge from Ripley. As Ripley crashed into
the steel post, she tumbled to the outside and got hit with
a dropkick from Giulia against the steel steps. This took us
to a break in the action.
This match continued from the break as Giulia had the upper
hand on Ripley. Arrivederci Knee was blocked by Ripley, who
cracked her foe with a hard lariat. As both women got
themselves back to their feet, they exchanged strike. Ripley
dodged a barrage from Giulia and blasted her with
clotheslines, followed by a standing slam and a running
dropkick. Ripley tried to go up top, but Giulia intercepted
her at the pass. Ripley escaped her predicament and got her
with a Cheeky Nando’s kick. Faceplant slam by Ripley on
Giulia got a two-count.
Ripley again tried for the Riptide, but Giulia countered it
and connected with the Arrivederci Knee. One, two… NO!
Giulia got ahead of it and tried for the Northern Lights
Bomb. Ripley countered and hit a headbutt. Just as she had
Riptide on Giulia, Nia Jax and Lash Legend interfered to
cause the disqualificiation.
Rhea Ripley def. Giulia via Disqualification
After the match, Jax and Legend laid a beatdown on Ripley
until IYO SKY ran in to make the save. With evened odds, the
Women’s Tag Champions got the best of their opponents and
sent Jax and Legend to a retreat.
That was shaping up to be a good match, but again, WWE can’t
help themselves and have it end with a nonsensical DQ finish
to ruin things. I do like that Ripley did her best to make
Giulia look like a threat in this match. The struggle of
trying to get Giulia over with crowds isn’t really going to
be helped if she’s largely treated like an afterthought,
especially like we saw in the post-match of this one. It’s
hard to see her as a big deal as the Women’s U.S. Champion
if she’s not presented as such by the booking. And it seems
like something that even Giulia herself is noting judging by
a recent instagram repost.
***********
– The Miz met with Oba Femi and tried to offer his services
as the self-appointed locker room leader. This led to Femi
challenging him to a match next week, something that slowly
dawned upon Miz after Femi left to talk with Nick Aldis.
– Charlotte Flair chatted with Alexa Bliss as she said that
she’s “fine” after losing her Elimination Chamber match.
Kiana James showed up to talk trash and this led to Flair
and Bliss challenging James and Giulia to prove their worth.
Next Week on SmackDown
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: RHIYO (Rhea Ripley & IYO
SKY) vs. Nia Jax & Lash Legend
Uncle Howdy vs. Solo Sikoa
– Solo Sikoa discussed strategy with his M.F.T.s, as he
talked to Tama Tonga and told him to focus on helping him
deal with the Wyatts. As Sikoa left, Shinsuke Nakamura
appeared behind Tama and said that Tama was being held back
by Sikoa and the M.F.T.s. Nakamura said that Tama can prove
that he is his own man by facing him next time — without the
help of the M.F.T.s. “Leave your family tree in the forest,”
Nakamura told Tama.
Aleister Black (w/ Zelina) vs. Randy Orton
Black and Orton locked up in the middle of the ring to start
as Black was felled by a shoulder block. Orton got himself
in a Viper position and Black responded by staring down in
his seated position. After a brief staredown, Orton got on
the offensive and hit him with a series of punches in the
corner. A clothesline from Orton sent Black crashing over
the top and into the ringside area as we took a commercial
break afterwards.
As we returned from break, Orton targeted Black with the
Garvin stomps as Zelina got on the apron to distract the
referee. This allowed Black to respond with a knee to the
back of Orton. Black hit Orton with a running kick across
the apron and threw him into the ring post. Back in the
ring, Black smashed Orton with a running knee strike for a
near-fall. Black applied a resthold on Orton and tried to
maintain the pressure as best as he could. Orton got himself
to his feet and fought out of the hold. Suplex attempt by
Orton was blocked by Black, who again blasted Orton with a
knee to the face. One, two… Orton kicked out at two.
Black again had Orton in the resthold with the arm wrapped
around his foe’s head. Orton tried to battle back with a
roaring uppercut, which sent Black onto the apron. Orton had
Black in position for the draping DDT, but Black escaped
with the rope guillotine. Black came right back with a boot
to the face, followed by the shoulder to the chest of Orton.
Again, Black had Orton in a resthold, but he got countered
into a back suplex after a struggle. Orton got himself up
and hit Black with the clotheslines, followed by his
patented scoop powerslam. Orton dragged Black to the apron
and connected with the draping DDT.
Orton zoned in on Black and had him dead to rights for the
RKO. Black escaped it and rolled out of the ring. Black hit
him with a strong kick to the face outside the ring. Orton
tried for the back suplex across the table, but Black
blocked it. Orton, however, managed to block a kick from
Black and slammed him across the commentary table. With
Black seemingly out cold, Orton dropped him with the draping
DDT from the announce table onto the mat outside. As Orton
rolled Black into the ring, Drew McIntyre smashed Orton in
the face with the Undisputed WWE Title. Cody Rhodes gave
chase to McIntyre.
In the ring, Black hit the Black Mass kick on Orton for the
three in our main event
Before the fade out, a graphic honoring long-time WWE
producer Kerwin Silfies was shown to end our night.
Aleister Black def. Randy Orton via pinfall
***********
That was a standard main event, but again, as we discussed
last week, it’s clear that the road to WrestleMania 42 is
mired in mediocrity. It’s telling when the “main” feud of
Drew McIntyre vs. Cody Rhodes does not seem as exciting as
the surrounding stories such as Sami Zayn’s seeming push
towards turning heel or McIntyre trying to piss everyone off
in his vicinity have a far greater appeal than this one
McIntyre/Rhodes match that seems like the other big Mania
title match aside from CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns.
Other than that, the in-ring action tonight was mostly good
with the Williams/Hayes/Priest match being the standout of
the evening. The overall stories are just decent and things
don’t really feel like they’re building towards
WrestleMania, but the actual wrestling is reliably good
week-to-week, which helps make these three-hour SmackDowns
feel enjoyable from time to time.